“It’s the different crystals and their unique energies,” Alana says excitedly. “As well as Kaz and Ella getting rid of malware.”
I shake my head. “It’s just malware.”
She looks up at me, her eyes wide. “Don’t you see? It’s a computer virus.”
I do. The woman’s brilliant. It took special stones and the right energy. A potted plant explodes behind me and I pivot to make sure pieces from the clay pot don’t hit her.
Mathias backs away from the crystals.
Justice looks at me. “What do you want me to do?”
I try to control the energy in the garnets. Mathias, Scarlett, and Quinlan return and put their hands on the crystals, succumbing to blackmail. I like that. I feel the ice disintegrating inside me but then the melting stops. I’m still half frozen. It’s not enough. I look at Alana and I try to show her how I feel. “You tried. You did everything you could.”
“No,” she says, her brows drawing down, fury lighting her gaze. “It’s not enough. We can do this.”
I can feel my feet freezing again. We were close, but the disease has progressed too much in the garnet. There’s no way to save it.
“Try harder,” she says, tears streaming down her face.
“It’s okay,” I say.
“It’s not.” She lifts her hand and I feel the energy draining from me into the stone. She grabs her dad’s phone out of his pocket.
“What are you doing?” he asks.
Her eyes widen. She instantly starts typing on the screen. “I’ve got it,” she says, backing away and holding the phone up to her face.
Justice looks at me. “She’s emoting a video now?”
I stare at her.
“Hi, there,” she says earnestly into the camera. “This is Alana Beaumont. Many of you don’t know me because I’m usually on Aquarius Social. This is my first time mind-melding on Malice and I have to say it’s because I think Thorn Beathach is the hottest guy on the planet, and I’m so ready to dish all about him to you. We’re at the ball right now, having snuck off to a cute little potting barn. He’s such a mystery, right? I need you to get all your friends and come back to this post ASAP.”
I feel a hum in the healthy garnet. The sound of ice breaking resounds through my head.
She lifts the camera higher, sucking energy from her users and pushing it into the stones. “Hi, y’all. I’m back on Aquarius Social. Yes, I survived a serial killer, and I’ll tell you all about it later. Thank you for all the kind wishes; however, I need a favor. Would everybody watching me now hop on over to my account at Malice Media? Some of you may not have an account there, but I want you to go ahead and create one. We’re going to try something really cool, and if it works out, I’m going to give away a Porsche.”
“A Porsche,” her father mutters.
She looks at me. “You doing all right, Thorn?”
If anything, I’m bemused. “If this is my last day standing, I’m enjoying it.”
“Just keep charging.” She takes a deep breath and then flicks the button again. “Hi there. I’m back on Malice Media. Look at all you new users! Thank you to those of you who are coming over from Aquarius, and thank you to those who are new.” She pauses and leans around the corner. “Hey, Kaz. I need you to get me all the users I can.”
“Already on it,” he retorts. “I’ve been following you.”
“Isn’t that sweet?” she says, and she brings up the video again. “All right. I need everybody to explode-star on Aquarius and mind-meld here. Jump into the hologram with me and enjoy attending the ball from afar.”
She scans the room and shows her friends in their ballgowns. “Everybody right now, interact and feel what I’m feeling.”
A pot on the other side of Justice shatters and he partially turns to shield Scarlett. I can feel the ice receding from my legs.
“That’s it!” Alana cheers all of her followers. “Everybody, keep interacting. It’s like you’re all here—and don’t forget, you’re entering to win not only a Porsche but a Bentley.”
The woman is giving away every car I own. I can’t help laughing. My arms warm as social media users send energy to us through the two platforms. Ice cracks away in my chest, and finally I can breathe again. As I watch, the diseased garnet slowly warms and the ice falls away. It takes at least thirty minutes, and she keeps posting the entire time. The crystals all start to glow with a healthy hum.
She looks over the phone at me. “You good?”
I smile. “I’m better than good. Hey, Kaz!” I call out.
“Yep.”
Might as well take advantage of the moment. “We have enough juice right now. Send a spike directly into TimeGem and the Rendales. We’ll see just how they like that.” While they didn’t poison me, they still tried to attack my servers when they knew I was down.
Alana chuckles. “I like how you think.”
“It’s a good thing,” I murmur. “Because you’re coming home with me.”
EPILOGUE
Alana
We’re back at Thorn’s place, just the two of us. I’m not entirely sure how he made it happen, but within seconds, seriously seconds of curing him, he had me out the door and in the elevator headed to the parking garage—leaving my family and his at the ball. I’m sure my father secured our aquamarine and rushed it back to Aquarius Social.
Thorn leads me into the library, which is, quite frankly, my favorite place on the entire planet. “There’s something for you in here.”
I look around. “Another necklace?”
