Page 65 of The Mist of Stars

She is lounging on the bed, flipping through a book with her shoes kicked off, but she pauses mid-flip, her gaze traveling to me. “That’s crazy. And bad, right?”

I shrug then take a sip of my soda. I’m sitting on the sofa with my shoes kicked off and my dagger sitting on the cushion beside me. “Probably, but until we know what the machine is, we can’t say for sure.”

Henry has spent the last thirty minutes ignoring us, but he suddenly decides to chime in. “Hmm … if only you had someone who could tell you what the machine is.” His taunting tone is a warning I’m about to deal with a frustrating situation.

Sighing, I set the soda down on the coffee table, collect my dagger, and pad over to the bathroom doorway.

Henry is standing up and, like I suspected, an impish smirk is playing at his lips.

I point the tip of my dagger at him. “What do you know?”

“I know a lot of things.” His eyes glint with haughty amusement.

Aislin marches up beside me with frustration rolling off of her in waves. “Tell us now, or I’ll zap you with a wart spell. You can pretend all you want that that doesn’t bother you, but I’m calling your bluff.” She raises her hands out in front of her, and blue flames ignite in her hands.

“You’re doing it twice, huh?” I state, noting she has both her hands ready to throw the spell at him.

“Nah, the left hand is going to hit him with a brain boiling spell.” Her lips curl into a chilling grin. “I’ll make sure it’s temporary and stops before Henry returns to his body.”

Henry narrows his eyes at her. “That’s not how that spell works.”

“Wanna bet?” she challenges cockily.

I’m not sure if she’s bluffing, but Henry would only be able to know that for certain if he was a witch. Apparently, he isn’t, since his smile deflates.

“Fine, I’ll tell you. The reward will be in your reactions, anyway.” His shit-eating grin reemerges. “That machine is a portal, and it goes to the other portal.”

“The other portal?” I mutter right as Aislin sputters, “Oh my God.”

It clicks a second later.

“Shit, that’s the machine in your father’s basement.”

“I know.” Aislin steps backward. “I need to call Alex and warn him.”

I nod, worry pouring through me. “I’ll try to get more information out of this dumbass.”

“Hey,” Henry whiningly protests. “I help you, and that’s how you repay me?”

I whirl toward him, a storm of aggravation bursting through me. “No one owes you anything, demon. Now fess up and tell me why there’s a portal going from under the academy and into Stephan Avery’s basement.”

His lips part but then shut, his mouth curving into a grin. “You still think I’m a demon. Oh, Gemma,” he tsks me. “I think the other version of you was a little bit smarter.”

I resist the urge to swallow hard. “How do you know about the other version of me?”

“Because I’m from that world.” He reduces the space between us with a measured step. “I can’t believe you don’t recognize me. Sure, I look different, but my charming personality is still the same.” At my confusion, his smile broadens. “Blond hair, gorgeous. Like an idiot, you thought I was a ghost.” He stops short of the barrier spell. “I’m a faerie, actually. The name’s Nicholas.” He winks at me. “You used to know me well. Like, really, really well.”

I pull a disgusted face. “I doubt that.”

He rolls his eyes. “Be rude all you want. All of this is about to end, anyway.”

“All of what?”

“This life, this world. It was never supposed to exist. It’s why death walkers are creeping up from nowhere. It’s why everything in your life is about to fall apart.” He props his hip against the vanity. “You know, you guys are really lucky that Stephan doesn’t want the world to come to a total end. Sure, he’s the villain, but he’s a villain who wants world domination, not the world to end.”

My mind is racing a million wing flutters a second. “I don’t know you.”

“You do. You just erased yours and everyone else’s memories when you reset time because you thought it’d be better than the world we were in.” He pushes away from the vanity. “The problem, Gemma, is that when you reset time, you cracked apart the whole universe, and that will eventually create more holes. Times and worlds start seeping into each and eventually turn into a black hole that swallows everything up.” He wavers. “Now,granted, before that started happening, I’ll admit this world was much better for you. Sure, you didn’t realize you and Alex were soul mates, but I think that actually helped you.” He points a finger at me, smirking. “Something you should think about when you return to your other life.”