Unbroken (Shattered Promises, #2.5)

Chapter 5

Aislin touches her hair as she frowns. “I ran into a bit of a problem as the Wicca Shop.”

I blink my eyes a few times then let go of the bedpost when I get my bearings. “Why am I not surprised? Trouble seems to center around you.”

She aims me a disgruntled look and then looks at Gemma. “Like you’re doing any better. What the hell happened after I left?”

I sit down on the foot of the bed beside Gemma’s feet, feeling the electricity, which is surprisingly quiet, barely there, fading. It makes me nervous. “She’s possessed.” I lean over and point to the mark on her arm. “And from what I picked up, our lovely father put this on her,” I tell her, my voice dripping with bitterness.

She shakes her head, her eyes enlarged. “But how is that even possible?”

I shrug and then explain to her in detail what I know, which isn’t a lot, hoping she’ll have a magical solution to fix this. I can tell by the time that I’m finished explaining stuff to her that she’s as lost as I am on what to do.

“I can’t believe she attacked you.” She sinks down on a chair in the corner near the door that leads to the back.

“Why?” I ask, leaning in so that my hip is against Gemma’s leg, if for no other reason, because I desperately need to touch her. I get a bite of nips, but softer than usual. “She’s possessed by evil. It’d be weird if she didn’t attack me.”

“I know, but…” she mulls over something deeply. “It’s just crazy. I mean the mark… it’s only supposed to show up on evil.”

“She said she had evil blood in her,” I explain. “But I’m guessing that’s the words of our father, not her.”

She pulls a hesitant face. “How can you be sure, though? I mean, we hardly know anything about her family… her mother was so secretive about her father. For all we know, he could be Malefiscus.”

“Watch it,” I warn. “Don’t you dare go there?”

She slumps back in the chair and a puts her arms on the armrests. “I have to because you’re sure as hell not going to. You never think clearly when it comes to her.”

I want to yell at her and deny what she’s saying, but the truth is I don’t have a clear head when it comes to Gemma. Between my lust, befuddled emotions, and the sparks all connected to her, my head’s foggy ever time she’s near me. It fucking sucks yet at the same time I like the feeling of no control…. I’m conflicted.

“So do you think you can figure out a spell to take the mark off her arm?” I ask, changing the subject as Gemma lets out a loud exhale, trying to roll on her side, still asleep. The binds around her legs and one of her arms restrain her from moving too much though and she ends up on her back again.

“Well, I might of,” Aislin says, impatiently tapping her foot on the floor. “If your ex-girlfriend didn’t steal my spell book. I mean, what the hell was that about. She’s not even a witch.” She mutters something under her breath, shaking her head in annoyance. “You know, I’ve always hated Stasha.”

“You and everyone else,” I tell her. “Including me.”

“Then why did you date her?”

“Why does anyone date anyone? Because they’re bored.”

“That logic is a little misconstrued, Alex,” she says with a sigh. “Jesus, you’re so mess up sometimes.” She rubs her hand across her face as she thinks for what feels like hours, when really it’s probably just a few minutes. She glances at Gemma, then gets up from the chair, walks over to the bed, and examines her over. “I’m surprised you used your little gift on her.”