Free The Evanescence (Fallen Soul Series) by Jessica Sorensen

and you said she left… please tell me you found her and that she’s okay.”
     
     “I didn’t... I searched everywhere.” I sit down on the bottom step and rest my arms on my knees. “I don’t have a God damn clue where she went… and I’m worried.”
     
    He presses his lips together, nodding his head. “You know she has her Foreseer power again, right? She probably used it to go somewhere.”
     
    “Yeah, but where…” I tap my fingers on my knee anxiously. “What if she went to… What if she went after Helena? I mean, she wasn’t thinking rationally. What if she’s planning on doing something stupid, like getting revenge?”
     
     He swallows hard. “As much as I hate to say it, would you really blame her? She thought she was alone and that we were all dead because of Helena. Or should I say I was?” He raises his eyebrows accusingly because it’s partly my fault that he died.
     
    “Yeah… I’m sorry about that. I didn’t want to kill you—Evan didn’t want to kill you anyway. We just had to see what you knew about Helena and that stupid loophole and things just kind of spiraled.”
     
    “Hey, no judgment here,” he says, letting out a loud breath as he stares at the front door. “I know why you did it and I’d have done the same thing probably because… because I love her, too. Maybe not in the same way as you, but it’s still love.” He shrugs and shakes his head as he stands up. “We need to figure out where she is, and what she’s doing, though, because you’re right. She’s probably thinking irrationally and, as much as we both love her, we both know how much trouble seems to be drawn to her.”
     
    My neck muscles constrict and I pop my neck, trying to stay composed, even though he keeps saying he loves her. It’s annoying, although it’s not the same way I feel about her. At least, that’s what he says. I’ve always had my doubts about their “friend” relationship.
     
    I rise to my feet and we go into the living room. The fire has burned out and it’s dark. I flip on the lamp and draw back the curtains, so the damn Sprites will quit peeking in. Laylen takes a seat on the sofa, slumping back, and crossing his arms. I sit in a chair opposite of him, resting my hands on the armrests. Evan hasn’t come back yet, which makes me kind of nervous. He’s an Omnia and everything, but still, there’s a lot of madness always going on and when someone disappears I have to question it.
     
     “Evan should be back,” I remark, rubbing my hand down my face. “It’s getting too dark to keep searching for Gemma, and besides, I’m pretty sure that, if she were here, we’d have found her by now.”
     
    Laylen kicks his feet up on the table and winces from the movement. His hand travels down to his knee and his face twists in pain as he massages his kneecap. “You know, you two are ruthless. It friggin’ hurt to die.”
     
    “Yeah, sorry about that,” I say, lost in my own thoughts because I swear I can feel her—feel her pain and almost see what she’s thinking. She’s hurt. She wants to make someone pay. She’s seeing a lot of red. “If there’d been another way, I’d have done it.”
     
    Laylen’s lips tug upward. “Now, I think that we both know that’s not true and that, deep down, a tiny part of you enjoyed watching me get hurt.”
     
    I don’t deny it. As much as I’ve gotten over the fact that Laylen is a Vampire, he’s still the guy Gemma runs to for help. She still cares for him and apparently he loves her.
     
    An awkward silence builds between us and he starts scratching at his arm. I notice the marks on his skin, but it takes it a second to register.
     
    “Laylen, are those…” I trail off.
     
    “Yeah, they came back when I woke up—or came back to life.” He traces his finger along his forearm, along the Mark of Immortality.
     
    “We’ll get Aislin to remove it again,” I assure him and he fakes a smile, looking like he’s going