It was that simple.

I shut my eyes, dandelion seeds kissing my cheeks as I was sucked back to my life.

When I opened my eyes, his lips were on mine. Hot and fiery, I wanted to close my eyes again and let him keep kissing me. But the sharp zip of electricity caused him to shudder and he stumbled back.

He let out a huge sigh.

I thought you were dead.

I was.

I sat up in my bed, blinking my eyes.

He shook his head, laughing. But then he remembered.

Are you okay? Did you free the Lost Souls?

I motioned at the window.

Why don t you go look and see?

He moved to the window and pried the board off.

You really are amazing,

he said, stunned by the sight of the mellow streets.

You know that.

Then he turned to me, with this look like he d suddenly figured out something that frightened him.

I slid my legs over the side of the bed.

So anything exciting happen while I was gone?

The corners of his mouth curved down.

Yeah, a lot actually. And I m pretty sure we might need to hide out for a while.

Hide out from what?

I stood, the wooziness of death still lingering in my head.

We re already hiding.

Hide out from them.

He pointed to the floor.

Aislin and Laylen and & Sophia.

I gasped, my vision spotting.

Gemma, breathe.

I massaged my temples.

I m sorry, but I think I just imagined something really weird. Did you say Sophia is downstairs?

No, you weren t imagining it,

he said slowly.

Something happened.

Something always happens,

I said, giving a nervous glance at the shut door.

But this? This is more than a something.

Don t worry,

Alex said.

She s trapped in the floor.

I sighed.

Why doesn t that surprise me?

He started to smile, but then suppressed it.

There s more to it than that.

How much more?

He sank down in the computer chair.

Sit down and I ll explain.

So you re saying she s been trapped in the floor this entire time?

My jaw was hanging to my knees.

And that Aislin and Laylen were the ones who put her there?

That s the rumor that s going around.

He leaned forward in the chair, overlapping his fingers.

But it makes sense. I mean, when Aislin and Laylen showed up at the Hartfield cabin that day, they seemed so confused about where they d been. And I think my dad brainwashed them temporarily. When the memoria extracto backfired on him, I think they might have been freed from him because they showed up right after that.

I choked on a laugh.

He arched an eyebrow.

Care to share what s so amusing?

It s just that this whole time I thought you were the one lying.

Laughter snuck into my voice.

And it turns out it was Aislin and Laylen.

I don t think they were lying,

he said.

I just think they couldn t remember.

I know.

I wiped some tears from my eyes.

I don t get why you think this is amusing,

he said, trying not to laugh.

This is some serious stuff.

Oh, I know it is.

I flopped back on the bed, lost in my laughter. I knew it was probably inappropriate, but for such a long time, I d questioned which legion Alex was part of. God, all that wasted energy.

Well, I m glad you find this so funny,

he remarked.

I sat back up, putting my serious face back on.

Okay, tell me how we re going to fix it. How do we know for sure if they re okay?

He tapped his finger on his knee, considering.

Honestly, Gemma, I really can t think of anything. Usually for this particular kind of thing, I d ask Aislin to do a spell or something, but how do we know if she does it right & and really, it s been so long, I don t think they re still brainwashed.

And what about Sophia?

I asked.

Are you just planning on leaving her trapped in the floor?

He stopped tapping.

I was going to let you decide what to do about that. She s the one who &.

He stopped, unable to speak.

Destroyed my life,

I finished for him.

No, I don t really think that was her. I saw her in a vision, when she removed my soul and she looked like she didn t want to, but couldn t seem to stop herself.

I paused.

Where s Marco?

He s dead,

he said quietly.

My father killed him.

But he didn t kill Sophia.

I considered the reason why.

Because she s the only one who could detach my soul again.

I think so,

Alex nodded, agreeing.

So what do we do now?

The only thing we can do,

I said, a quiver in my voice.

We leave her there until we die.

He was on his feet before I could even finish.

What s wrong with you? You can t be giving up that easy.

We re not giving up,

I said.

We re doing what we have to do.

So what? You just quit.

His words breathed fire in my face.

I shook my head.

No, I m not giving up. I m doing what I have to do to save the world.

He dragged his fingers down his face.

There has to be another way.

No, there s not. And we don t have any time left,

I said.

And it doesn t matter. I ve known this was going to happen, I ve just been making it complicated, when all along the answer was right in front of me.

I put my hand on his cheek, a forbidden electric touch.

We die, so everyone else can live.

Then I touched my lips to his, a quick brush, then walked out the door.

Even though he was angry with my answer, I hoped he would follow me.

And he did.

Chapter 40

(Alex)

I can t believe she really thought that was going to happen; that I was just going to let her give up like that. I followed her down the stairs anyway, but mainly to make sure Laylen and Aislin weren t flipping out.

Everything was quiet, still as death.

Aislin was at the coffee table, mixing a bowl of herbs.

You re alive,

she joked with a smile.

Do you realize how many times you ve said that to me,

Gemma joked back as if nothing was wrong, as if she hadn t just been dead, hadn t gone to the Afterlife, hadn t announced that she was going to sacrifice her life.

Aislin laughed, crunching leaves and Gemma made a face at the stench. Her eyes wandered over to me, curious if I d break the news to everyone.

But in my opinion there was no news to break.

What is that stuff?

she gagged, peering in the bowl.

This is what s going to take the Shield Spell off my father.

She gave the bowl a spin.

Of course, after we do that, I don t know what we re going to do. No one s come up with a plan to end him.

Again, Gemma glanced at me and I shook my head once, warning her not to talk about her stupid death plan.

So where s Laylen?

she asked.

Right here,

he announced, pushing me aside as he stepped into the living room and gave her hug.

Notice anything different?

She tucked her hair behind her ears.

Did you get taller?

she teased.

He stuck out his arm and she gasped, tugging it closer to her.

You re mark s gone! You re free.

He shrugged.

Not completely.

He grinded his teeth.

But close.

Gemma hugged him again, her eyes meeting mine and I glared at her. She let go of Laylen.

I m glad you re happy.

Then she marched up and took me by the elbow, pulling me into the foyer and out the front door.

See all this,

she said with a swing of her hand.

Looks like a street.

I shrugged, leaning back against the railing. Snow was falling lightly and our breaths fogged in front of us.

A quiet peaceful street,

she said, staring at the houses on the other side of the road.