Balen raises his eyebrow. "A duel of romance? Intriguing."
Did Owen just bet my freedom on a kiss? I grit my teeth. What the hell? What the heck do these two jerks think they're doing?
"Whatever you want to call it. Either way. I'm winning," Owen says.
"Fair enough. I shall go first." Balen takes a step.
Owen's arm turns rigid. "No. I don't trust you." His voice is steady, but there's an undercurrent of steel threaded through it.
"It appears we have a standoff," Balen declares.. Waves of black veins cut across his skin.
Owen's eyes are fierce. Then I get it. Owen wants to be the first to kiss me. Well, I did promise to follow his lead.
"Look, what's the big deal? I hate this guy anyway." I jerk a finger toward Owen. "Just let me kiss him and get it over with."
Man, Owen had better have a plan because when we get out of this I am going to dislocate a part or all of his body.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
A Duel Of Romance
The moon shines a spotlight on the three of us as it slides out from behind the clouds. Both Balen and Owen are staring in my direction. Balen's eyes betray some emotion, like respect. Owen's hint at something else. Hurt, maybe?
"The lady has spoken. After you." Balen steps back, bowing.
"About time, you stepped aside. Watch and learn tree boy." Owen slips his arm around me, drawing me close so that he fills my field of vision.
I can handle this. I can kiss Owen and not care. So why is my heart slamming against my rib cage? Why is my throat parched, as though I haven't had anything to drink in days?
"Jemma." Owens voice is husky, thick, like he wants this. Like I'm important to him.
I shouldn't care, he shouldn't matter, but maybe that's been my problem all along? Maybe Owen has always meant a little too much to me for my own good?
"I have an idea. Remember what we talked about?" He whispers in my ear, his lips grazing my skin. My head spins from the contact, from the proximity to Owen. "My powers, what I can do?"
"Yeah." My heart is slamming so hard, it echoes in my head. I know Balen's watching us, seeing all of this. I don't care.
Owen runs his tongue along my earlobe. My vision blurs. "Take it." I'm losing all train of thought. "Take my breath...and end him."
I try to make my brain work, try to concentrate on what he's saying.
Take my breath...
The weapon depends on the intent...
"Yes," I say. I want this to be a simple kiss, but I suddenly realize it's so much more.
Owen's mouth opens against mine, I respond. Our mouths lock, like he's giving me mouth-to-mouth. Acting on my gut, I begin to inhale slowly. And then there's nothing but Owen and the frigid air that he's pouring inside of me. It stings the inside of my mouth and throat as I hold on to it, letting him fill me up. I almost choke.
I can't hold Owen’s breath much longer. What if I can't do this?
Just as panic takes over, Owen breaks our kiss. It's almost as devastating as the last time he pulled away from me.
Owen steps back from me and shrugs. "Next."
I glare at him, but there's no time for a fight. Instead I move straight into Balen's space. I shove my mouth onto his roughly, but the moment I do, something's wrong. He smells of tree rot and mud. Both things I've never liked about the forest. His lips are warm, soft, but instead of a warm tongue, there's a wooden spear in his mouth. It's disgusting, so opposite from how things were with Owen. Balen's arms clamp down on me, locking me in place.
It hits me all at once. He's going to stab me with that weird tongue of his and poison me again. No, I can't let it happen. Using every last bit of energy I have, I begin to expel air from my lungs straight into Balen's mouth.
He stops kissing me. He screams, a weird squealing sound that stings my ears, but I don't pull away. His hands are replaced by tree branches and he uses them to slice at my back. I can feel the blood trickling from the wounds, but I don't care. I need to do this. For Molly. For all his victims.
I thrust the air from my lungs in a steady stream into Balen's mouth. Owen's air is poison to Balen. There's a shudder from somewhere deep inside him. He shrieks. Now I'm the one with my arms clamped down on Balen, keeping him from pulling away. There's a small part of me that doesn't want to hurt Balen. Still, I need to.
When there's no more air left, I step back and take my own steadying breath. “That's what happens when you mess with 'foolish little girls’."
Balen doesn't get the chance to respond. Tremors rip through him and intensify until I can no longer make out his features. A cracking sound shatters the silence and he explodes. Balen splinters into hundreds of tiny wood chips that pile up at my feet until they are all that is left of the boy who lived in the trees.
I can't move. I’m frozen on the spot. Alive. Balen is reduced to kindling.
Owen tosses a lighter onto the wood chips. The fire catches. He steps in front of me taking my hands in his. My nerves buzz. I'm shaking again. For a different reason this time.
"You were amazing. You did everything right. Everything I hoped you'd do," Owen says. His voice is soft, the way it was when he spoke of his family.
The shivers run through me again, but it's growing worse. I can't stop shaking. I can't even speak. Shock. I must be going into shock. He shrugs out of his jacket and settles it around me, a cocoon of warmth. I slip my arms into the sleeves as my shivers cease. "Owen, I—"
"Agh!" Owen cries out, falling to his knees.
I drop to his side. "What's wrong?"
His spine arches. He writhes on the spot, and there's nothing I can do for him. Letting out a grunt, he grits his teeth. "Thank you." His words are gentle even though they don't sound that way.
They're too much like final words. Words people say when they're— "No. You sound like you're saying goodbye."
"It feels like I might be." He cries out again, squeezing my hand.
"My family existed to destroy Balen. He was one of us. I can't even tell you how we're related—it started so long ago. We’ve been paying for Balen’s mistakes ever since. Now that he’s been destroyed, maybe that’s it for me?" He smiles, but he cringes immediately after.
"I only pretended—" He grimaces again. "I only pretended our kiss didn't matter to keep you safe. I lied to protect you. You're incredible, Jem." He pulls my head down so that my forehead rests against his own.
"Why couldn't you be honest with me?" I blink to fight back stinging tears. Owen’s another boy who needs my help. Another boy I won't be able to save. "Jerk." But I don't mean the insult. It's as half-hearted as my anger.
He chuckles. "When I got the letter from Balen about Shaz I knew we'd have to face him. Balen had already gotten inside your head before. If he knew what happened between us mattered..., you never would have stood a chance."
"And does it? Matter to you, I mean?"
Owen pales. He’s already fading away before my eyes. "You know it does. You must know that."
Numbness seeps through my body. "Owen, please. This can't be how it ends."
"It's out of my control." He frames my face in his hands. "But if I could stay, I would. For you." More light is leaving his eyes, forcing him to abandon me.
"Please kiss me for real. Kiss me when it's you. Kiss me when it's Jem and Owen and nothing else. 'Cause I want to know what that feels like."
Owen raises himself up, and his mouth is on mine, tender, different from before. His hand is at my side, gripping my hip, sending fire through me. How can a boy filled with ice feel so warm? He does. His tongue grazes my bottom lip. I open my mouth inviting him in, deepening our kiss.
I realize too late it's a mistake. A rush of frigid air fills my lungs, coating my veins, dulling my senses, and putting me to sleep.
"I stink at goodbyes." Owen's words are the only thing I have left to hold onto.
And then, I have nothing.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
New Boy
It's
Monday afternoon and Shaz and I are hanging out in our favorite booth. Fat snowflakes drift past the window, reminding me Thanksgiving's this week. I have no idea what Mom, Dad, and I are even doing for the holiday.
I haven't been back to ‘B&B's’ before today. Probably because being here, reminds me of the first time I met Owen. Now that he's gone, I'm all twisted up inside.
Snuggling deeper into Owen's jacket, I inhale and draw in what's left of his snowy boy smell. I should probably hang the coat in my closet, maybe take better care of it? So I'll always remember what Owen smelled like. But no. It makes him seem closer when I wear it, so I do. All the time. Except in the shower.
My drawing pad is on the table in front of me. I'm supposed to be sketching Shaz in profile—another art assignment, but this time for my new class at the Art Institute. It's pre-work for the Spring semester. Instead of capturing my best friend, though, my fingers grip the charcoal, crafting a drawing that more closely resembles Owen, the boy I've lost, rather than Shaz, the friend I've still got.
I no longer sketch Balen.
A kernel of popcorn hits my eyelid.
"Really, Shaz? We agreed. No more popcorn throwing."
Shaz shrugs. "You were doing it again. Spacing out a little, I mean. I'm worried about you." She pops a few of the kernels into her mouth and crunches. "I hardly paid any attention to my BBC marathon last night, because I was so worried about my best friend."
"I know." What can I say? I can't tell her about anything. I mean, how can I even begin to explain about Balen? It freaked my parents out when I was just a kid. How could Shaz possibly feel any different? Why take the chance?
There've been dozens of times I've started to tell her about Owen, but I just couldn't follow through. Thinking about him hurts too much. It eliminates the air in my lungs and leaves me breathless, as though I've lost an essential part of myself. But what business do I have missing someone I’ve hated more than I’ve liked?
When I look in the mirror, I don't even know myself any more. As much as I’ve tried to reconnect with the life I had before two weeks ago, I miss Owen, with his grouchy stares and his serious expression. I miss his kiss.
But most important, I miss knowing Owen is in the world.
There's something humbling about realizing you can travel anywhere on Earth, anywhere for the rest of your life...and never find the one person you're searching for.
Another kernel of popcorn hits me. "Come on, Shaz." When I meet her eye, she grins, jerking her head in an odd direction.
She's so weird sometimes. "What are you—"
"Well, hello, ‘Angry Popcorn Guy’. I didn't expect to see you again." Shaz grins.
I freeze.
"Is this seat taken?"
One voice. His voice. The one I would know anywhere.
Owen.
I'm on my feet and in his arms before I form any conscious thoughts. The stubble on his cheek scratches me as he pulls me closer. "Jemma." The way he says my name, all gravely and frustrated sends goosebumps running over my skin. "I've missed you."
"But you died." My words sound as rough as his face feels.
"I thought so, too." He brushes my cheek with his cold hand. He leads me to an empty booth in the back. We don't sit down, but instead stand in front of it. Owen glances around before he continues. "I almost did. And then I woke up human. I think the spell on my family has ended. Now that Balen's gone there's no debt left to repay. My powers are gone."
And that's when I place it. The weighty emotion in his eyes. It's not just from seeing me. It's more. It's grief.
"I'm sorry you had to lose your power." I rest my head against his chest, and sneak a glance at Shaz. She's staring at us in absolute shock, her mouth shaped in a round O for a moment, before it mouths an obscenity I can read loud and clear.
He pulls me back and I try to interpret his expression. I fail. Please don't let him be leaving again. "I'm just normal, now. There's nothing special about me."
"Did I ever mention I love normal?"
He stares at me for a moment. "Maybe we could go out? If you promise not to jump out of a moving vehicle again." His smirk is back.
"As long as you promise not to steal one?"
He laughs. "Anything for you, Cookie Monster."
And I draw his mouth to mine, and seal that promise with a kiss.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
As a teen growing up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Stephanie Keyes’ family always accused her of having an “overactive imagination.” Now, she’s encouraged to keep her head in the clouds and share her world with readers.
Keyes is the author of the YA Fantasy series, The Star Child, which includes The Star Child, After Faerie, The Fallen Stars, The Star Catcher, The Last Protector, and the forthcoming A Faerie Wedding, all from Inkspell Publishing. The Star Catcher won first place in the 2014 Dante Rossetti Young Adult Novel Awards—Mythological Category. The Star Child has topped bestseller lists several times since its 2012 release.
Steph is a hopeless romantic who lives to believe that magick truly does exist. She is hard at work on a new YA and NA novel.
Other Books By Stephanie Keyes
Blood in the Shadows Page 11