Unfaithful (56 page)

“You have it on you?” Simon asked, poorly concealing the nervousness in his voice.

I tightened my lips in confirmation and unconsciously gripped the little vial in my sweatshirt pocket. From the contact with my skin, the glass had grown warm and my fingers seemed to quiver with tension.

“Make sure you hold on to it,” he warned me with a sardonic grin.

“Don’t make me angry or I might kill you too,” I teased, my tone serious.

“You want to kiss me too?” he shot back, grinning. “Because I don’t think Ginevra would like that very much.” He tipped his head at his girlfriend next to him, encircling her waist from behind.

“No offense, but one brother at a time is enough. I was just dying to say it, that’s all.”

Ginevra smiled and they exchanged a light kiss. “Aren’t you tired?” she asked, worried about me as always. “You should get some sleep.”

“I don’t think I could manage that. Not now, at least.” The blood was churning through my veins.

Simon and Ginevra glanced at each other. I noticed her nod slightly as if answering a question I hadn’t heard. “Gemma,” Simon began, his tone kind, “it would be wise if she and I used the next few hours constructively.”

“We need to train,” Ginevra said, turning to me, straightforward as always. “Until we tell Evan about the plan, there’s nothing else we can do. We have to be ready in case something goes wrong. You can never be too prepared. You have the poison on you and you’ve got to be ready to use it at any moment. But now you need to get some rest,” she insisted, giving me no choice.

“Can’t—can’t I go with you two?” I asked timidly even though I already knew the answer. I really didn’t want to be alone, not in this state of alarm.

They exchanged another look.

“Okay, you can come with us, but you have to be extremely careful,” Ginevra warned, her tone serious.

I could barely believe my ears. The workout room had always been off limits to me. It seemed impossible that Simon and Ginevra were being so accommodating. Or maybe I should consider it a bad sign—they were so afraid to leave me alone they were willing to bend the rules. Then again, her vault had always been off limits too and she’d just taken me there. It seemed as if all bets were off today, as though all the boundaries had been brought down.

Soon even the one between life and death would be obliterated. And it would take me with it.

The heavy door to the workout room closed with an ominous clang like the barred door of a prison cell. I kept looking around uneasily, unsure of what was going to happen. It wasn’t the first time I’d been in this room—Evan had shown it to me over the summer, and a couple times we’d hung out there with the others, laughing amid the black punching bags filled with cement and the mats covering the dark marble floor. But I’d never been there when any of them were seriously training. When they did, for my own safety I wasn’t allowed to enter for any reason. Now, for the first time, a sinister shadow descended on the room.

“Ready?” Simon stood in front of Ginevra. His tone was both challenging and determined.

For a moment their eyes frightened me: an Angel against a Witch, each prepared to receive the other’s deadly blows.

“Always,” she hissed, a smug look on her face.

My heartbeat suddenly accelerated. Had they forgotten I was here? I nervously shifted my weight from one leg to the other, not knowing what I was supposed to do in the meantime. Why had nobody explained it to me? All those times they hadn’t let me in there were making me awfully uncomfortable right now.

“Gemma, stay behind me,” Ginevra ordered, her tone far from comforting.

“Huh?” She couldn’t be serious.

“Do as I say,” she hissed, her eyes never leaving Simon’s.

Ginevra actually wanted me to stand in the trajectory of Simon’s blows? From the look on his face I could tell I didn’t have much time to consider alternatives that might be just as risky. I followed Ginevra’s order and darted behind her back. The tension between the two of them grew as taut as an electrical current across a silver wire.

Before I knew what they were planning to do, a violent explosion burst from Simon’s body and a trail of fire came at us at breathtaking speed. I stifled a scream and held my breath, instinctively covering my face with my arms. The overwhelming force made Ginevra’s hair fly back and the scorching heat of the fire hit me full in the face. My stomach felt as if it had been turned inside out. Ginevra’s foot squeaked against the floor as she countered his attack.

I couldn’t breathe. Suddenly the heat disappeared, leaving me trembling. I heard amused laughter and opened my eyes, allowing myself to inhale.

It was Simon. “Relax!” he told me, grinning. “I’m not planning on killing my girlfriend.” I looked at Ginevra, disoriented. My breathing came in irregular gasps as if my body couldn’t get enough oxygen.

“Did you think he was going to roast us?” she admonished me.

“I didn’t have much time to think about it,” I said, still in a state of shock. “The fear was enough to fry my neurons. But what—” I was dazed.

“The enemy never leaves you time to think—remember that. You always need to be prepared.”

“Why weren’t we hit?” I asked, still confused.

“Because I prevented it. I created a barrier and removed the air around us, which is why you couldn’t breathe. Fire can’t cross through it. That’s what protected us,” she explained, looking proud of her demonstration.

I stared at her, wordless with amazement. “It’s incredible,” I murmured to myself. “By the way, thanks for warning me,” I scolded her, not hiding my sarcasm.

Ginevra snickered. “That was nothing. Managing to do it when I’m moving and under more difficult circumstances is even harder, but we’ve learned to defend ourselves. If you know the things that can destroy you, you can learn to protect yourself—some of the time.”

Her discussion with Simon popped back into my mind. Ginevra was right—Subterraneans had no way to defend themselves against Witches’ poison, whereas Witches could escape Subterraneans’ attacks.
Witches were more powerful.

I gaped at Ginevra, blown away by this new awareness, but she instantly rushed off, disappearing from sight. I tried to follow her with my eyes as she darted through the room, dodging the fireballs Simon hurled at her like lightning bolts, threatening to reduce her to ashes.

My heart in my throat, I flattened myself against the wall. The room must have been reinforced with a special material, because the missed shots hit the walls without leaving a mark. I couldn’t remember ever having heard such a din.

Scaling the walls at warp speed as if gravity had no power over her, Ginevra deflected the fireballs even while spinning through the air. Occasional silver lights burst from her body and rushed at Simon like bolts of lightning, but neither of the two ever managed to hit the other. The floor trembled under their blows.

Ginevra chased Simon and when she reached him their bodies collided in a wild battle that led them from one end of the room to the other. They were spectacular, especially Ginevra. I couldn’t stop staring at her in frank admiration. I’d never seen her like this before. One moment she was dodging Simon’s blows with feline grace and the next she was on the offense, leveling swift, violent attacks against him. She was like a cougar ever ready to pounce. The power she emanated was perceptible, like an aura. It was everywhere, so evident I could almost see it.

I could barely follow them with my eyes. For a moment the whole room seemed to spin. All the noise had thrown me off balance, and both Simon and Ginevra noticed. They stopped and looked at me.

“Something the matter?” Ginevra asked, looking concerned.

I hadn’t realized it was so obvious. “No, I’m a little tired, that’s all,” I said. “I feel kind of dizzy.”

“You need to get some sleep,” Simon said, almost reproachfully. “I know only one person who’s more stubborn than you, and the two of you make a nice couple.”

I smiled. “I guess you’re right, but this whole thing is making me so nervous I don’t know if I’ll be able to—”

“I’m sure a hot bath will help,” Ginevra suggested, her tone kind.

“Maybe that’s what I need,” I finally said.

“It’s ready and waiting. Want me to come with you?”

“No, you guys go ahead and keep training. I’ll be fine.” They had already done enough for me.

“When you’re finished, you can lie down in my room or in Evan’s, if you prefer. Take all the time you need.”

“Okay, thanks,” I said.

I left the room, their concerned eyes still on me, climbed the stairs, and walked down the hall without relaxing my grip on the vial. Having it with me made me feel safe, to a certain extent. When I opened the door to the spa, a cloud of hot steam hit me. The room was filled with that particular spicy scent that made me think of Ginevra. The soft candlelight made the atmosphere so relaxing.

I carefully took the vial out of my pocket and rested it on the edge of the tub. With my hair tied up so it wouldn’t get wet, I let my clothes slide to the floor and sank into the scalding-hot water. The relief was instant.

I rested my head on the edge of the tub, closed my eyes, and surrendered to the comforting sensation, letting myself be cradled by my thoughts. It was insane—I’d spent so much time and effort trying to escape death only to decide now to seek it out of my own free will. But it was what I had to do, a flaming hoop I had to jump through in order to bring the show to an end.

I’d made up my mind. No matter how much Simon’s plan frightened me, I’d already made too many mistakes, rash decisions for which we would all have to pay the consequences. I couldn’t continue to put the others in jeopardy and stand on the sidelines while they fought a battle that should have been mine.

The last time I’d acted on impulse and refused to accept Evan’s plan, I’d almost lost him. It was a risk I was no longer willing to run, not if I could help it. If there was something I could do to prevent it, I wouldn’t let Evan fight Drake again.

It was up to me now.

Evan was right. None of them were being forced to protect me and yet neither Simon nor Ginevra had ever shown a second’s hesitation about it. From the very beginning they had always been prepared to support Evan and me. Even when Evan’s decisions had seemed questionable to them, they’d been there. For that I would be eternally grateful to them.

But now I had the chance to do my part.

In spite of the circumstances, none of them were treating me like a fragile piece of glass. I could play a role in their lives just as they had in mine.

That’s what I felt now—like one of them. We were fighting a war for my sake and only mine. It was only fair that I be the one to walk onto the battlefield. I would be the one to kill the Reaper Angel who was after me.

Of one thing I was finally sure: the constant fear of being hunted, of feeling him breathing down my neck, had made me tremble for months, but now that I was the one choosing death, I wasn’t frightened any more.

When I came down the stairs I found the living room empty and silent. Simon and Ginevra must still be down in the workout room. I could have joined them, and would have if I hadn’t suddenly felt sleepy and drained. The hot water had soothed every muscle in my body and I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to find the energy to climb back up the stairs to Evan’s room. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d gotten any sleep and I’d never felt so tired in my whole life.