The Fallen Star

Vomit burned at the back of my throat. And even though I didn’t want to, I started to cry hysterically. My tears had no affect on Stephan whatsoever, which I assumed as much. But I caught a glimpse of guilt flash across Alex’s face.

Maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t over for me yet.

“Alex, you can’t let him do this,” I cried. “Please. This is so much worse than detaching my soul, and you know it.”

I could see in his eyes that he could feel my pain, and for a moment, I thought I had him.

Tears streamed down my cheeks. “Please.”

And then….he turned his head away from me.

My heart broke. I knew I should’ve never trusted him. How could I have ever kissed him? As beautiful as he was, and as wonderful as his kisses felt, a part of me had always wondered if everything he did was a rouse.

And now I knew. That part of me had been right.

The prickle traced up the back of my neck, releasing an overwhelming sense of pain. And I’m not talking about the pain throbbing in my leg. Nope. This was a whole new level of pain. The kind of pain that grips at your heart and rips it apart. The pain that comes when someone betrays you.

Stephan walked up to me, the rock smoking madly in the palm of his hand. “It’s time.”

With tears streaming down my cheeks, blooding dripping down my leg, and my heart breaking, I shook my head. This was it. This was the end of my life. As short and sad lived as it was, I didn’t want it to come to an end.

Stephan held the rock in front of my face. For a split second, I thought I felt my skin glow warmly beneath where the locket was touching. But it happened so quickly that it was probably just my imagination. The sparks of electricity were going insanely wild, after all. They were probably heating up the metal.

“It’s time.” Stephan repeated.

I took one last look at Alex. His bright green eyes seemed to have lost a little of their shine. When I turned back to Stephan, a rush of warmth swept through my body. Fu

Stephan gri

I tried to picture the life I’d never know.

The humming in my head rang louder and louder until I couldn’t think anymore—couldn’t feel. The last thing I saw was Alex’s horrified expression before my eyes slipped shut. He had no right to be horrified. He let this happen.

I thought I heard a loud crash, but my eyelids were too heavy to open. Everything shifted black, and then…

I was gone.

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Jessica Sorensen lives with her husband and three kids in the snowy mountains of Wyoming, where she spends most of her time reading, writing, and hanging out with her family.