“I saw what happened,” I tell her, tucking my legs underneath me. “Dad didn’t want to be like Stephan. Stephan marked him with the Mark of Malefiscus and he had to do what Stephan said—he didn’t have a choice in any of it.”
Her eyes widen as she scoots toward me. “That can’t be true.”
“But it is,” I say, trying to read if she’s lying. “He had to do it. He had to change the vision and it all happened because he wanted to be with you.”
“He just wanted to be with me?” Her hands fall lifelessly to her side, her skin draining of color.
“I changed it back,” I inform her, knowing that she could tell Stephan, but that it doesn’t matter anymore. “The vision he changed to end the world, I changed it back so it’s not going to happen… all is saved.” I’m not sure what comes over me, but I lose it and start bawling. I crawl toward my mom, disregarding that she has the Mark of Malefiscus on her arm and wrap my arms around her, seeking comfort from her like I’m a child.
She puts her arms around me and gives me what I needed. A loving mother, but I’m not sure if she’s playing the part or really being her. Either way, I take it.
We remain that way until the sun rises and lights up the room. Then I pull away and explain to her why I’m crying. My voice sounds hollow as I speak, detached.
“That’s what he erased?” she asks after I’m finished and my tears have dried. “He erased your death and in return the world would end.”
“I think, either way, I probably would have ended up dying, but this way it’s just Alex and me that die. And we take Stephan and all the Death Walkers down with us.” I force a tight smile. “Which is a good thing, right?”
She grabs my hands and suddenly her eyes are filled with tears. “You listen to me, Gemma Lucas, you are not going to give up that easily.”
“I—I’m not giving up,” I stammer, stunned by her shift in attitude. “It’s what happens. I can’t do anything about it.”
She swiftly shakes her head. “There are always loopholes.”
“You always say that, but it was a vision—the only loopholes are to do what dad did and try to change it to something else, and all that will get me is a one-way ticket to being trapped in my own mind forever and I’ll probably fuck up the future of the world again.”
“There are always loopholes, Gemma,” she repeats, taking me by the shoulders and looking me straight in the eye. “Think about it. Your father took you into the Room of Forbidden, where no one’s supposed to enter. You got me out of The Underworld, which isn’t supposed to be possible. Your soul is reconnected, which was never supposed to happen. All those things were caused by loopholes.” She pauses. “Just because you saw your death, doesn’t mean you have to die… I’m not saying that what you saw won’t happen, but that you need to find your loophole through your death…make it so you survive after the star’s power fades away.”
“I don’t know Mom…” I look at her with wariness.
“Do not give up. I want you to go into your room and read through that Foreseers’ book—find your loophole. Promise me, Gemma. Promise me you won’t give up.”
“Okay, okay, I promise.” I put my hands up in front of me and back away from the frantic look on her face, not believing that there’s a loop hole, but figuring it won’t hurt to look.
I go back into my room and Alex isn’t there. He ends up being in the shower. So I climb into bed and start reading the Foreseer book. I’m only about halfway through it when I put it aside because I’m starting to get a headache. What I need is a quicker way to read through all this information and start to wonder if maybe Aislin knows a spell that can give me speed reading ability.
I shut my eyes and allow my brain focus on seeing a loophole. I’m not positive if I’m doing something wrong, but I have to try.
As I attempt to push my brain beyond the boundaries of seeing something that probably isn’t supposed to be seen, I feel an explosion inside my skull. My vision spots before I fall off the bed.
Chapter 35
I end up on my side in the sand, the smell of the salty ocean air gracing my nostrils. When I open my eyes, the first thing I see is a pair of black boots.
“You can’t cheat your way there,” someone says. “You’re going to end up in trouble.”
I lift my gaze to my father, leaning over me, his violet eyes conveying worry, his long silver robe trailing behind him in the sand. “I think I already am.”
“If you want to find out the answer,” he says. “You have to search for it on your own, not take shortcuts.”
I roll onto my back and shield my eyes from the sunlight. “Am I in your head again?”
“So you discovered where I am?” Displeased, he offers me his hand to help me up and I gladly take it.
I look at the horizon and then around at the seemingly endless beach with no sign of life. “Wait. Why aren’t we in the same place as the last time I ended up here?”
“We are wherever I need us to be.” He starts down the shore, leaving footprints in the sand.
I hurry after him, sand building between my toes and the ocean rolling up over my feet. “I thought you were in the Room of Forbidden? I thought you were stuck in your own head and couldn’t get out, so how can you change places?”
He halts near a cluster of rocks and faces me. “I get bored sometimes and change the scenery to help pass the endless time.” He begins walking again toward the rocks.
“Why didn’t you just tell them what happened?” I ask as I rush to keep up with him. “Why didn’t you say that Stephan made you change the vision because he marked you with the mark?”
He glances at me solemnly. “It’s the downfall of being a Foreseer, Gemma. There are no second chances or room for mistakes. What’s done is done and I won’t ever be forgiven or trusted again for what I did.” Silence passes between us as we reach the rocks and we start to climb up them. I want to ask him if he has evil blood inside him, but I fear his reaction and the answer so I remain silent.
When he gets to the top of the rocks, he gazes out at the endless ocean, the wind blowing through his hair “You need to stop worrying about me,” he says as I stand beside him. “You have other problems to deal with at the moment.”
“Like saving the world…” Pain resonates inside my chest. “I think I already did that... dad I was able to fix the vision you erased… I erased you before you erased Alex and me”
“I know you did,” he says gloomily. “But that is not what I’m talking about.”
“Then what are you talking about?” I wonder. “Because it always seems like you’re talking in code.”
“I’m telling you about what you’re in store for.” The bottom of his robe flaps in the wind. He hasn’t looked at me since we got up here, staring at the sunlight, unblinking and I wonder how it isn’t hurting his eyes. “What waits for you in the near future.”
“I know what it is.” My voice is off pitch, revealing the shakiness within me. “I know that I die.”
“You’re still not getting it.” He blows out a frustrated breath and then looks at me. “You need to push that aside, otherwise you’ll never be able to save the world.”
“But I already did that. What more could I possibly do?”
He reaches into the pocket of his robe and retrieves a glistening silver ring embellished with violet gems that outline a massive lavender stone. He takes a hold of my hand and drops the ring into it.
The gems shimmer as I stare down at the ring. “What does it do?”
“I can’t answer that,” he says, turning toward the shore again and heading down the rocks.