“I’m not sure…” He struggles for words as his hand rests on the small of my back. “Gemma, I’m so sorry.”
I slope my chin up to meet his eyes, then reach up and brush his hair away from his forehead. I move robotically, as if I’m supposed to be doing what I’m doing, not of my own accord, but because my body needs to touch him. “It’s not your fault. I’m the one who said to do it.”
“But I didn’t have to do it,” he says and then shuts his eyes as I place a hand on his cheek and run my thumb along his jawline. “Part of me wanted to do it,” he admits, opening his eyes. “Part of me has wanted to… to bite you ever since you reentered my life.”
I’m uncertain how to take his revelation, whether I should be frightened or feel flattered. Honestly, I feel neither. I feel drained dry, subdued and emotionally empty. “What happened exactly? I just blacked out?”
He nods, smoothing his hand down my back. “It happens sometimes… from the loss of blood and emotional overload.”
“Did Draven tell you anything about my mother?” I ask, praying to God that all of this didn’t happen without a reason.
“Yeah, he… he told me… he said that she’s still there, in The Underworld, fully alive.” He looks like he’s unsure whether he should be happy or not
I’m not sure if I should be happy or not, either. Yes, she’s alive, but she’s also been down there for a very long time. I think of the dream, although now I’m starting to wonder if it was a vision I somehow entered without a crystal ball, something I’ve been wondering if I can do for a while. “So she’s still alive?”
He nods, but then quickly adds, “But Gemma, Draven could see if she was still there, but what he couldn’t tell me is what condition she’s in.”
“Condition?”
“Whether she’s continued to be sane or if she’s lost her sanity to the torture,” he tells me uneasily.
My mouth forms an ‘o’. “So she might be crazy?”
“She might,” he says. “But she might not.”
“I’m not sure what would be worse,” I mumble. “Finding out she’s dead or knowing she’s been down they’re all along, yet she’s crazy.”
He sits back on his heels as he rubs his hand across the top of my head, like I’m his pet or something. Emotions begin to surface inside my body again, the faint stab of the prickle is evident, but it’s not completely clear how I actually feel about any of this; if maybe it’s simply an illusion built on a massive abundance of stimulation I’ve been feeling.
“You’re going to have to take it easy,” he tells me, helping me to my feet. “You’ve lost a lot of blood.”
I slowly nod my head, mesmerized by the sound of his voice. “Okay.”
He ducks his head to look me square in the eyes. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
“Yeah.” I clutch onto his arms when the world suddenly sways. “I’m just a little lightheaded and tired.”
“It’ll wear off for the most part,” he states quietly. “Most of the lightheadedness and exhaustion will anyway, but a few things will stay.”
I understand way too well what he means because the other things are lingering inside my body right now, causing me to gravitate toward him. If I weren’t so tired, I’d probably be begging him to bite me again. “Now what do we do?”
He slips his hand underneath my arm and supports my weight, leaning me against his chest. “Now we try to figure out how to get into The Underworld to save your mom.”
I grasp onto him to keep from crumpling to the ground and we begin to make our way toward Adessa’s building. “And how are we supposed to do that? Go visit another Vampire with a unique gift?” I ask.
He seals his lips together as he guides me around a parked car. “I’m not sure exactly how to find that one out, but I think I might know someone who does.”
My shoes scuff against the gravel as I fight to keep them moving “Who?”
We stop at the bottom of the building and he glances up at the window we jumped out of earlier. “Alex,” he says.
I freeze and glance up at him. “You think Alex knows how? Why? I mean, wouldn’t he have said something…” I trail off, realizing that what I’ve just said is probably one of the stupidest things to leave my mouth. “Never mind.” I pause. “So what? We just ask him and hope he tells us the truth.”
“I think you could probably get him to.” Laylen’s mouth turns downward. “If you play the situation right.”