Page 64 of The Mist of Stars

“What the hell is that thing?” Laylen asks as he slows to a stop beside me.

The iridescent glow of the machine reflects across his face, highlighting the worry there.

The machine resembles the one Gemma and I entered in class, except this one is slightly different. It’s framed with metal and has a visible electric current that zaps and cracks as it seemingly charges.

“I’m not sure. Hold on.” Grabbing my phone from my pocket, I snap a photo of it then send it to Gemma.

Laylen watches from over my shoulder. “You want to see if it’s the same thing as what’s in your dad’s basement?”

“Yep.”

My phone pings with a message.

Pretty Violet Eyes: Yeah, that looks exactly the same as what I saw. Where the heck is it? It looks like you’re in a tunnel.

Me: We are. There was a secret passage in Professor G.’s office. Is everything going okay with you guys?

Pretty Violet Eyes: Well, Henry showed up here, and he’s possessed, so we knocked him out and locked himin the bathroom with a binding spell. The creature that is possessing him is a total dick.

“She says it so casually.” Laylen shakes his head as he reads the messages. “She’s so weird.”

“She is, but I like that about her.”

“Me, too.”

Me: Are you guys okay?

Pretty Violet Eyes: Yeah, we have it totally under control. Are you guys okay?

Me: Yeah, we’re just going to try to figure out what this machine is, and then we’ll be back.

Pretty Violet Eyes: Please be careful.

Me: You guys, too.

I pocket my phone then study the machine.

“So, pretty violet eyes, huh?” Laylen teases after a beat of silence ticks by.

I give a half-shrug. “It’s fitting.”

“When are you going to tell her you’ve been in love with her for a while now?”

“I never said I love her.”

“You never said you didn’t.”

I clear my throat. Emotions really aren’t my thing. “Can we focus on figuring this out?” I swing my arm in the direction of the machine. That’s when a lightning bolt of energy zaps out of it, wrapping around my wrist and jerking me forward.

Laylen shouts, but it’s too late. I’m already being pulled into the light.

Nothing but light.

Just like the dreams I’ve had for years.

20GEMMA

“So, apparently, there’s a machine in a secret passageway of the school that looks just like the one in your father’s basement,” I tell Aislin after I’ve finished texting Alex.