Juliet Immortal

nothing but the mist, stretching on forever.
    Forever
.
    What if Romeo’s right? What if I’m a fool for spending one of my last days on earth attending to Ambassador business?
    I glance up, bite my lip. Seven-thirty-three.
    I can practically hear the clock tick from across the room. The bakery is unusually quiet. Far fewer customers come to claim their morning fare, and those who do sit in strained silence. It’s almost as if the world at large can feel that two lives hang in the balance.
    My eyes slide to where Nancy would usually be standing behind the counter. Instead, Nancy’s daughter—a strong-faced woman with wiry black and gray hair pulled into a long braid—plucks bear claws from the case and delivers coffee into the hands of teachers, students, and shopkeepers. She looks sad, worried, as if she’s having a hard time managing the few customers even with another woman I don’t recognize helping her. Probably best if I give her one less person to worry about.
    Just when I’ve given up and begun to gather my things, the bell above the door tinkles and Gemma shoves her way inside. She finds me in the corner booth and shoots me a glare that could melt bones as my jaw drops in shock.
    Her aura is on
fire
this morning, burning a bright, strong red. Her time alone with Ben last night accomplished more than I’d hoped.
    One soul mate down; one to go
.
    Ben must not be ready yet, or I wouldn’t be sitting here. The moment both auras catch flame, I’m always pulled back to the mist. Unless …
    If I see Ben today and his aura has changed as well, then I’ll know there’s no going back. I’ll have to decide: join Romeo or let the specter of my soul take me. I know I should be afraid for my future, but all I can think about is Ben and how it kills me to think of him glowing the cherry-red-of-no-return for Gemma. For anyone except …
    No. I won’t think it. I
won’t
.
    “Hey.” I force a smile, pushing my worries from my mind as Gemma stalks toward me. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
    She stops next to the booth but doesn’t sit down. She stands, arms crossed, looking down at me, making me squirm. “Yeah. I could tell. I just don’t know what you’re so happy about. Everyone else is totally freaked.”
    “Why?”
    “Have you not turned on a television or computer in the past fifteen hours?” She rolls her eyes. “Wow, you must have been hot for Dylan last night not to—”
    “I wasn’t with Dylan last night, Gemma,” I say. “And I want to explain what—”
    “Nancy is
missing
,” Gemma says, dismissing my explanation with an impatient wave before I can make it. “It’s all over Facebook.”
    The thought throws me. “Missing?”
    “Like officially a missing person, reported to the police, on the nightly news, would be coming to an Amber Alert near you if they did that for old people.”
    “Oh no.” Her poor daughter; no wonder she looks so upset. “That’s awful.”
    “Well, it’s been an awful few days.” Gemma’s scowl deepens. “I can’t believe you and Dylan … I mean, I expect lies from him, but I thought you were different. I thought that innocent act was real.”
    “Gemma, please,” I say, keeping my tone gentle. “What about everything you said to me in the car? About staying away from Dylan? Wasn’t that a lie?”
    “That wasn’t a lie. That was good advice.” She looks out the rain-streaked glass next to my booth. It’s another horrible, rainy, miserable day, and I’m beginning to think I’ll never see the sun again. “But you’re right, I guess. I’ve lied. You’ve lied. There’s no one you can trust.” Gemma’s brightly stained lips droop at the edges. “I should have learned that a long time ago.”
    She’s wearing fuchsia lipstick today, with a bright fuchsia sundress that falls all the way to the floor and a black shrug sweater with scraps of gauze whirling off in every direction. She’s as bright and vibrant as ever, while Ariel is forgettable in another pink and brown sweater. Stripes this time. Ariel seems to have a dozen versions of the same sweater, equally plain and uninspired. She and Gemma are so different. It’s amazing they’ve stayed friends for as long as they have.
    But they
have
, and it doesn’t matter what I think. I can’t let Ariel lose this friendship. I could be gone by the end of the day.
    “Gemma, please.” I scoot to the edge of the booth and stand up, facing her. “I’ve never lied to you. I just