The Witch Born to Smoulder (Inferno Book 4), стр. 18

‘I managed to stop…in time, before the damage was permanent. But even so, my heart is not pure like yours. I can’t change you.’

‘My heart is no longer pure, Jet, so don’t you see? It doesn’t matter.’

Jet groaned. ‘Of course it matters.’

I turned away from him, my mind racing.

‘That heart of yours has been damaged, and I’ve got no doubt that…arsehole Ezra…was the cause. But in time, Eva, you will heal.’

At the mention of Ezra’s name, I remembered the moment in my bedroom when Ezra proposed to me, promised to love me all of my life. Only hours later, he’d broken that promise and broken my heart…forever.

I took a deep breath and pasted on a smile before turning back to Jet. He was staring down below, a deep frown on his face as the larger boat made it closer to shore.

‘You know…’ I said, taking his hand.

Jet’s eyebrows drew together.

‘Do you remember when you asked me whether I wanted to be with you?’

‘What? No, Eva – that’s all in the past. We’re friends, remember?’

I brought his hand up to my mouth and kissed it.

‘Well, we don’t have to be just friends. I mean, if you teach me black magic, we can practise magic together – be together.’

Jet stared at me as though he didn’t recognise me at all. I shuffled closer and before he could move, I kissed him.

He pulled back. ‘What are you doing?’

I smiled and moved my body so that it was pressed against his. ‘I thought it was pretty obvious what I was doing. But let me try again…’

I leaned in and kissed him again, tasted the salty tang on his lips. I placed my hands around his body and pulled him close. For a moment, Jet was still. And then his body responded. He kissed me back with a lick of desire that left me breathless.

And then he stopped, pushed me gently away.

‘Not now…not like this.’

‘Don’t you want me?’ I said, lowering my head.

‘You’re not being fair. You chose to be with Ezra. But now all of a sudden you want me?’

‘Not all of a sudden. I’ve always wanted you. Now that I’m single, I’ve never wanted you more. Imagine what we could be together… Imagine the magic we could create.’

I shuffled forward and Jet shuffled backwards. ‘You know that I care for you, Eva, and that’s why I have to stop you, stop both of us from doing something that’s simply not right.’

A thick, ugly heat boiled inside of me.

‘You know what? I’m sick of people stopping me from getting what I want, from doing what I want. That ends right now. Nobody – not you, Max, Ezra or Orpheus – is ever going to tell me what to do again.’

‘Eva, what’s going on? What’s happening to you?’

I started to laugh as the truth dawned on me. ‘It seems the prophecy is coming true after all.’

‘What! No! You’re not becoming the Fire Queen.’

I gazed back towards the boats, narrowed my eyes and used the last of my strength to conjure up the power of the wind in my hands. Then I sent it directly into the ocean beside the larger coastguard boat, tipping the boat precariously onto its side and knocking Max into the waters.

‘I wouldn’t be so sure,’ I said, and then I turned and walked away from Jet, whose gaze flickered frantically between me and the chaos occurring in the cove below.

Jet and Boy returned to camp an hour later. Jet’s lips were pressed together, and he started preparing our dinner quietly.

Boy found me and dropped his head into my lap.

‘Did he drown?’ I asked, running my hand through the soft fur across the top of Boy’s massive head.

Jet froze before he turned to me. ‘Are you…serious?’

I raised an eyebrow. ‘Well, did he?’

‘No, they fished him out…eventually. They’ve gone, for now.’

‘That’s a shame,’ I said, resisting the urge to scratch the cuts that covered my torso.

He turned to me and met my eyes. ‘I’m worried about you. I think what those creatures did to you last night must be…changing you.’

I laughed. Boy stood back, tilted his head.

‘What’s so funny?’ asked Jet, walking to sit beside me.

‘I’m finally ready to embrace my full powers, and you blame the creatures who hurt me.’

‘Show me your cuts,’ he said.

My skin burned with pain, but I resisted the urge to raise my jumper and scratch them.

‘You know, Jet, you had your chance to see my skin. So, thanks, but I’ll pass.’

Jet groaned and ran his hand through his hair. ‘You don’t play fair. You chose to be with Ezra and you left me. Now you show up here, force yourself on me, because you want me to teach you dark magic.’

‘A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do,’ I said, barely recognising my voice.

Jet blinked at me as though I were an alien. ‘I think your cuts need a special type of treatment – they’re changing you.’

‘No, Orpheus changed me. Speaking of Orpheus, I’d like to pay him a little visit, say tonight.’

Jet rubbed his eyes. ‘You’re not ready.’

I turned from Jet, my voice cold. ‘No one is going to tell me what to do anymore, including you. I’m going back, whether you’re coming or not.’

‘You can barely walk,’ he said, his face set like stone.

‘I managed to use my magic, didn’t I?’

‘I bet that cost you dearly. You wouldn’t even make it down to the beach.’

The truth of his words stung, but I thought of my family and what they would be going through. ‘I don’t care if I have to crawl on my hands and knees. I can’t sit here knowing they might die.’

‘And neither can I, but you need a few days to recover from whatever is happening to you. And we need a plan.’

Heat flushed through my body, and a fever settled deep inside my skin.

‘I have a plan – find Orpheus and then kill him. Simple.’

Jet sat back as though he’d been slapped. ‘Eva…’

‘Don’t “Eva” me. This shit has