that which has no price.”
“One of us will save the world?”
“It sounds like it.”
Emma’s fingertips traced the words. “But which one of us? And what happens to the rest of us?”
“I don’t know. The big question right now is who’s making the rules? Aiden or some supernatural force? Where did the prophecies come from? I suspect it wasn’t Aiden. He doesn’t want to restore a balance of power. If anything, he wants more.”
She looked up at him. “Marcus said he wanted to restore a balance of power.”
“Maybe so, but I still don’t trust him.”
“I’m not saying we should trust him, but maybe he’s the one to restore the balance.”
“At this point, it could be any of us.
“So basically, we have a book with an oath and a pointless poem. Neither of which helps us very much.” Emma shut the book, nausea turning her stomach. “I can’t believe I destroyed half of Albuquerque for this. I killed countless people for nothing .”
“Emma you didn’t know. And there still might be something in there you missed. Raphael and Alex were desperate to get it. You did the right thing.”
“Did I, Will? It’s easy for you to say. There isn’t blood on your hands.”
He turned her to face him. “Are you so sure? You forget my past, Emma.”
Irritation burned through Emma, not at Will, but at herself for making him remember his time in Iraq and what he’d done since. He’d told her about a small portion of his time there, but she was sure there was so much more he kept to himself. “I’m sorry, Will. I’m worried I’m not strong enough.” She grabbed his hand and held tight. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m not giving up, but we both know my power is weak. Probably the weakest of all of us.”
“That’s not true. When it’s available to you, it’s just as strong as Raphael’s.”
“When it’s available. When I’m scared, it’s almost completely gone.”
“We’ll practice. The more confident you feel about using your power, the less scared you’ll be. Besides, you’ll do it to save Jake.”
“And to save you.”
Will brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. “I don’t need you to save me. I can take care of myself. I need you to focus on yourself, Emma. And Jake.” He rested their joined hands on his leg. “We’ll do the best we can with what we have. We have two advantages the others don’t. First, we’re joined, which we already know is a huge advantage since both Raphael and Alex were desperate to join with you. We’ll figure out how to use our joining to fight. But we have something else they don’t, Emma.” He paused and looked at her. “We’re fighting for something more than ourselves—we’re fighting for each other. That gives us greater power.”
“Or becomes our greatest weakness.”
“Only if we let it.”
She wasn’t sure he was right, but she’d humor Will for now. She needed any scrap of hope she could get at this point.
Hours later, she stood barefoot on the beach, sand squishing between her toes and the roar of ocean waves filling her ears. She stared at the expanse of water as the sun began to set.
Will’s arm wrapped around her from behind and she leaned into his chest, releasing an exhausted sigh. Even though they’d taken turns driving and napped, she was still tired.
Will brought his lips to her ear. “Is it what you thought it would be?”
She wrapped her arms over his and clung to him. Her entire life she’d wanted to see the ocean and here it was in front of her, larger than she imagined. But the ocean’s beauty meant nothing now—all that mattered was that the ocean was a tool that Will could use to test his powers. And a reminder that Jake had been right all those years ago.
“I opened the cabin and put our bags inside. As I suspected, it doesn’t look like it’s been used for several years. It’s musty so I opened the windows to air it out.”
“Okay.”
“I say we try to get a good night’s sleep and
“One of us will save the world?”
“It sounds like it.”
Emma’s fingertips traced the words. “But which one of us? And what happens to the rest of us?”
“I don’t know. The big question right now is who’s making the rules? Aiden or some supernatural force? Where did the prophecies come from? I suspect it wasn’t Aiden. He doesn’t want to restore a balance of power. If anything, he wants more.”
She looked up at him. “Marcus said he wanted to restore a balance of power.”
“Maybe so, but I still don’t trust him.”
“I’m not saying we should trust him, but maybe he’s the one to restore the balance.”
“At this point, it could be any of us.
“So basically, we have a book with an oath and a pointless poem. Neither of which helps us very much.” Emma shut the book, nausea turning her stomach. “I can’t believe I destroyed half of Albuquerque for this. I killed countless people for nothing .”
“Emma you didn’t know. And there still might be something in there you missed. Raphael and Alex were desperate to get it. You did the right thing.”
“Did I, Will? It’s easy for you to say. There isn’t blood on your hands.”
He turned her to face him. “Are you so sure? You forget my past, Emma.”
Irritation burned through Emma, not at Will, but at herself for making him remember his time in Iraq and what he’d done since. He’d told her about a small portion of his time there, but she was sure there was so much more he kept to himself. “I’m sorry, Will. I’m worried I’m not strong enough.” She grabbed his hand and held tight. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m not giving up, but we both know my power is weak. Probably the weakest of all of us.”
“That’s not true. When it’s available to you, it’s just as strong as Raphael’s.”
“When it’s available. When I’m scared, it’s almost completely gone.”
“We’ll practice. The more confident you feel about using your power, the less scared you’ll be. Besides, you’ll do it to save Jake.”
“And to save you.”
Will brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. “I don’t need you to save me. I can take care of myself. I need you to focus on yourself, Emma. And Jake.” He rested their joined hands on his leg. “We’ll do the best we can with what we have. We have two advantages the others don’t. First, we’re joined, which we already know is a huge advantage since both Raphael and Alex were desperate to join with you. We’ll figure out how to use our joining to fight. But we have something else they don’t, Emma.” He paused and looked at her. “We’re fighting for something more than ourselves—we’re fighting for each other. That gives us greater power.”
“Or becomes our greatest weakness.”
“Only if we let it.”
She wasn’t sure he was right, but she’d humor Will for now. She needed any scrap of hope she could get at this point.
Hours later, she stood barefoot on the beach, sand squishing between her toes and the roar of ocean waves filling her ears. She stared at the expanse of water as the sun began to set.
Will’s arm wrapped around her from behind and she leaned into his chest, releasing an exhausted sigh. Even though they’d taken turns driving and napped, she was still tired.
Will brought his lips to her ear. “Is it what you thought it would be?”
She wrapped her arms over his and clung to him. Her entire life she’d wanted to see the ocean and here it was in front of her, larger than she imagined. But the ocean’s beauty meant nothing now—all that mattered was that the ocean was a tool that Will could use to test his powers. And a reminder that Jake had been right all those years ago.
“I opened the cabin and put our bags inside. As I suspected, it doesn’t look like it’s been used for several years. It’s musty so I opened the windows to air it out.”
“Okay.”
“I say we try to get a good night’s sleep and
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