Then Nicholas busts up laughing and shatters the moment. “Oh my God, look at you two. You both want to be together so badly, yet, if you do, you’ll more than likely fall in love and kill each other. It’s fucking hilarious.”

Alex turns toward him, jaw set tight. “What did you just say?” His hands enfold into fists.

Nicholas gives him a bloody smirk. “I didn’t say anything.”

Alex takes a few threatening steps toward him, his boots scuffing the cement floor. “What do you know about Gemma and I killing one another if we fall in love?”

“Wait a minute?” Aislin rushes forward. “What do you mean you’ll kill each other if you fall in love?” She puts her hands on her hips as she scowls at me then at Alex. “Why am I just hearing about this?”

“Because it doesn’t matter at the moment.” Alex waves her off, his gaze fixed on Nicholas. “Now start talking before I start beating the shit out of you again.”

Nicholas shakes his head, his body swaying with the rope. Alex’s skin reddens with rage as he elevates his fist. “God dammit. Why do you have to be such a pain in the ass?”

Nicholas writhes his body and attempts to wiggle his arms from the rope. But he’s helpless and I think he knows it. Hell, there’s so much blood on his face and clothes, it looks like he should be dead already. “Alright… I’ll tell you.” He pauses, his body still, relaxing. “But I want something in return.” His gaze flicks in my direction.

Alex shakes his head as I tense. “No way.”

“Then no deal,” Nicholas says with a shrug, struggling to keep his toes on the floor.

“I don’t think you’re in much of a position to be making bargains.” Alex lowers his arm to crack his knuckles. “Or do I need to remind you of that?”

“What do you want?” I step between them. “It doesn’t hurt to hear what he wants.”

“Gemma, be careful,” Alex warns, but I shush him, putting my finger across his lips.

“Let’s just hear him out and then make a decision, okay?” I say. His breath quickens simply from my touch. I’m starting to wonder just how powerful of a hold I have over him. Well, not me but the electricity. Biting my lip, I lower my finger, and then wait for Alex to say something, when he doesn’t, I turn to Nicholas. “What do you want?”

The humor erases from Nicholas’s face and he momentarily looks human, but I have to remember all the things he’s done and the fact that he has the ability to manipulate my mind and make me see things that aren’t real. “I want to stay here,” he says.

“You want to what?” I gape at him. That wasn’t what I was expecting at all.

“I want to stay here,” he repeats as Alex shakes his head and Aislin makes this strangled, shocked noise. “After I tell you what I know, I want to be able to hang around here for a while.”

“No way,” Alex protests. “There’s no chance in hell that’ll ever happen.”

“Yeah, I don’t think that’s such a good idea either.” I point to the red and black triangular mark on Nicholas’s forearm—the Mark of Malefiscus, pure evil. “Especially considering you have that on you and I know firsthand just how powerful that thing is.”

“I know you do.” His eyes twinkle with the knowledge that he might know all about the vision erased and what happened. It would make sense since he’s a Foreseer and they can see practically everything. “And this mark is why I want to stay,” Nicholas explains, rope trying to get his footing as sweat drips down his face to hips lips and jaw. “If Stephan can’t find me, then he can’t force me do things for him.”

I look over at Alex. “Is that true?”

Alex shrugs. “I have no idea how the mark works, other than it’s pure evil and the person who has it has to have evil in...” He trails off, recalling that in another time I had the mark.

“It’s okay. I’ve already come to the conclusion that I have evil in my blood.” I shrug, pretending it’s no big deal. “And I think I know where it comes from now—from my father.”

“You sure about that?” Nicholas questions with amusement.

“What do you know about it?” I wonder, suddenly seeing why Alex gets so frustrated with him.

He gives a shrug, but it looks awkward with his arms restrained above his head. “Let me go and stay here and I’ll tell you.”

I tread with caution. “If we do that, then how do we know you’re telling the truth and how can we trust you? You don’t have a very good track record.”

A grin expands across his face. “Guess you’ll just have to take that risk.”

Dammit. Why does the one person who seems to have the answers have to be a very obnoxious faerie/Foreseer that loves twisting things into riddles and making everything complicated?

I exchange a look with Alex and Aislin. “What do you guys think we should do?”

“I don’t know…do you think we can trust him?” Aislin asked Alex with wariness.

He folds his arms across his chest, appearing annoyed and lost amongst many other things. “I have no fucking clue.”

I glance down at the faint scar on my palm and get an idea. I extend my hand out in front of me, palm up. “I have an idea,” I say then look at Nicholas. “Would you be willing to do a Blood Promise that you wouldn’t do anything harmful to anyone and that you would tell us what we need to know in exchange for your freedom and staying here?”

Alex promptly starts protesting. “No fucking way,” he says, at the same time Nicholas remarks, “Clever girl.”

“Why not?” I ask Alex, lowering my hand to my side. “It’s not like it’s a bad thing to do or anything and it’ll help us make sure this all works out the way that we want it to.”

“Blood Promises can go wrong, Gemma.” Alex frowns as he traces the scar on the palm of his hand. “The promise is unbreakable—you can’t take it back. And if you say the wrong thing, you can end up making a promise you didn’t intend to make.”

“Is that what happened with us?” I ask, raising my brows in accusation. “Did you say the wrong thing? Or is it that you just want to take it back?”

He looks taken aback. “Why would you say that?”

I shrug indifferently. “Well, it’d make things easier right now for you, wouldn’t it?”

He steps closer to me. “Even if we never made the promise, I’d still…” His tongue slips out of his mouth and wets his lips as he struggles for words. “I’d still fucking hate what’s going on more than I’ve ever hated anything in my entire life.” He takes another step toward me, so close the tips of our shoes brush against each other. “What I feel for you isn’t based on some stupid star or promise or anything other than my emotions.”

We’re veering toward forbidden territory, about to jump off the cliff, at least he is. Even though I desperately want him to continue, I need to stop it before he does something he can’t take it back.

“Okay, we’ll have to be really careful then when we make the blood promise.” I change the subject. “You tell me exactly what to say.”

He looks at me for a fleeting moment with hurt in his eyes before he shoves it all down and moves away from me. “Even with the Blood Promise, if my father shows up, Nicholas will more than likely still have to do what he asks since I’m pretty sure the Mark of Malefiscus is more powerful than a Blood Promise.”

“Okay, well I guess we’ll have to make sure your father doesn’t find us then,” I say. “I think it’s worth the risk to get some answers, Alex.”

Alex is unconvinced, but I already have made up my mind and turn to Nicholas. “Okay, you and I will make a Blood Promise. I’ll promise you can stay here with us, and you’ll promise that you’ll answer all of my questions truthfully. And, you won’t harm any of us while you’re here, got it?”

Nicholas considers what I said then a grin slowly creeps up on his face. “I want one more thing.”

“No way,” I say firmly. “That’s the deal. Take it or leave it.”

He nods his head at Aislin. “I want Witch Girl over there to try and find a way to get this mark off my arm.”