Two Halves Series by Marta Szemik Page B

felt the pull, too. If Aseret was going to take me, she was coming along. He wanted us both.
    After waiting more than two hours, Eric regained his strength and vortexed us to the hill. I spent my last night before the marking alone on the cliff where I’d first heard Xela’s footsteps. My back resting on the rock, I watched the black sky roll in overhead. Each star that twinkled into being reminded me of Xela’s gem and its reflection.
    One night left in the unknown hole of oblivion. Tomorrow, it would be decided who I was. Tomorrow, the water mark would imprint itself on my wrist—or perhaps it would be the sphere? Would I choose a sphere if it meant I could be with Xela, even if I would have to sacrifice the world and its future—including my sister’s fate—for her? Would Xela be there when we bound Aseret to the underworld, or would she escape his wrath?
    My gut told me she’d be there. If it was so easy for the seekers to summon her from the lair, what would prevent Aseret from abducting her again? The guilt in knowing I was responsible for Aseret getting to her tore away at my conscience. Should I have stayed away? She tried to warn me and protect me. Perhaps if I didn’t see her, she’d be safe.
    Xela, where are you?
    Perhaps my last night unmarked would be better spent with her before all hell broke loose.
    I can’t. I promised .
    Perhaps I could meet Mira and Eric in the underworld when the time was right and be at Xela’s side until then.
    No, I promised Xela I wouldn’t come, and I swore to my sister I’d be back by dawn.
    I clenched my jaw and propped my head on my hands, enjoying the light breeze. Harlow, our falcon, stared at me from a rocky crevice twenty feet above. His glistening eyes reflected the star-sparkled sky. “What do you think?” I asked in his tongue.
    “I’m too simple to help you.”
    “You’re more than simple, Harlow.” I smiled.
    “I know that where there’s a woman, there’s trouble.” He ruffled his feathers as if shrugging.
    “Yeah, you got that right. Trouble.” I laughed, and a crooked smile tugged at my face. My thoughts wandered to the kind of trouble I could get into with Xela, quickly swerving toward the underworld.
    A quiet rustle on the forest floor registered in my ears, but I knew they weren’t the delicate feet of a woman I’d fallen in love with.
    Wouldn’t she understand a broken promise? Surely, a black witch marked with a sphere could understand that. But I had a reason for keeping my promises—if broken, they would haunt me. Worse than that, my broken promise could hurt someone other than me.
    “Xander.”
    I heard the tart, sugar-coated voice in my head and couldn’t mistake it with anyone else.
    “Xander.”
    I sat up.
    “Don’t do it, man,” Harlow warned.
    I ignored him, focusing my gaze on the ground below me, though I knew she wasn’t there. The smell of roses invaded the nightly breeze, but the floral aroma left a sharp, bitter taste on the tip of my tongue. I pictured the roses turning black.
    “Come to me, Xander,” she murmured.
    I strained to see where she was before I realized she’d called me from within. She was summoning me to the underworld. But it couldn’t be; Xela had warned me to stay away, and I’d promised—and my promises were almost impossible to break.
    “I miss you, Xander. Let me take your worries away.”
    I imagined what she’d do to me and unconsciously began fiddling with the white gem again. Part of me wanted to squeeze it until my hand bled, just so I could feel the rose-scented high. The other part kept my fist clenched in my pocket as the gem cuddled against the back of my hand. I turned my hand and let the crystal rest in my palm, keeping my eyes shut —because as soon as I looked at it, I knew I would squeeze it when I saw the promises Xela made reflected in its hypnotizing gleam.
    “I need you, my Xander,” she purred.
    But I promised.
    “Come to me, Xander. Be at my side.” The offer