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  The energy below shifted as the crowds on the beach thinned out and merged to the boardwalk. The sun got farther away. It must have been way after lunch.

  I got up and looked down at Daemon. He was like a freaking statue. He hadn’t moved from his spot, looking deep in thought, and continuing to ignore me. I leaned on the glass and said, “You know—you and I are the same. We don’t really fit anywhere.”

  He looked up at me sharply.

  “I’m not really a Nephilim, and you’re not really a Fallen. I wasn’t sure before because I assumed you were the Dark one, but your aura feels different than the rest. The brothers all have the same aura. Yes, they have slight differences and varying powers but the essence is the same. Lilly…” I paused. “Let’s not go there. Yours, on the other hand, it’s difficult to describe.” I met his piercing stare, then continued with caution. “What I’m trying to say is, if you need help trying to figure out your energy. I’m your gal.” I patted his shoulder and walked away.

  “Hey, Gabby?” he called after me.

  I turned with my eyebrows raised.

  “What’s in it for you?”

  I smiled and walked back closer, then bent low until we were eye level. “As you know, I’m only here to save Lilly. I don’t think it’s possible without hurting her. I didn’t get far with learning to harness my energy, so I need help with that.”

  He raised a brow with a skeptical look on his face. “How can you help me if you don’t even know how to use your energy?”

  I straightened up and crossed my arms. “Because, whether or not you like to admit it, I have the strongest aura here. So, if you teach me, I could use that to help Lilly and you. Besides, who else would help you? The brothers?” I sneered, before turning over my shoulder and walking away. “Think about it.”

  There were no changes with Lilly. She was in a protective energy bubble courtesy of Daemon, so I didn’t need to worry about basic bodily functions, sustenance, or keeping her clean. She was basically in stasis.

  My restless energy rebelled from being contained, so I stayed for only a few minutes. I’d been stuck in this room, worried out of my mind for several days. I could no longer sit idly by, needing to do something. I decided to get my stuff. I was wearing Lilly’s clothes, but they barely fit. Lilly was petite and five-four in height, while I was curvy and five-nine. I peered at Lilly one last time, closed my eyes, and dematerialized.

  ☈ ☇ ☈

  It worked! I couldn’t believe it! I looked around my room and beamed to myself. I hadn’t been sure that I could do it. The first time I’d dematerialized was with Daemon, after we had left Alec, and it was only a few blocks from my house. The Brotherhood had been stalking Lilly for a while before they made their move, from a rented apartment not too far from here. We’d dematerialized to a few other places before we ended up in Venice.

  I had assumed they were trying to lose the Nephilim trail, which didn’t matter as I was certain Alec would not follow since he had to fulfill the prophecy. It was the reason he had tried so hard to stay away from me in the beginning.

  Thoughts of Alec caused a surge in my chest, which turned into a deep ache, so I avoided them if I could help it. I had to stay strong for Lilly. I couldn’t afford any distraction at the moment.

  I packed a bag, then stepped out of the room in search of Mrs. Wilson.

  Startled by the sudden apparition in front of me, I let out a small scream when someone covered my mouth and pulled me back inside the room. My eyes bulged out until I felt a familiar energy zap through my body. I used to fear that zing. Now, I welcomed it like a lifeline. It drove the darkness away.

  I looked up and saw Alec’s gorgeous grey eyes.

  Tears shimmered in them as he lowered his hand. I threw myself at him, and he caught me in a tight embrace. I held on and welcomed his soothing energy, which caused tingles up and down my spine. Taking a deep, ragged breath, I finally let the tension leave my body for the first time in a couple of days. He held me until I got myself under control.

  He kissed the top of my head, then released me.

  “What are you doing here? How did you find me?” I asked in disbelief.

  He tugged my hand to sit on the bed. “I promised that I would never be far. I intend to keep that promise. It would take something significant for me to break that vow.” He smirked.

  I missed that cocky expression. My face broke into a smile, and my hand reached up and touched his face. I couldn’t believe he was in front of me.

  His eyes blazed with heat, and he pulled me to his mouth. I sucked in a lungful of breath and met his intensity with my own. He gripped the back of my head, crushing me to him. My mouth molded his, and our tongues joined together in a rhythmic dance. We kissed until our energy filled to the brim, then we sprang apart. The last thing I needed was the Brotherhood being alerted that I’d left. We stared at each other with heavy breaths and flushed faces.

  Once our breaths were almost back to normal, he pulled me to him once again and placed the softest kiss on my lips, which made my stomach clench and caused as much heat as his previous kiss. When he pulled away, I chased his mouth but missed, so I leaned my forehead on his to cool my uncontrollable urges. He placed his hand on my bare hip, but I had to grip his hand to stop it from moving. I had trouble dampening down my desires—I wanted Alec. If it was hard to control myself around him before, being away from him made it impossible. Just his kiss made me feel like I would combust. In a strangled breath, I said, “Please don’t move, I can’t…” I took several deep breaths and pulled away.

  His eyes glinted with a smug look, as his finger lifted my chin up. “You do not understand how much I want you as well. I have missed you so much. Even though I shouldn’t be here, I had to come,” he said and tucked me into his chest. “Please tell me what you’re doing here? I almost lost my mind when I lost track of you. Vik and Ti had to restrain me.”

  My brows drew together in confusion. I pulled away and looked at him. “What do you mean? Did you follow me to Venice?”

  He frowned. “Haven’t you been listening? I told you, I wouldn’t be far, and that I could find you, no matter where you were. Didn’t you believe me?”

  “Yes, but…” I shrugged.

  He raised his eyebrows.

  “What? I had to get clothes.”

  He stared at me a moment longer and snickered. “Oh, Gabrielle, are you trying to do me in?”

  I didn’t understand what the big deal was.

  “Did you sneak out of the Brotherhood’s lair?”

  “Yes,” I said, deliberately slowly. “I told you. I needed to get clothes. Lilly has been out cold since we left, and her condition hasn’t changed. No one was there, except for Daemon, so I figured I would come here and get clothes and inform Mrs. Wilson that we would be gone for a while.” I crossed my arms. “I don’t see what the big deal is.”

  His eyes narrowed, and finally, he took my hand. “You wouldn’t, would you?” he murmured. “We had been worried sick. I had imagined horrible things happening to you in the hands of the Fallen. The only thing that held me back was the prophecy and the fact that I could feel your emotions, so I could feel that you were unharmed. But when you disappeared, I thought I had lost you.” He squeezed his eyes shut, but not before I saw the pain in them.

  I scooted closer and wrapped my arm around his waist. “Once Vik and Ti calmed me down. I zeroed in on your location, and at first, I didn’t think I could get to you since you were so far away. I didn’t even think. I just had a strong urge to get to you—the panic in me didn’t dissipate, so the next thing I knew, I was in front of you.”

  “So the ritual really worked? You can get to me wherever I am, and you can sense me from far away?”

  He nodded dismissively, and his jaw clenched. I had upset him somehow.

  “What is it?”

  “Why are you all over town, risking yourself just to get clothes?” he gritted out in frustration before pushing up and pacing like he
had to walk off his excess energy. His phone vibrated in his pocket, which he ignored.

  I placed a hand on his arm to stop him from pacing. “What do you mean? I wasn’t risking myself. I came straight here.”

  He gaped. “What do you mean, you came straight here? Didn’t you dematerialize?”

  I rolled my eyes, flipped my hair in frustration, and flopped onto the bed. “Yes, I told you that already,” I said to the ceiling, in an exaggerated tone.

  The bed dipped, and he caged my head between his arms as he peered down at me. “You don’t understand, Gabrielle. No one dematerializes all the way from Venice to Beverly Hills. Not the Nephilim or the Fallen. No one. You need ley lines to do so. When you disappeared, it worried me that other Fallen ones would get to you.”

  I pushed on his chest and sat at the head of the bed. “What do you mean? I came straight here. I’ve seen you guys do it.”

  “Yes, we do it in short distances. If we go further than a few miles, it takes too much toll on our energy, so we tap into ley lines.”

  “What are those?”

  “Ley lines are where natural energies in the earth converge. There are different locations, where there are potent energies that one can tap into. These are points, which are used to travel long distances or sites of rituals that require massive energy. I’ve never heard of anyone that could travel without ley lines. Not even my father or I could do it. I did it for the first time today, but it only works to get to you.”

  My eyes grew in excitement. “Do you think I could travel wherever I wanted?”

  He pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned. “No, Gabrielle. Didn’t I just say how dangerous it was for you to be out risking yourself?”

  I raised my brow and sat up. “I am not a child.” I huffed.

  “Then stop acting like one.”

  I glared at him and got out of bed, ready to leave the room.

  He pulled my hand and laid his head against my stomach. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to fight with you. We have little time together. I just don’t want anything to happen to you.”

  I placed my hands on his face and broke into a big smile as I thought of the Caribbean, the resort Lilly and I went to last year during spring break with a bunch of our high school friends. We flashed briefly to white sands and a clear blue ocean. Alec let out a strangled noise, and I felt his panicked emotions. I lost my concentration, and we apparated back to my bedroom. I stepped back with surprise at feeling Alec.

  He jerked upward. “Gabby! What did you do?”

  “I felt you! That was the first time I felt your emotions,” I said in awe.

  “Gabby, Please. Please, don’t do that again. Promise me you won’t do that, especially without me.” He gripped my shoulders and caught my eyes, but I tried to avoid it.

  “Promise me,” he insisted.

  I deflated from my moment of elation. “Okay. I promise not to do it unless I’m with you.”

  As he turned, I added stubbornly, “Or unless I absolutely feel like it’s necessary.”

  After a few minutes of intense scrutiny and a heavy sigh, he let the whole thing drop, which left a moment of tense silence between us.

  “That was quite amazing. I know your energy will have no limit once you discover its full potential,” he said wistfully.

  My arms crossed, and I asked, “Why can’t I feel you?” in a bitter tone.

  He reached for my hand again—he seemed unable to not touch me. He looked contemplative for a minute then said, “You’re still discovering your powers, but once you can control that part of your energy, you should be able to. I think you can only tap into my stronger emotions. What I felt just now was true panic. I’m surprised you didn’t sense my panic when you disappeared. I suppose, now, you might be able to, since you now know what it feels like.”

  Satisfied with his answer, I nodded.

  He reached for my face and kissed me again but pulled away quickly. “You should go before they discover that you’re gone.”

  My heart sank low. “I need to speak to Mrs. Wilson.”

  “I’ll take care of it.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’ll plant the idea that you and Lilly went to live on campus.”

  “Is that what you did to them when you kidnapped me? Is that why they are not fazed by all of these? My voice rose as I recalled the night, several months ago, when Alec took me away from Lilly, and I had discovered about the Nephilim and the Fallen. Is that why Roger had no recollection of his encounter with your lot that night?”

  He raised his hands and stepped back. “Wait a moment. Firstly, I wasn’t there. If you recall, I was with you. So that was the work of the Brotherhood, not me. Secondly, it is best that they know nothing about all of this. Otherwise, we are placing them in greater danger.”

  My anger ebbed just as fast as it had come. I didn’t know why my temper was so volatile. It hadn’t always been like this. It was either Alec stirring up intense emotions in me or this new power causing an emotional roller coaster.

  He must have sensed my emotions then because he stepped closer, pulled my hip, and kissed me one more time: a searing kiss that left me breathless.

  “Go,” he commanded and handed me my bag.

  I leaned forward for another kiss, bit his lower lip, and disapparated.

  Three

  Chapter 2: Reality

  When I got back from seeing Alec, the brothers were still out, and Daemon was in the kitchen preparing dinner. Who would have thought the former Dark one could cook? I sat on the kitchen island and tried to talk to him again, but he still wouldn’t talk. He only gave me one-word answers or grunted out responses. When he finished cooking, he slid a plate towards me, took his to the couch, and started watching TV. I took the hint and left him alone after eating.

  I had been stuck in this room since dinner, my thoughts filled with Alec and the discoveries I had made today, which kept my mind too preoccupied for sleep. Even the rhythmic sound of the waves didn’t help.

  I glanced sideways and looked at the moon shining through the window. The cool breeze flowed in and fluttered the drawn curtains. The moonlight allowed me to see Lilly’s profile.

  As I lay in bed, I thought of how much lighter I felt just from being in Alec’s arms. He drove away the darkness that had latched on to my soul. I debated if I could do the same with Lilly. I had grown more confident in my abilities, but I still struggled with the thought because I didn’t want to hurt her.

  I got up quietly and sat on Lilly’s bed. I peered closer just to make sure she was still out. Yep, no changes.

  I closed my eyes and concentrated. Once the burning energy inside of me ignited, I slowly projected it outward. I pictured it as smoke and had it coat the whole room. I couldn’t see it, but I could sense it.

  Once the room was secure from both intrusion and sound, I prodded the barrier that had coated Lilly. Alec had said something today that nagged at me—he said I could do anything once I put my mind to it. When I knocked Lilly unconscious several days ago because she had attacked Alec, I had to step in and protect him. It was pure instinct.

  Here went nothing. I pushed through Daemon’s barrier and paused and reinforced my shields. Her dark, cold void was much stronger than the Brotherhood’s, and even now, it battered at my shield. I had to grit my teeth as I tensed all over, finding a way in. I took a slow and controlled breath while I fought off the evil void that sought to destroy and extinguish the light inside of me. It was the darkness that no light could penetrate. It was pure evil. I had to do this quickly or it would overpower me. I couldn’t just sit here and shield.

  I did what I had done to Alec when I healed him from the injury he had endured fighting the Brotherhood. I thought of all of my love for Lilly, all of our past, and our sisterly bond. It was easier than with Alec. With him, I had been in denial of my feelings for him. For Lilly, it came easily. I would move mountains for her. I would give up my life to have her back. It had only been the two
of us, and as the older sister, I felt responsible for her.

  My energy responded to my raw emotions. My tears fell, unguarded. Sobs tore through my chest as I allowed myself to feel the pain of losing Lilly. The first time I had lost her was when Alec took me away from her, but I had hope and was full of determination to get back to her. This pain didn’t compare. It was comparable to her death. “Please, please let this work. I can’t lose my sister,” I whispered. “Lilly, please come back to me. You hear me. I love you so much, Lilly. Please forgive me. Please. Please. Please,” I begged, and my voice cracked. Deep, heaving sobs turned to hiccups.

  My energy responded and flowed out of me in a steady stream, which fought against the dark void inside Lilly. I ignored the battle of energy that fought for dominance and continued to think and feel my love and need for my sister.

  “I can’t lose you. Please don’t leave me. You’re all I’ve got. Don’t leave me,” I begged, and more energy flared from within—determined to hang on to Lilly.

  Lilly gasped, and the arm I held twitched.

  I held my breath, afraid to hope as I stared and studied her energy. The dark void was dissipating. I let out a shaky breath.

  She gasped for breath and opened her eyes briefly.

  “Lilly.” I shook her, hopeful she would wake up.

  She started gasping for air, which quickly switched to short, shallow breaths.

  My heart stopped. I shook her and simultaneously scanned her energy. The dark energy had almost completely left her, but she’d been left with nothing—just an empty shell. I froze. Fear consumed me and left me paralyzed. Cold engulfed my body as I refused to accept and think of what that meant. I hesitated for only a heartbeat before I sucked my energy in. The little dark energy she had left flooded into her system, greedily saturating every inch of her body.

  As the dark void filled her, hope flowed out of me. I had lost my sister. There was nothing left of her; nothing to save—she truly was the Dark one. To save her was to kill her. There was no light inside of her.