3. Gemma

3 GEMMA

I meet up with Aislin in the parking lot. I have the book stuffed in my bag. Hopefully, no one busts me with it, or I’m in so much trouble.

“You waited for me?” Aislin asks as she climbs out of the Jeep.

“Kind of,” I say as she bumps the door shut.

She eyes me over. “Something weird happened—I can tell.”

Many weird things happened, but I decide to start with Henry asking me out.

I give her a brief recap of what went down, minus the reason we were meeting up. By the time I’m finished, we’ve reached the top of the main stairway, and the second bell has rung, so people are wandering around, waiting for their next class to start.

“Yeah, I knew that was coming,” Aislin says once I’m finished.

I blink at her. “What? How?”

She shrugs then digs a stick of gum out of her pocket. “It’s pretty obvious he’s obsessed with you.” She offers me a stick of gum.

I take it. “He is not.” I pop the gum into my mouth.

“Gemma, Gemma, Gemma.” She shakes her head as we start toward the main doors. “He does favors for you all the time, he always shows up where you are, and he stares at you during class.”

“Okay, I know the first two are true, but he doesn’t stare at me during class.”

“Yes, he does. Pay attention today, and you’ll realize I’m right.”

I grimace at my own obliviousness. “I don’t like this.”

She reaches for the door handle. “Like what?”

I shrug as she pulls open the door. “That he likes me, and I see him as just a friend.” I step inside and she follows, letting the door shut behind us.

Like the outside of the building, the interior is equally as godly with columns that line the plastered walls, the cathedral-like ceilings that are painted with various magical places around the world, and black and white checkerboard floors. Lanterns and crystal-esque chandeliers illuminate the hallway that stretches before us and is lined with archways that lead to classrooms.

My next class is in the first room in the hall, so I slow to a stop in front of it. She does, too, and studies me while chewing on her gum.

“You know, I was thinking: have you ever had a crush on someone?” She blows a bubble. “Because you’ve never mentioned having one, and it’s making me feel like you might not trust me, which is crazy.”

“That is crazy. I so trust you.” But then I grow quiet as I consider her question.

Have I ever had a crush on someone? Sure, I notice guys who are attractive, but that’s about it. Then the buzzing feeling I feel toward Alex randomly makes a grand appearance in my mind, along with his stupidly gorgeous green eyes and cocky smile.

She points a finger at me and playfully gasps. “Wait … You do have a crush on someone.”

“No, I don’t,” I reply way too quickly. “I have to get to class.” Then I hurry inside the classroom with her laughter hitting my back.

Crap. Crap. Crap.

What the crap just happened?

Did my brain attempt to convince me I have a crush on Alex?

No, there’s no way. Sure, I think he’s gorgeous, but he’s also annoying, and I’d never date him.

Right?

More than frustrated with myself for not being able to answer that question, I take a seat at the back table, drop my pack onto the floor, and slump in the chair. Then I prop my elbows on the table and rest my head in my hands.

“You look tired,” Alex states from right behind me. “Rough night?”

“Go away,” I mumble, massaging my temples.

“Can’t.” He pulls out the chair next to mine. “We got assigned as partners.”

“Great. Just what I need right now.” I lower my arms onto the table and stare ahead at the front of the classroom where a podium and desk are, along with a massive fireplace. The teacher hasn’t arrived yet, but several students are taking seats at various vacant tables.

“You know, we don’t have to be enemies, Gemma,” he eventually whispers under his breath. “We’ve known each other since we were kids, and you’re Aislin’s best friend.”

I twist to face him. “What does that have to do with us not being enemies?”

He shrugs and rests his arm on the table. “It just feels like this years-long vendetta you have against me has gone on for a long time. And you’re my sister’s best friend, so I feel like we could be friends … if you’d just stop being mad at me for whatever reason.”

My nostrils flare. “Are you seriously trying to say that you have no clue why I don’t like you?”

He hesitates before nodding. “I really don’t. I mean, you used to talk to me when we were younger, but then you just stopped, and every time I try to speak to you, you get annoyed.”

His confusion over this fuels my annoyance.

“Maybe you should rewind over everything you’ve said or done to me and go from there.” I face forward in the seat again.

I’m not only puzzled about what he said, but I also don’t get that, after years of us tolerating each other, he’s suddenly speaking openly about the things we both silently agreed to not speak of. At least, that’s what I believed was going on.

Now I’m wondering if I was living in my own alternate reality or something.

He releases a quiet sigh then fiddles with the leather band around his wrist. Again, I wonder what’s up with him. My thoughts also travel back to earlier when I overheard him talking about dreaming of stars.

I glance at him from the corner of my eye. Has he been having recurring dreams, as well? If so, and if we were friends, I could talk to him. But I don’t trust him. I hate that I don’t. It’s difficult to be around someone so much when you feel as if they will talk about you behind your back the moment you walk away.

Maybe I should tell him that is why I don’t like him so he’ll at least understand.

I part my lips. “I?—”

“All right, class.” The teacher briskly waltzes into the classroom, interrupting the words before they can even leave my lips. “Today, we’re going to be practicing self-defense moves against witches. As you know, this is one of the most difficult tasks since witches’ power derives from magic, not their fighting skills or strength.”

Aislin crosses my mind. It’s bizarre to talk about fighting witches when I’m best friends with one. However, there are good and bad ones. That can be said for all different creatures. Although, a lot of keepers believe evil doesn’t exist in our kind. I’m not so confident I believe that. In fact, sometimes, when I’m around certain keepers, I get this odd feeling of darkness flowing off of them.

And the truth I’ve never even dared say aloud is that one of those keepers is Aislin and Alex’s father, Stephan. Every time I’m around the guy, this prickling sensation rolls through me. It’s the exact opposite of what I feel whenever I’m around Alex. It’s like my body is trying to warn my mind about him. It makes no sense, though—he’s their father.

“Told you we are partners,” Alex remarks as he pushes his chair back from the table.

I realize I’ve zoned out and have no clue what’s going on, other than everyone is getting to their feet.

“Um …” I stare up at Alex stupidly. “What’re we doing?”

The corners of his lips tug up into an amused grin. “We’re practicing self-defense moves against witches.”

I crinkle my nose. “How are we even supposed to do that? Witches use magic.”

More amusement sparkles in his eyes. “The academy created that magic simulator. It’s up and running, so we’re going into that.”

I release a heavy sigh as I stand up. “Great.” Then I turn and walk toward the doorway the class is filing out of, Alex trailing behind me.

“You seem upset,” he says quietly.

“You don’t know me well enough to make that speculation,” I reply, even though he’s right.

“I know you better than you think.” He walks close behind me, to the point where that buzzing is making my eye twitch. “You’ve been friends with my sister for years. And we used to be friends, too.”

“Well, I’ve changed a lot since then.” I chew on my bottom lip, telling myself to stop talking, to end the conversation there. That he’s the enemy. But the words come out, anyway. “Doesn’t it feel a bit weird that we’re practicing protecting ourselves from witches when Aislin is a witch?” I glance over my shoulder at him, and his expression says it all. “You do.”

He shifts uncomfortably. “Of course I do, but I also know that not all witches are like my sister. And if I’m going to go out and fight evil, I need to learn these skills so I can protect myself.”

He has a point, and I’m annoyed that he does.

Instead of telling him that, I turn back around and exit through the doorway. He remains quiet as we follow our instructor down the hallway and up the spiral stairway that winds up to a tower at the castle’s top point.

The room that we end up in is spacious and has stained-glass windows. The ceiling is pointed and has windows, as well, revealing the sunlight sparkling in the sky above. It’s a nice day, and I find myself longing to be outside—to be anywhere but here really.

“Okay, class, gather around. Take seats on the benches. You can also sit on the floor.” He points to the carpet covering the brick floor.

I opt to take a seat on a bench and, to my happiness, Alex sits down on the floor. I’m getting situated when the teacher grabs a lantern on the wall and yanks on it like it’s a handle. The wall shifts, and behind it is another wall, but this one is made of sparkling glass.

Excitement rushes around the room as everyone takes in what I’m guessing is the entrance to the simulator. But I’m feeling somewhat skeptical. It’s definitely made with magic, which means witches had to have helped make it. I know Aislin wasn’t part of this, and as far as I know, she’s one of the few keepers who also has the moon-like witch’s mark. So, what witches or wizards helped make this? Why would they help make something that teaches keepers to fight against them? It doesn’t make any sense.

I make a mental note to ask Aislin then try to pay attention as the instructor prattles on for a while about the rules then announces the first pair who will enter.

“Alex, Gemma, would you two mind going first?” he asks, glancing from Alex to me.

If I had my way, I’d decline. It’s not that I’m a chicken. I just feel really weird about doing this. But Alex being Alex jumps to his feet.

“Sure,” he replies in a way too upbeat tone.

I drag myself to my feet and trudge across the room. The closer I get to the simulator, the more the buzzing inside me increases. My eye twitches again, and I quickly scratch it, telling myself to chill the hell out.

“You okay?” Alex asks, his green eyes reflecting the light as he assesses me with a hint of concern.

“Yep.” I square my shoulder. I can handle this.

I can.

I—

The second I step forward, I’m sucked into a vortex of cold, bright light. It swallows me whole and, for a brief, star-flicker of a moment, I think I’ve passed out. But a handful of seconds later, my feet land on the ground. Of course, I land with the grace of a drunk ogre and end up tripping and falling on my hands and knees. I grunt then mentally curse myself for landing so idiotically.

And Alex makes it worse when he lands with the flawlessness of an angel, his feet gently touching the grass. He drops his eyes to me and frowns.

“Are you okay?” He hurries toward me as I stumble to my feet.

“I’m fine.” I brush the grass off my hands and knees. “I just wasn’t expecting that.” When I elevate my gaze to him, his hand is outstretched toward me. I slant back. “What’re you doing?”

He sighs then places his fingers in my hair. “You have grass in your hair.”

“Oh.” Face palm .

He picks the grass out, dropping them to the ground, seeming totally unaffected by the buzzing, unlike me. My skin is roaring with humming heat that I feel like I might turn into one of the stars dotting the lavender sky …

“Wait … Why is the sky lavender?” I stare up at it then at the silvery trees encompassing us. “Where the heck are we?”

“In the simulation … I think,” Alex mumbles, but his voice has a trace of uncertainty.

“Did the instructor say anything before he sent us in?” I wonder, noting a breeze dancing through the air. Purple and silver leaves flutter from the trees and gust across the field we’re standing in. I’m mesmerized by the place and how connected I feel to it. I didn’t expect this, especially since, technically, this isn’t a real place.

Alex has grown quiet and hasn’t responded to my question. I glance at him and notice how uneasy he is—his posture stiff, his gaze intensely taking in the surroundings.

“What is it?” I ask, brushing strands of hair out of my eyes.

With his lips pressed together, he glances at me. “I got sucked in right after you. It was about a second after, but during that second, our instructor shouted something about how this wasn’t supposed to happen.”

My lips part in shock. “Like we weren’t supposed to get sucked in here?”

He shrugs then crosses his arms. “I’m not sure.”

My mind goes into overdrive as worry floods my body. “If we’re not supposed to be in here, then that means we’re not in a simulation but some random magical place. Like we went through a portal or something.”

“And that means we need to find an exit.”

“We don’t even know where we are,” I stress. “Do you know how hard that’s going to be? Not to mention we don’t even know what this place is. There could be anything hiding in these trees.”

“True, but”—he wavers—“while this situation creeps me out, I feel like this place isn’t necessarily bad.”

“Me, neither, but that doesn’t mean I’ll let my guard down.” I reach for where I usually keep a dagger tucked in my boot, but it’s not there. “Shit. My dagger isn’t on me. I know it was there before I got sucked in here.”

Alex pats his ankle. “Mine isn’t there, either.” He straightens and peers around at the seemingly empty land. “Whatever brought us here didn’t let our weapons through.”

“You think something brought us here?”

“I do.”

The silence that follows sends a shiver rolling through me.

“Come on,” Alex finally says. “Let’s go see if we can find an exit.” He starts to step forward but pauses and flicks a glance at me. “Be careful, okay?”

“You, too.” I may not like him that much, but he is Aislin’s brother. Deep down, however, in a place I won’t admit, I know I want him to be careful because he used to be my friend.

We don’t speak as we hike across the field, the crunch of the grass filling up the silence. Eventually, I notice that the texture of it is glass-like and the crunching noise is the sound of it breaking beneath our shoes.

“This place is weird.” I catch a leaf in my hand, only to become aware that it’s a crystal in the shape of a leaf. “It’s like it’s made entirely of glass and diamonds, like we’re in a snow-globe or something.”

“God, I hope that’s not the case.” Alex shudders as he continues forward.

“What if we are?” I drop the crystal-like leaf. “That probably means we’re being watched right now.”

As soon as the words leave my lips, Alex and I stop, and our gazes travel to the sky.

“No … there’s no way we’re in a snow globe.” A drop of doubt weighs in his tone.

We begin hiking again. The closer we get to the trees, the darker the sky gets. I’m still not uneasy about this place, but the idea of wandering around in the dark doesn’t sound appealing.

“So … I heard you were going out on a date with Henry,” Alex abruptly says as we near the border of the forest.

“How the heck did you hear about that?” I grimace. “Wait—did Laylen tell you?”

“No, I overheard Henry telling his friends.” Alex casts a glance over his shoulder at me, his eyes now shadows against the fading light. “Laylen knew?”

I nod. “He overheard him asking me out.”

“Oh.” A crease forms between his brows as he reaches forward and moves tree branches out of the way. “When did this happen?”

“This morning.” I stare at him. “Why does it even matter?”

He rubs his lips together. “It doesn’t.” He faces the forest, still holding the tree branches out of the way. Then, sucking in a breath, he steps into the trees.

I follow suit, and my jaw drops.

The leaves, bushes, and flowers dotting the area emit a lavender glow, sheltering everything from the darkness.

“Wow,” I whisper in awe as I turn in a circle, taking in the way the leaves dangle above us, glowing like a massive chandelier.

“As pretty as this is, we still need to be on alert,” he stresses, his body tensing. “For all we know, there could be?—”

He’s cut off by the sound of laughter echoing through the air.

It sounds close.

Really, really close.

Our gazes lock, and then he’s snatching a hold of my hand and yanking me behind nearby bushes. He pulls me with him as he quickly crouches down.

“What—”

He hurriedly places his hand over my mouth. “Shh …” he whispers, giving me a pressing look.

Before I can question what the hell his problem is, voices flutter from the other side of the bush.

“What’re we doing out here?” a girl asks in a light tone. Her voice sounds familiar.

“I have a surprise for you,” a guy replies, his voice filled with both excitement and nervousness. “Just stand right here, okay?”

She laughs, and that’s when it hits me.

“Wait …” My voice is muffled against the palm of Alex’s hand. I don’t need to speak the words aloud, though. His expression reveals that he already knows.

That the two people standing on the other side of the bush are us.