by Kailin Gow
“Go on, Mac!” Haven was looking as muscular and
strong as ever in a deep blue swimsuit. “We're putting you
fourth to race the butterfly stroke.”
“The butterfly stroke?” I looked up in surprise. “But
I thought Cassie...”
Haven squeezed my hand as she swam over to me.
“Change of plan,” she said. “Your timing was two seconds
better than hers. So we're switching the order.” She
catapulted herself onto the side of the pool as I swam to my
designated lane. “See that, Mac? You're making a name for
yourself already. I've put a lot of faith in you. Don't let me
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down.”
The horn blew once again and the race had begun.
One by one, we all pushed off from the end of the swimming
pool, propelling ourselves through the water. At once I began
to feel a power coursing through me, strength pouring
through my veins like ocean waves.
You're born for this, Mac, a voice inside my head
said. Swim!
I felt myself start to swim faster – then faster and
faster until the water was a mere blur around me, the other
end of the pool coming closer and closer. I touched the side
of the pool and then flipped back for the second lap,
breathless with adrenaline.
“And – stop!” Haven called out my time. “Well
done!” She knelt close to me. “One minute thirty-two
seconds. Not bad for a newbie. Looks like Cassie's going to
have some competition after all.”
The races continued – I raced three times in all, each
time feeling the exhilarating rush of the water all over my
body.
If I was really Vesta, I wondered, could my
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connection with water really be this strong – a connection
almost as strong as my connection with fire?
I didn't come top, of course – Haven had managed to
win for the past two years running, and this tournament was
no exception. But I ranked fifth on the island, a respectable
showing for a new recruit, and received a small gold trophy
for my trouble. Varun cheered loudest of all, calling out my
name from the bleachers. He tore down from his seat when
my name was announced, and thrust his arms around me.
He leaned in to kiss me, but I pulled back. I looked
around nervously, only to see what I feared: Chance was
sitting, staring darkly at us, in the bleachers. As much as I
hated to hurt Varun, I hated hurting Chance just as much.
And hurt him I had, for to my dismay Chance rose and
stalked off as Varun pressed his lips against mine.
I sighed as I entered the locker room. It wasn't fair, I
thought. Love triangles or reverse harems in movies meant
one girl getting all the attention from two or more equally
beautiful boys. But in the real world, I wanted more than
anything to be able to make a choice, to stop tearing my heart
in two.
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Yet my thoughts were interrupted when I entered the
locker room. No sooner had I shut the door behind me than
a figure flew at me, knocking me senseless against the floor.
“Not again...” I groaned, turning to face my masked attacker.
“You got what you came for – just leave me alone.”
But the mask stared back at me silently. Two black
masks – two attackers left.
“At least show your faces,” I scowled. “Or are you
too cowardly to show your face – to admit who you really
are? If you want to kill me, at least do it unmasked.”
But the only answer was husky laughter echoing
through the room. The smaller of the two attackers rushed
me, pushing me to the floor.
“No!” I cried, seizing the fabric of the attacker's
mask. I struggled to get out of the figure's grip, kicking
wildly. At last my fingers got a good hold on the mask, and
in a single motion I yanked it off.
“Alice?” I looked up at her in shock. “Alice, what
the...” It all came rushing back to me – how familiar my
attacker's wrestling moves had seemed, the small size of the
attacker...how hadn't I realized this before?
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“But I thought we were friends!”
Alice scoffed as she picked me up by the hair, body
slamming me against the lockers. I cried out in pain.
“This has nothing to do with friendship, Mac,” Alice
hissed. “Nothing personal. But if you become Vesta – I can't
afford to let that happen. You know what Vesta's going to do
when she comes back.”
“Stop the Erosion!” I choked out. “Restore earth –
what's wrong with that?”
“Stop the Erosion?” Alice spat. “Fire propaganda –
stop the Erosion! Vesta's going to destroy the whole world
when she returns.”
“What?” I turned around in horror.
The second attacker chimed in. “When Vesta and
Mars reunite, the whole world will burn. The sacrifice of one
girl is worth saving the world.” It was a deep male voice.
“But you got hold of the book,” I cried. “I can't be
Vesta – you were able to steal it...”
Alice shrugged. “We're not interested in taking
chances,” she said. “Or Chance, for that matter.” She gave a
dry, hoarse laugh.
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It gave me enough time to rush her, taking her by
surprise and knocking to the ground. “Give me the book
back, Alice,” I cried.
“Don't ask me, ” Alice sneered.
I looked up at the second attacker, but to my surprise
he was curled up on the ground, doubled-over in pain.
Chance stood above the body.
Alice cursed quietly and sprang to her feet. Fear
flooded her eyes. Evidently Chance could scare even
powerful Alice. She pulled the other attacker to his feet and
they both ran as fast as they could out of the room.
I started to chase them, but Chance held me back.
“Don't risk it,” he said. He turned to me. “Are you hurt?”
I looked down at my body, expecting to see cuts and
bruises. I'd definitely heard a bone or two crack as I fell. But
to my shock, I had no injuries – there was no evidence I'd
ever been hurt at all.
“Then it's true,” he said. “You're developing healing
abilities. You could be Awakening after all.” He smiled.
“Which is a good thing, as far as I'm concerned. If you're
under suspicion now, you'll have a lot more attacks like this
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one. You'll have to get tough. You'll have to fight. People
want you dead, and I can't protect you forever. Neither can
Varun. You'll have to learn to defend yourself. It's too late to
go into hiding now; what has been put into motion cannot be
undone. And I won't have you beaten up by a scrawny
fourteen-year-old girl.” As he spoke, he gave me a smile – a
smile so warm and genuine that it made me melt. I wanted
to lean in and kiss him then and there. How different this new
Chance was, I thought, from the Chance who had tried so
hard to push me away.
“Alice isn't just any fourteen-year-old girl,” I said.
“Indeed not,” Chance sighed. “She too is an
embodiment, albeit one only of a half-god. I speak, of
course, of Hercules.”
“ Hercules?”
“Embodiments come in all shapes and sizes,”
Chance said. “It's time you learned that by now.” He
gathered me into his arms. “I'll do what I have to do to keep
you safe, Mac. I'll train you. Teach you wrestling – fighting
skills. Teach you to do what I do.” He started rubbing my
shoulders, massaging them gently, and I moaned softly,
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feeling all my pain being taken away by his warm healing
touch. Chance always knew just how to manipulate my body,
my desires. When I was near him, it was like nothing else
existed. Varun, the tournament, my reaction to the water – all
of these things seemed as far away as distant dreams.
“To be the Fire Queen? To be Vesta.”
I wanted to pull away, to ask him about Varun and
Neptune, about the truth behind Vesta's disappearance, about
what Alice had said about Vesta’s destroying the world. But
as I closed my eyes feeling his arms close in around me, I
couldn't find the strength to resist. I wanted his heat, his
flame, to fill me: to make me whole. I wanted him more than
I had ever wanted anyone in my life.
I knew how Jana felt, I thought, feeling his muscles
strong against me. I too was willing to risk everything. All
my questions dissolved in my mouth the moment that
Chance's lips met mine. Nothing mattered to me but being
close to him, but feeling the palpable nearness of him. I
wanted his fire for me to consume me whole.
I was already out of my swimsuit when Chance
pushed me into the showers. He had stripped down as naked
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as I was, before he plunged into me from behind, rocking
into me slowly at first before thrusting deeply and quickly
into me like he couldn’t hold back. “I’ve waited so long to
finally be with you again,” he grunted, kissing my shoulders,
my neck, and then my cheeks as he thrusted and thrusted. “I
love you so much. I haven’t stopped looking for you every
single moment.”
He turned me around and kept thrusting, as he kissed
me.
I moaned, wrapping my arms around his back,
gripping him. “Chance,” I said, “I can’t get enough of you.
Give me more.”
“I can’t hold back when I’m with you,” Chance said.
“I can’t.” He kept pumping in and out of me until we cried
out together and climaxed at the same time.
When we were washed, dried, and in our clothes
again, Chance pulled me into his arms, holding me so tightly,
I thought I would be crushed.
“What next, Fire King?”
“I think it's time,” Chance said, his voice shaking. “If
you feel ready, Mac – it's time for you to take the test.”
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Chapter 21
And so the choice was before me. The choice to risk
my life and take the test – to risk being yet another girl
consumed by the flames of her passion for Chance – or to
play it safe. To go back to my old life, to try to be normal, to
deny everything.
“I love you,” Chance was holding me tightly now.
His manner was softer than it had been. Gentler, even. His
rough desire for me was now tempered with a more
protective love. “Not just because of who you are, or who
you might be. But because you looked past who I was. You
didn't judge me. You didn't let me push you away. And I want
nothing less than to lose you. But, Mac, I don't want to miss
this chance. The choice is yours – I won't force you into it. I
didn't want to fall in love with you, Mac. I tried everything
to push you away. But you've broken down all my defenses.
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You've made me want you so badly. And now all I can think
of is how afraid I am...how scared of losing you.”
But I wasn't afraid, not anymore. My destiny was out
there, somewhere. Everyone I'd met had given me a different
answer – was I Vesta or not? Was I in love with Mars, or with
Neptune? Had I come to the earth to create or to destroy? No
matter how much I learned about the island, there were
always more secrets to uncover. The world seemed to spin
all around me; I grew dizzy and leaned my hand against the
lockers to steady myself. Confusion flooded through me, as
if some dam within me had burst and let the chaos come
flooding in.
“But as much as I love you...” Chance was
whispering to me. “I have to find her. I can't give up my quest
for Vesta. She is my love, my life, my twin. I can't stop
looking, not when I know she could be out there. Not when
I know that the sacred flame...”
So that was my choice. I could stay Mac forever – try
my best at being a normal girl – and lose Chance. Or I could
take the risk, make my choice. Risk everything if it meant
holding onto him. Loving him. Becoming Vesta.
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“And yet when I first met you, Mac,” Chance pressed
my knuckles to his lips. “When I first fell in love with you –
I fell in love with the girl Mackenzy Evers. And not the
goddess. Many centuries ago, Mackenzy, Vesta broke my
heart. But you...” He sighed. “I can't lose you, even if it
means losing Vesta. I can't make this choice for you. But I
want you to know that I'll stand by you, whatever you
decide.”
But I saw the pain in his eyes. I knew that the choice
to love me – me Mackenzy Evers, whether I was Vesta or not
– and to give up the quest for his lost love was just as difficult
for him as the choice I now had to make. I loved him; I knew
that now with such terrible certainty. And the more he let me
in, the more kindness he showed me beneath his brittle
exterior, the stronger that love became I wanted to do
whatever it took to heal him of the pain he carried.
“Yes,” I whispered back.
“Yes what?”
For I knew now that I didn't want to live not knowing.
I had to take the risk, whatever the costs. I had to know the
truth – about my hallucinations of flame, about these
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mysterious connections I felt to Chance and Varun, about
everything.
“I'll do it, Chance,” I said. “I'll take that test.”
I saw the look of surprise spreading over his face,
followed in swift succession by radiant joy, and then a fear
more terrible than anything I had seen
in his eyes before.
There was no going back from this, I knew. Either I would
claim my identity as Vesta, whatever that was, or I would die
in the attempt.
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Epilogue
Chance held out his hands to me. “Come,” he said.
“I'll show you where the test takes place.”
I stepped forward, taking his hand. In an instant I felt
myself whirring and spinning, the landscape growing blurry
all around me. I stumbled but found there was nothing to
stumble onto – the ground had vanished, and we were
moving rapidly through air. I looked up at Chance in shock
as the wind whipped all around us.
We were flying – over the island, far from the beach,
from its seaside cities – flying deep into the wild heart of the
jungle, where no humans went, into its depths. We
approached the mountain at the center of the island – a long-
dormant volcano, I'd heard – and came to a stop in the
hollowed-out crater at its peak. I looked at Chance in
surprise.
“Will I ever get used to this?” I stumbled as my feet
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found land.
“Here we are,” he said. “The fire goddess's throne.
Vesta's place.”
“And there you are…with Mac!” A furious voice
broke through my shock.
“Varun!” He was striding over towards us, his face
pink with anger.
“Don't tell me you've come to put her at risk, too!”
Varun got straight in Chance's face, shoving him backwards.
“You're not happy with killing Jana – now you've got to get
the other one, too!”
“Varun, it's not what it looks like...” I started, but