“Well, I could have handled the four hundred part, it was those last seventy-two years tacked on the end that ruined it for me. Sorry,” she said, smiling and letting Conlan know that they had their differences due to the way the whole thing played out, but that she knew his heart had been in the right place all along.
“I really am sorry about that whole dishonest kidnapping thing. I’ve been a Marjeen all my life and I’ve never been called on to act in this way. I hope you know that it was completely uncharted territory for me, for all of us, and that any mistakes we made in judgment were the acts of desperation that seemed like the only way. Of course, letting you think they’d hurt me… yeah, that was pretty low, even for me. I hope you can forgive me. For everything.”
“Of course I can. Forgiving is one thing, especially when it was for the right reasons, even if it was the wrong thing to do. Letting go of it is a whole different story, though. Fortunately, we won’t have much time to dwell on it since I fully intend to go back to the real world where I belong. They’re taking me back as soon as the council finishes what they called some ‘unpleasant business’ involving my former stepmother.” She plastered a fake smile on her face for Conlan’s benefit, even going so far as to fire off a few steps of a happy dance.
“And you’re sure you’re okay with their terms?” he asked, dropping his usual happy-go-lucky jokester demeanor long enough to ask how she really felt about what had been a long and loud negotiation.
“Am I okay with it? Of course not. But I understand why they fought for it,” she replied, referring to the fact that not only had she had to agree to have her powers bound and her whereabouts monitored for the rest of her life, but that she’d also agreed never to have children of her own on the off chance that the genetics Rageeb had artificially created her with were carried on to a whole new generation of creatures.
“But to be followed and monitored everywhere, I couldn’t imagine it,” he said, shuddering slightly before wrapping his arms across his chest. “It would feel like being an animal in a zoo, never knowing who’s watching you.”
“Well, that’s one way to look at it. I think they’re going to discover that I plan to be so boring they won’t want to watch. I pity the person who has to fight not to slip into a coma every time it’s his turn to take a shift! I plan to go home and live as normal a life as I possibly can, and never to think again about crazy stepmoms who turn out to be your real mother, weirdos who tried to use me to build a super villain, and a court of people who just asked me to submit to routine pregnancy tests. I’m gonna work extra hard on not thinking about that one!”
“You didn’t actually agree to that, did you?” Conlan asked, cringing at the thought of so much invasion of privacy.
“Oh no. They wanted to go there, but no. I did agree that if I ever did have a child, they are free to take it away. Not that I plan to have any, mind you.”
“Really? You could just give up something so easily, and at such a young age? How do you know what you’ll want in ten years? What will you do if you wake up in your thirties and regret it?”
“I don’t think I had the best role models for parents. It’s probably a blessing in disguise, all things considered. Besides, I’ve got plenty of living to do for myself first.”
“Oh really? What’s the first item on Jessica’s Unbucket List? Besides deciding if her name is really Jessica, or if she wants to go back to Rankin?”
She shook her head. “I’m not ready to decide that, but my gut instinct is to drop both of those names like third period French and just come up with something, something that explains who I am.”
“You know, your original name is pretty significant. And it does describe who you are. Your dad gave it to you.” He froze when he saw the look of irritation on her face. “No, I mean the actual man who became your dad, not that freak Rageeb. Your dad named you Rankin, and it means ‘shield.’ You are a shield, a very important one. You will constantly be protecting the world from the danger that you could release, aware every day of your responsibility to all of humanity. You are their shield, even though your dad couldn’t have known about that when you appeared in his life. It was only after Faydra confided in him that they changed your name.”
“Hmm, that is something to think about then. But it’s too soon to know. I think I want a little distance from all of this. My first priority is even bigger than name changes or amazing but dangerous abilities: I’ve got a cross-country team to sign up for. It turns out that running isn’t a superpower, it’s just something I’m good at! Who knew, right?” She and Conlan laughed at the realization before turning serious once again.
“So, where do you think you stand on the ripping out hearts and eating them thing? Are you gonna quit cold turkey, or wean yourself off with substitutes? You know, I hear horse heart is quite a heavy meal. One of those should hold you for several days, at least.”
“I’m probably done with that, too, now that you mention it,” she said sarcastically. “It was never really a thing for me. You know, I dabbled, of course, but who hasn’t when she’s possessed by evil birth parents and used for world domination? Am I right?” Conlan laughed again and threw a brotherly arm around her shoulders before kissing the top of her head.
“Take good care of yourself, Jessica. You deserve good things. You deserve to be happy. Go home, run fast, make some friends who want you for who you really are, not for what you can do for them.”
“Thanks, Conlan. I plan to. And you need to go get your car, it’s too pretty to leave it sitting out there in the dark, drained. Who knows what kind of bad creatures have taken up residence in those luxurious seats?”
“Well, I hate to break it to you this way, honey, but you were the scary thing that everybody was afraid of! So we’re probably good on that front. But no, princess, I’m not going after my car. The noble steed is going with you.”
“What? No way! I’m getting a new car out of this, too? It’s like winning the freak show lottery or something!” She beamed at the thought that she would have anything good to show from this whole thing, let alone a flashy car.
“I kind of think giving you the car belongs in the category of ‘absolutely the least they could do.’ Now take it, before I change my mind! And don’t scratch the paint!”
Jessica hugged Conlan tightly and stepped back, ready for the Marjeen to send her home. There were plans that had to be made, like finding someone to take her in and getting settled in school, but they had assured her they would oversee all those details. Like Conlan had said, it was the least they could do.
The End
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Stolen Hearts: Book 1 (Grim's Labyrinth Series) Page 8