Chapter 30

Jade's eyes looked around the room, hoping the answers were written on the wall somewhere, but stopping when they came to rest on her bag. The book, she realized, was the whole reason why she came. It seemed stupid now, learning about mystical prophecies as if some ancient historians had all the answers, she realized she didn’t know how much time she would have left to ask Aiden about it, and even if the end of her life seemed near, she was curious about those damn missing pages.
"Aiden?" He gave her his attention as she pulled the old book from her bag. "It seems silly now, but I stole this, and I wanted to give it back, and ask—"
"Ask about the missing pages I thought you’d notice it sooner. You stole the book a while ago," he interrupted. She shrugged her eyebrows and half-smiled at him, hoping he wasn’t angry she took it. "They’re all missing."
"What?" She questioned, not understanding.
"The councils from each society met one year and decided that knowledge was no longer useful, so they cut the pages from every copy of that book and burned them. I have no idea what they said no one does, this happened a long time ago about a hundred and fifty or so."
"But why?"
"The rumor was that there had been uprisings, across both the Vindicator and Hierophant societies, urging for a reunited race, and the councils overturned it. They believed the prophecies were egging people on and giving them false hopes but all of that is just hearsay now."
Instantly, Jade’s curiosity was piqued. What did that book say about half breeds that would lead to a revolt? It must have been something huge, something that could change everything. Maybe it had been about her ability to heal humans and Seraphina, surely a power any demon would want to have but the price of potentially giving one total immunity was too dangerous.
"Jade?" He distracted her from those thoughts. "I need to call the council they’ll know how to proceed. Why don’t you go home for a while? Have breakfast and be with your family?"
Fear darkened his eyes, though Aiden was trying hard to hide it he worried that this could be her last meal. She knew he wanted to run, and didn’t care about her family as much as he cared about her, but when Jade thought of sweet, innocent Abby, she knew there was no other choice. She hugged him, pulling him in tight enough to lose her breath, and closed her eyes against the emotion threatening to brim over. There was no time for tears.
Jade drove home quickly, ignoring stop signs and racing past the speed limit. She knew Aiden wouldn’t sleep, that he would be working on a solution for all the time they had left. He was meeting her at her house at eleven, an hour before the eclipse. Plenty of time to wait and be terrified together, she hated pulling him into this. It was her fight with Skye, Aiden had done nothing to deserve any part of it, but she knew there was no way to stop him. He would never let her go alone.
Jade tried to slow her racing heart, her parents couldn’t know anything was wrong. She wanted them to live in blissful oblivion. There's time, she kept thinking, enough time to work out a solution. All she could hope now was that Benjamin was working on a plan and was trying to save her as well. But she knew him, she feared he planned to confront Skye before she could confront her, but deep down she knew it wouldn’t work. Three-to-one odds were large, and he had probably been caught already.
The sky was lightning when she finally went inside. Being afraid was no way to spend the possible last few hours of her life. So, she went inside, straight to the kitchen. Cooking always calmed her, and she grabbed the bread from the pantry, cracked open some eggs, and let the serenity of whisking distract her.
When her mother walked down the stairs, she had a feast ready. Stacks of French toast, a bowl of fresh whipped cream, fresh strawberries and blueberries, and freshly squeezed OJ decorated the table. A little overboard, she knew, but she was also extremely satisfied with the way everything turned out.
"Jade, my goodness. What are you even doing awake?"
"I just couldn’t sleep." She shrugged, feigning indifference, and pulled out a chair for her mom. Not a second later, thumps signaled her dad was descending into the kitchen too.
"Smells amazing. What’s the occasion?" her father asked, sitting down next to her mother to dig into the food.
"Nothing, I just couldn’t sleep. Can’t a girl do something nice for her family once in a while?"
"Not on a school day. This is more of a Sunday morning thing for you," her dad said with a mouth already full of food. She assured him she was just in a good mood and happy for the amazing, even if adoptive, parents she had. They talked lightly while they ate until her mother went to wake up Abby. Within half an hour, she was hugging everyone goodbye, holding on for just a second too long, and assuring her parents that she was just going to quickly clean up and be on her way to school.
When the door closed, she raced back to the kitchen, splashed water on her face, and tried her best not to cry. She leaned over the sink, one hand on either side, looking out at her sunlit backyard, and just let the tears come anyway. Once started, they were impossible to control. She moved slowly, picking up the dirty dishes, putting them in the dishwasher, finishing the orange juice, and putting the leftovers in a Ziploc. The mundane tasks gave her something to concentrate on, but when they were done, she went up to her room and focused on what was happening.
Skye would come and attack her, that was certain. That she wouldn't be able to stop her during the eye of the eclipse was a certainty. The only unknown was Benjamin. Had Skye managed to turn him? Would he come looking for her blood or Skye’s?
She sighed, her fingers grazing the worn edges of the stack of drawings she had kept hidden on her bookshelf for months. Each one, meticulously crafted by Benjamin, captured different moments, but all were of her. He had immortalized her on paper in various states—smiling, deep in thought, lost in a book—but each drawing told a story. She thumbed through them slowly, her mind tracing the memories of when they were made. Finally, she paused at the one that had always stood out to her—the sketch he had made while secretly watching her in the park. In the image, she wore a flowing skirt that danced in the wind and a light tank top, her face turned upward toward the sky, carefree and unaware of his gaze.
Setting the drawing aside, she stood and crossed the room to her closet. Her fingers trailed across the fabrics as she searched for that same outfit. When she found it, a nostalgic pang hit her, but she hesitated. It was December and even in Georgia, the air had turned chilly. Sighing, she swapped the tank top for a long-sleeved shirt and tossed the skirt aside in favor of jeans. Practical, she thought, but still enough to remind him of their shared past.
She knew this confrontation with Skye was coming and she had to be ready for anything. But, in typical fashion, her mind had drifted to the superficial—the outfit. She had pondered her options: should she go for something bold, like Clary in Mortal Instruments, in jeans and a tank top, motorcycle boots complete with a leather jacket? That would make her look tough like she was ready for a fight or maybe she should play it innocent, dress in something soft and delicate to make Skye underestimate her. If she looked helpless, she could gain some small advantage, even if it was fleeting.
But her thoughts kept circling back to Benjamin. Could she still appeal to the human part of him she knew was buried deep inside, under layers of darkness? Would her appearance, the memory of their connection, stir something within him? Her heart raced at the thought. Benjamin was her last hope—if he couldn’t fight Skye or if he refused to help, she was as good as doomed. So, in the end, she chose an outfit that meant something, not just to her, but to him as well. She decided to wear what she had worn on the day of their first kiss—the day he had finally let her into his secret world. She hoped that by evoking that memory, she could reach him, make him remember the person he had been before the darkness consumed him.
By the time she finished brushing her hair and putting on the final touches, Aiden had arrived. He stood in her doorway, dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt, his expression a mix of concern and determination. He, too, had chosen to downplay the gravity of the situation with casual attire. But even though they were dressed as if this were just another day, she could feel the weight of what was too come pressing down on her chest. As she led him through her house and out the back door to the steps where they would wait for Skye, the tension between them grew palpable.
“What did the council say?” she asked, her voice tight as she settled on the top step, drawing her knees to her chest.
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, leaning against the railing beside her. “They told me we should run. Ordered it, actually. They said it was too dangerous for you to stay, that your capture could be catastrophic.” His lips quirked into a humorless smile. “So, naturally, I told them to go to hell.”
She couldn’t help but laugh, despite the anxiety twisting in her gut. “Bet they loved that.”
“Oh, they did,” he said, his voice laced with sarcasm. “Actually, I hung up on them while they were still yelling at me. If we survive this, we’ll have some explaining to do.”
“No point in living if you’re not doing it dangerously,” she replied, flashing him a half-hearted grin as she leaned back, staring up at the sky.
Aiden chuckled softly. “When did that become your motto?”
Jade’s smile faltered, and her tone darkened. “About the time I moved here.” Her words hung in the air between them, heavy with unspoken meaning. She couldn’t help but think that if she had listened to him in the beginning—if she had stayed away from Benjamin none of this would be happening. But even now, knowing all the risks, she couldn’t bring herself to regret it. Benjamin had been trouble from the start and deep down, she had always known it. But sometimes, you don’t realize how much trouble a person can be until it’s too late, and you already love them enough that the consequences no longer matter.
Aiden’s gaze shifted, his eyes searching hers with an intensity that made her heart tighten. “If you could take it all back—go back to New York, pretend none of this ever happened, would you?”
She paused, considering the question. She knew what he was asking—whether she would undo her time with Benjamin, but the answer had been clear to her for a while now. “No,” she said softly. “I think I would’ve been a target no matter where I was. At least down here, I had you.” Her voice wavered slightly on the last word, but she held his gaze.
Aiden’s expression softened, and he reached out, taking her hand. “Have, Jade. You have me,” he corrected gently, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze before letting go. “I’m not going anywhere.”
The warmth of his touch lingered even after he released her, and she felt a swell of gratitude mixed with fear. She didn’t want him here, facing this danger with her. She didn’t want to be responsible for whatever might happen next. She glanced at him, her face pleading. “Aiden, I wish you would go. Save yourself. You don’t have to be here, and I don’t want you to risk your life for me. Please, just go.”
“You know I won’t,” he replied his voice calmly and resolutely. He stretched his arms over his head, letting out a mock sigh of relaxation as if to downplay the seriousness of what was to come. “Besides, I’ve already pissed off the council might as well see this thing through.”
She let out a small laugh despite herself, but it quickly faded into silence. They had said everything there was to say, and now there was nothing left but to wait. She glanced at the sky, the sun rising steadily, its warmth a distant promise that would soon be swallowed by the cold reality of what was coming. Next to her, Aiden sat quietly, his presence grounding her as they watched the horizon, waiting for the sun to disappear and for the real fight to begin.