Alright, here's another teaser from The Promise.
“So what is it?” Alex asked.
“It’s a candle,” I stated the obvious.
He rolled his eyes and the corners of his mouth quirked up. “Obviously, Gemma. But what’s so special about it.” He picked up the small black candle, with a short wick that would probably only burn for a few hours. “Is it just a candle? Or is it something else?”
I stood up and picked up the lighter. “A witch gave it to me.” I didn’t bother mentioning the bargain I made to get the candle. I’d worry about that when the time came. “She said its navitas irretitus, which is supposed to trap energy.”
He was already shaking his head. “Those no longer exist. I know because I looked into it when,” he gestured back and forth between us. “I found out about you and I and wanted to see … if we could … I don’t know, be together somehow.”
“She said it was the only one left,” I explained.
We both stared at the candle, the electricity blazing as it slowly tried to kill us.
“Why’d she give it to you?” He pinched the wick with his fingers. “And how do we know if it really is a navitas irretitus.”
“She gave it to me as a gift,” I lie. My hand shook as I lit the lighter and moved the flame for the wick. “And there’s only one way to find out if it works.”
We held our breaths as the wick ignited. There was no magical sparks, no enchanting sound effects. There was only silence and the beating of our hearts.
Just like the witch said, the electricity of the star was momentarily trapped inside our bodies, unable to intensify—unable to kill us. But only momentarily.
“As soon as the wicks gone, it’ll stop,” I said. “And the electricity will come back.”
He nodded, still staring at the flame. “I know.”
We locked eyes, taking in the silence, thinking of the endless list of possibilities.