How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
A secret? Secrets were rarely good. And since it was Alex… let's just say I wasn't feeling too optimistic, especially since he was being nice. Well, nice for him, anyway. It made me even edgier than I already was, and I couldn't help but wonder if he had some kind of hidden agenda for bringing me out here. (7.8)
Gemma doesn't exactly trust Alex, even though he's being uncharacteristically nice to her right now. Now that they're driving into the mountains, she's starting to suspect that he might try to kill her or something. Who knows what he has up his sleeve?
Quote #2
"How did they do it?" I tried to wiggle my hand free from his, but he wouldn't let go. "Make me unemotional."
He fixed his gaze on the floor and shrugged. "I don't know. I guess by shutting you off from any kind of emotional contact. If someone doesn't ever know happiness, sadness, or love, then how can they ever feel it?" (14.27-28)
It's super difficult for Gemma to hear that her grandparents weren't indifferent to her because that's just the way they are as people—instead they ignored her on purpose so that she wouldn't know any emotions. How messed up is that? Then again, given the stakes, is it messed up?
Quote #3
Laylen slid the keys out of the ignition and kept his voice calm. "Before you start freaking out, hear me out first. Trust me, you'll want what I stopped for."
"Trust you?" Alex let out a cynical laugh. "Are you kidding me?" He made a gesture at the window. "I already trusted you and look where it got us." (17.51-52)
Alex seems to take everything that Laylen does personally. He doesn't even acknowledge that Laylen has good intentions and wants to help them out by leading them to the Sword of Immortality. He just focuses on the fact that he's been lied to.
Quote #4
Balancing the little girl in one arm, he dangled the bag in front of the woman. "Now, like I said, we can do this the easy way or the hard way."
"You wouldn't dare," whispered the woman.
"Wouldn't I?" He looked down at the little girl in his arms. "Hey, sweetie, how would you like to go for a swim in the lake?" (21.49-51)
Gemma's mom is a Keeper and relies on Stephan to lead them with kindness and compassion, so when he threatens to send Gemma into the lake, she is horrified. He's definitely turning out to be a sketchy character.
Quote #5
"I can't say for sure because I don't have any proof, but…" He twisted his lip ring back and forth. "Okay, this is what I know about Stephan. First, he is very power hungry, and he likes to be in control of things at all times. If anyone gets in the path of what he wants, he'll do whatever it takes to get rid of them. And because he's the leader of the Keepers, no one questions the decisions he makes." (23.114)
Laylen's not trying to be a snitch, but he can't let Gemma go into this blind to Stephan's faults like Alex is. He has to warn her and let her know that Stephan might be the person who betrayed her mother and sent her to a watery grave.
Quote #6
He swallowed hard, looking… well, really vulnerable. I had to admit, I didn't like how it looked on him. It made me feel anxious and had me questioning whether he was going to fall apart. He couldn't fall apart. Not if his father was secretly working with Demetrius and was the one who had gotten rid of my mother, and was heading here right now. (32.25)
Poor Alex doesn't know who to believe. He's grown up unquestioningly following his father's orders, and now Gemma is telling him that Stephan is evil and working with the Death Walkers. What's a guy to do?
Quote #7
I felt a tiny rush of relief when I saw that Alex was in the living room. At least he believed me now—about his father being bad—and was on my side. At least I wasn't in this alone. That's what I thought, anyway, until I realized that he was just sitting on the couch, complete unguarded. There was no reason for him to be here. Why hadn't he run out into the forest to save me? (26.18)
Hold up… why is Alex just hanging out in the cabin by himself instead of chasing after Gemma to save her? He's obviously switched sides, which means that he believes everything that Stephan says. Dun dun dun…
Quote #8
And then… he turned his head away from me.
My heart broke. How could I have 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 ruse.
And now I knew. That part of me had been right. (36.53-55)
Talk about a brutal moment. Gemma is hoping until the very last second that Alex will come through and save her from Stephan's diabolical plan, but instead he just turns away and lets it happen.
Quote #9
The prickle traced up the back of my neck, releasing an overwhelming sense of pain. And I'm not talking about the pain I felt when my leg was cut. This was a whole new level of pain; the kind that grips at your heart and rips it apart; the pain that comes when someone betrays you. (36.56)
Watching Alex simply deliver her into Stephan's hands is just too much for Gemma. It's physically painful for her to realize that he's not going to help her at all, and that he's on Stephan's side in all of this.
Quote #10
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. (36.64)
Gemma feels like Alex has no right to look like he's horrified by what his father is doing. After all, he's an accomplice in all of this, so he is as guilty as Stephan is of betraying Gemma.