The Underworld Read Free Page B

rested his arms on his knees.
    “She gave it to you because you have the stars
    energy in you. It was her way of trying to protect you
    from anyone who tried to use magic on you to get to
    the star’s power.”
    “So why didn’t it work when I was little?” My voice
    bit sharp and was ful of bitterness. “When Sophia
    detached my soul from my emotions, why didn’t it
    protect me? Is that not a form of magic?”
    Alex shook his head. “No, it’s a form of magic. But
    Stephan…wel , he knew what it was and took it off of
    you before Sophia detached your soul.”
    “Stephan knows what the necklace is?” This
    seemed to make the possibility of it actual y
    protecting me and the star not possible.
    He nodded. “That’s why I tucked it into your shirt. So
    he wouldn’t see it and make you take it off.”
    I remembered how, right before Alex had climbed
    out of the Jeep back at the cabin—back when
    Stephan had shown up with the Death Walkers—he
    had reached over and tucked the necklace into my
    shirt. Whatever you do, keep that hidden. Don’t let
    anyone know you have it , he’d said.
    “But why would you do that?” I questioned. “Why
    give it to me at al if you knew it would stop someone
    from being able to detach my soul? I thought you said
    that my soul had to be detached to keep the stars
    power thriving enough so that it could save the world.”
    He gave a look that made my skin go electric.
    “Because I wanted to stop anyone from being able to
    detach your soul.”
    I stifled a laugh. “I highly doubt that, especial y since
    you’ve told me a ton of times that my soul has to be
    detached.”
    “Yeah…but I…” He drifted off.
    “But you what?” I pressed.
    “But,” he took a breath, “when I first gave you the
    necklace, I was stil deciding whether or not I was
    going to let my father see you wearing it. If he’d seen
    it, then he’d have made you take it off before he tried
    to use the memoria extraho on you.”
    As unsurprising as this was—I mean, how many
    times had Alex lied and betrayed me—it stil made my
    heart hurt a little. “If that’s the case, then why did you
    give the necklace to me at al ?”
    He shrugged, his eyes wide with confusion. “I have
    no idea.”
    I shook my head, the electricity nipping at me like
    invisible gnats that I so wished I could swat away.
    “Wel , that’s nice.”
    “Look, Gemma,” he said, his voice very let’s-get-
    down-to-business. “I know I’ve done some pretty
    crappy things to you, but can’t we just move past it.
    The point is, I did hide the necklace from my father. I
    protected you from getting your mind taken away.”
    “Why, though?” I asked suspiciously. “I mean you
    were so dead set that Stephan was good and that I
    was completely wrong about him sending my mom
    into The Underworld. You were so determined that I
    needed my emotions to be taken away so the star’s
    power could save the world. So why the sudden
    change of heart?”
    He was quiet for a moment, which sent up a red
    flag in my mind that he was about to tel me a lie.
    “Stephan showing up with the Death Walkers,” he
    final y said. “There has to be something else going on
    —something bad if he is working with them.”
    I eyed him over warily. “If that’s what you real y
    believe, then why were you acting like you were on
    Stephan’s side—you just stood there while he hurt me
    and tried to take everything about me away. You
    didn’t do anything .”
    “I couldn’t do anything. I had to pretend that I was on
    his side. Besides, I knew as soon as he tried to use
    the memoria extraho on you, he’d black out.”
    “He blacked out?” I said. “Why?”
    “Because that’s what the sugilitedoes,” he
    explained. “Those who try to use harmful magic on
    someone who has sugilite on them, automatical y get
    magical harm done on them instead. It’s how sugilite
    works.”
    “What kind of harmful magic gets done on them?” I
    asked curiously,