Chapter 23

She draped an arm over Benjamin’s shoulder, her voice sickeningly sweet. “I’ve let you get away with this fantasy of playing human for too long, but it ends here. I’ll let you keep pretending, for now, but remember,” Skye tightened her grip on Benjamin, forcing him to meet Jade’s eyes, “when I come back, you’ll be mine again and when you are, she’ll be the first one you kill.”
With a shove, Skye sent Benjamin stumbling into Jade, his face ashen with horror by the time Jade caught him, Skye had vanished into the woods, following Owen and Shaun.
“This is all my fault,” Benjamin swore, his voice shaking.
She hugged him tightly, closing her eyes and letting him cling to her before gently pulling away. She turned to the girl lying on the ground, her heart heavy. The freshman looked so small, her Cinderella dress torn and bloodied. She’d been another victim, lured by Shaun and Owen’s charm, never suspecting what they truly were.
Jade knelt beside her, gently lifting the girl’s head into her lap. The girl’s face was pale, her breaths shallow, her body trembling from the trauma. She felt a surge of protectiveness, and without hesitation, she placed her palms over the girl’s ears, holding her head in her hands. She had healed herself before—now it was time to try this ability on someone else.
Closing her eyes, she focused on her power, letting the warmth of her fire melt into the girl’s skin. The fire traveled through the girl’s veins, sealing wounds and knitting torn flesh back together. After a few moments, the girl stirred, a soft moan escaping her lips as her body reacted to the healing.
Jade paused, pulling back slightly, not wanting to push too hard. The girl was safe. She would live.
As she looked down at the girl, Jade’s mind wandered to the memory of her dream—of the woman with blood-red hair and a dazzling smile. She saw her mother, lying alone, abandoned by her people, left to die while her father’s body was recovered, and her baby taken away. The parallels haunted her, and a deep sadness settled in her chest.
“Is it painful?” Jade asked quietly, her voice barely above a whisper as she looked up at Benjamin.
Benjamin still standing nearby, his face tight with worry, shook his head. “For her, no. She won’t remember the pain. For you, though...” His voice trailed off, unsure of how to finish.
She nodded, feeling the weight of the moment. The healing process had drained her, physically and emotionally. It wasn’t just the girl’s life she was trying to save—it was the past, the pain of her mother’s abandonment, the loss she hadn’t been able to prevent. And now, with her power, she had a chance to stop that from happening to someone else.
“She’ll be okay now,” Jade said, her voice firmer. The girl’s breathing had steadied, and though she remained unconscious, the worst damage had been healed. Jade carefully laid the girl back down, smoothing her hair away from her face.
She stood, wiping her hands on her pants, feeling the residue of her power still tingling beneath her skin. She glanced over at Benjamin, whose gaze remained fixed on her, his worry slowly giving way to awe.
“You’re incredible,” he whispered, shaking his head in disbelief. “I’ve never seen anyone do that before.”
She managed to have a small smile. “I didn’t think I could. I just... I had to try.”
For a long moment, they stood in silence, the tension mingling with the relief of knowing the girl would survive. But in the back of Jade’s mind, Skye’s words echoed, chilling her despite the warmth of her power.
This wasn’t over Skye would be back and next time, Jade would be ready.
Jade felt more than saw the girl lifted from her arms. Exhausted, she let her body fall back on the dirt, curling into a fetal position to cry. Had her mother been in pain the whole time? Had she felt the life drain from her body? Her father had been killed quickly, perhaps because he was a man, and they feared the Vindicators more. She prayed her mother had been sucked into a dream and that she never knew what happened.
Benjamin returned for Jade. She barely noticed him pick her up and hold her close to his chest, letting her tears soak his fresh white button-down. She pulled his jacket tighter around her, relishing the smell of him—the smell of musk, generic soap, and burnt embers that might have come from her. Eventually, he stopped walking and opened his car door. They slid into the backseat with Benjamin still cradling her in his arms. She fell asleep while he hummed a soft tune quietly in her ear and placed a loving kiss on her forehead.
That night, she dreamed of the first year of her life, of her parents, of her powers, of how happy she had seemed in that memory. She remembered the games they had played to teach her how to control her flames and hide them when she needed to. They had loved her, and she had loved them with all her heart, and when they were taken away, Jade had shut down. She had promised her father to never show anyone her powers, so she never used them again—not in front of her adoptive mother and never even alone. Eventually, Jade realized she had just completely forgotten about her powers.
But clearly, all of that had changed.