“Can I take a crack at it?”
“Be my guest,” Dawn said. “It’s beyond me.”
After returning from the lab, she spent that afternoon puzzling over the contents of the book and was so engrossed that she didn’t even hear Cal come in. He was standing behind her chair and speaking to her before she realized he was there.
“Hey, sweetheart. Miss me?”
“Of course,” she mumbled, “Miss me?” It was their little ritual, but she was so distracted by the book tonight, it was little more than repeating a formula.
“Hey,” he said, tugging her around to face him. “Now how about a proper greeting?”
“I’m sorry,” she sighed, burying herself in his arms. “I did miss you a lot.”
“And what are you up to that’s got you so focused?” he asked. His voice was calm, but she thought she detected a hint of anxiety in his tone. Gemma knew that Cal feared losing her to the data stream again, and he often cautioned her to be careful when she was binging on information.
“A book I got from Dawn. It’s in a code that I’m just starting to figure out.”
“TheBook?” he asked, his eyes wide. “The book Nojan brought back with Mayra? You’re figuringthatout?”
Gemma shrugged. “Well, I think I’ve got the basic syntax down but there are still a lot of variables I have to decipher.”
“Gods, woman, does your genius know no bounds? No one’s been able to make hide nor hair of that thing, and you’re got the syntax down in a few hours?”
Gemma smiled. She could hear the pride in his voice. “Give me a day or two and I’ll have a full translation.”
Cal laughed and then kissed her. Kissing her led to fondling her, which led to seducing her, which led to a handful of orgasms, leaving the book forgotten for the night.
But she returned to it in the morning, and it wasn’t long until she had the first few lines untangled.
This is the tale of Light and Darkness. Its players, its stage, and its ending will all be revealed in these pages. Knowledge of this tale will not prevent the events contained within from happening. Light will consume darkness, just as darkness will claim dominion over the light. So it has been. So it will always be.
Gemma couldn’t contain her excitement. If her hypothesis was correct, this book contained information about the Seekers and the Guardians. About the Battle of the End and all that was to come. Translating it would be her sole priority.
Until Cal had come home, rushing to her excitedly. “It’s time,” he said, swinging her up into his arms. “He finally relented!”
Gemma smiled. “Your brother? He’s going to let us leave the grounds again?”
“Better than that!” Cal laughed, his joy apparent. “He’s consented to marry us. In three days!”
Gemma gave him a shy smile. Although she’d told him that a wedding wasn’t important to her, now that the day was upon her, she admitted to herself that she’d been anxious to make things official between them.
In three days, I become Gemmaline Vartik. Irrevocably tied to the man I love.
She couldn’t sleep a wink that night.
