The Fake Heart (Time Alchemist Series) (38 page)

“So what do we do now?”

Sea-green
foamy
eyes and icy blue
gem-like
ones stared into mine. Finally Dove broke the silence, “What do you want to do, Emery?”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, lungs filling with cold air, preparing for their outburst, “I think we should look for the other shards of the Elixir.”

“To get your real heart back?”
Leon started but I cut him off, shaking my head.

“If there is one thing I’ve learned in the past
four months
, is that, someho
w, someway, there’s a reason the
three
of us
met. There’s a reason why my fake heart didn’t give out that night in the cemetery. Something—I can’t explain it, maybe my…
alchemic intuition
—is telling me we should follow Guinevere’s path. Not for me, but….well, we’ll find out when we get there, won’t we?”

I didn’t want any more victims like Jack Alexander or Marjorie to suffer from selfish people like Ivan Novak. And the source of all of that greed is coming from the promise of riches and immortality. I didn’t want people like Dove and Leon to have to watch the people they love getting hurt
or
being killed in front of them to obtain some promise of power.

This is what my heart was telling me. And I didn’t need a fake one made out of a pocket watch to tell me that.

“I want to find a way to destroy the Elixir—permanently.”

The wind blew around us, brushing my thick auburn hair around my face. I reached up to hold the
glittery, purple colored
flower hair clip in place. No way was I going in to class on the first day of second semester with a mop top.

If somebody had asked me last summer if alchemists had existed, I would have laughed in their face. If somebody had asked me three months ago what I really wanted, I would have begged to have a chance at a normal life again.

But I think meeting Dove and Leon—and getting killed and saved
over and over again
—had brought something to me. Maybe this is what my real purpose was. Not to get straight A’s
,
click with the popular chicks
,
or snag the perfect boyfriend.

We all know how well
that
turned out.

Maybe this is what I was meant to do—something that Guinevere had tried to do but couldn’t. I had people I wanted to protect now, and people I could save. And besides—I felt like I needed to owe Guinevere. She
had
sacrificed her beliefs to save my great-grandmother’s life.

And if she hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t be here.

Finally, after a long, agonizing minute, it was Leon who spoke first, “I’m with you, Emery.” He stepped forward, taking my hand in his. Warmth spread from the tips of my fingers to my toes at his touch.

“And I as well,” Dove said, taking my other hand. Her touch was soft and warm, and it spread like a gentle fire throughout my body.

I grinned, looping around them and linking their arms in mine. Together, we made a very clumsy walk to our fi
rst classes
of St. Mary’s Academy.

END

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

There are no words to describe how thankful I am to be surrounded by family and friends that have supported this work. Really, I wanted to write an entire page on how difficult it is just to muster up the courage to write this book and get it self published. I’ve spent almost two whole years on this book, and it would have never been possible without the help of some amazing people.

To
Rebekah
, for proof reading and giving me helpful tips and insight on how to make my book shine.
Without you, this book probably would not have seen the light of day! I love your honesty and your hard work. Thanks for being the best friend a girl could ask for.

To my other friends—in real life, and online (especially
tumblr
)—thanks for putting up with my endless complaints and giving me plenty of hugs to keep me going.

And lastly, to my family, especially my Mom, who was the one to inspire me to write and give me constructive criticism on how to make my book better. Thanks for never giving up on me, putting up with my attitudes and mood swings, and just being generally awesome.
LUMI.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

“The Fake Heart”, the first in a four-six book series, is
Allice
Revelle’s
first work. Expect the second title, “The Fake Eye” to be released sometime soon!

If you enjoyed this book, the author would love to hear your honest thoughts and reviews. She is also open to constructive criticism.

To leave a comment, please visit her blog at:

http://allicerevellebooks.blogspot.com/