I sat back in my chair and gazed up at the galaxy of stars above us, brilliant against the dark night. Tomorrow the moon would be at its smallest. It was the day my family were being put on trial – the day Orpheus planned to execute them – the day we would try to help them escape. This time tomorrow, we would either be sailing our way out of Melas forever, or…
The possibilities of what could go wrong pecked at my thoughts. Heat flushed through my body, but rather than making me feel weak, as it did when I was sick, it made me feel stronger – ready for what the day would bring.
I placed my hand on Jet’s arm. He turned to me, his body cloaked in darkness but his eyes shining.
‘You’re right,’ I said.
Jet let out a long sigh. ‘Finally you understand.’
‘You’re right – you are not responsible for changing me, and you wouldn’t be responsible if I were to become the Fire Queen. That would be because of decisions and actions that I alone had taken. That would be my decision.’
Jet swore under his breath. ‘You’re not going to leave this alone, are you?’
‘Who knows what we’ll face tomorrow, Jet. We both know it’s not going to be easy to get my family out. We both know that Orpheus will do anything to kill my family…Violet…you.’
Jet slumped back in his seat. I sat up taller.
‘I don’t intend on using the killing curse. I don’t want to change any more, and I don’t want to become the Fire Queen. I simply want to become as powerful as I can be – and that means learning as much magic as I can.’
‘I’ve taught you nearly everything I know,’ said Jet, staring off into the distance.
My mind returned to the magic that Jet had been teaching me in the last week since I’d been well enough to learn.
‘And I’m incredibly grateful,’ I said, rubbing his arm. ‘But please, I’m begging you, please teach me the curse.’
Jet’s body tensed under my hand.
‘You promised me, Jet,’ I said, pulling out my trump card; my last hope.
The wind picked up and rattled the leaves in the trees nearby.
Eventually Jet turned to me, met my gaze.
‘So long as you keep your promise to me, no matter how bad things get.’
I let my hand drop. ‘Yeah, sure, follow my heart – got it.’
Jet jumped from his seat and began pacing in front of me. ‘You’re…infuriating!’
‘What have I done now?’ I asked, heat flushing through me again.
‘You want me to teach you something that could take you away from me, forever, but you won’t take what I say seriously.’
I tipped my head back. ‘I’m sorry… I’m not myself.’
Jet strode over, crouched down in front of me and took my hands. ‘I know, and that’s what terrifies me. The moment you took control of the dead…you changed, and even the potion is only keeping your symptoms at bay. It’s not…bringing you back.’
I knew he was right, but the truth was, I didn’t care. My moral compass had shifted and I couldn’t even feel guilty. Not for the first time in the last few days, my gaze greedily raked over Jet.
I ran my fingers down the side of Jet’s face, making him startle.
‘Maybe you need to come to the dark side. Imagine the magic we could create together. Imagine who we could be together.’
‘You can’t mean that,’ said Jet, moving back from me.
‘If my memory serves me correctly, you haven’t always been such a goody-goody.’
‘That was…before, before you and your family saved me and gave me a second chance.’
I moved closer.
‘What are you doing?’ he asked.
‘What I should have done a long time ago,’ I said, then gave in to my desire and kissed Jet softly on the lips. He groaned and pushed me away, but I put my hands around his head, pulled his lips to mine, kissed him with a passion I’d never felt before.
I broke away. ‘Be mine.’
‘No, not like this,’ said Jet, standing and striding away, into the bushes. ‘I’m going for a walk – I suggest you…cool off…get some sleep.’
I watched Jet and then Boy disappear into the bushes, leaving me alone, with nothing but an unkept promise and an unfulfilled passion. Anger stirred inside me and I stood and threw my chair onto the ground. I contemplated running after Jet, begging him to forgive me, pretending that I was the person I used to be. But he would see through me; he always saw through me.
Pearl strode out from the tent, and even she looked startled by the sight of me.
‘You too?’ I said so sharply Pearl turned on her heels and disappeared back inside the tent.
I gazed around at our half-packed campsite. For the last week, we’d spent hours talking through our plans and our contingencies. Now the time for talking was over. The time for learning was clearly bloody over. The time for being alone with Jet was over.
I picked up my discarded chair and placed it back on the ground as a rare feeling of sadness washed over me. Jet had literally saved my life, not once, but twice. He’d been the only one there for me when I’d lost everything. And now I’d treated him as if he were some sort of sex object and sent him running into the bushes to get away from me. If I kept it up, the moment we left Melas, he’d leave me in search of a better life.
I found a pen and paper, then wrote him a note while the old me was still there.
‘I’m sorry, Jet – for everything. You’ve done so much for me. I shouldn’t have kissed you and I shouldn’t be forcing you to teach me dark magic. I
