Chapter 498

“What,” Jackson asks, frowning down at the little rectangular stone in his hands. “Is it like, special?”

“Jackson!” Midnight hisses, standing on her toes to smack him on the chest. “They’re invaluable! This is only the second I’ve ever seen in the world! And I only know of one besides that other one!”

“Oh,” Jackson says, grinning down at her. “Cool.”

I burst into a grin at my mate, who has a knack for understatement.

“What is it?” Rafe asks, getting to his feet. Marigold sits up, likewise peering, curious.

“It’s the little…thing,” Jackson says, looking down at it again and running a hand through his hair. “It appeared in my tent when I was looking for Ariel in Atalaxia. I used it to shift to the land of Darkness. But then I got distracted and didn’t give it much thought.”

“I didn’t give it much thought,” Midnight says, her voice a perfect imitation of Jackson’s deep tones as she rolls her eyes. Jesse and I burst out laughing. “You idiot! It’s a talisman!”

“Oh!” I say, pushing myself to my knees and looking more curiously at it now. “Gabriel had one of those.”

“And the King,” Midnight says, nodding and tucking her hands behind her back, leaning closer to peer at it. “Though yours is a different color. Theirs was black and gifted as part of their corruption and darkness. Yours is like…yellowy-white.”

“Like your wolf,” I murmur, nodding, thinking that it’s a nice cream color.

“Why didn’t you get one, then?” Jesse asks.

“Because I was a talisman,” Midnight says, turning and rolling her eyes at him in turn.

My smile deepens, quite pleased to see that none of her personality has changed as a result of the cleaning away of the corruption. The God of Darkness – he really had a hold on her, but Midnight is truly her own unique little person, isn’t she?

“I was gifted by Darkness early enough that I didn’t need a stupid rock.” Midnight finishes, turning back to Jackson’s, looking at it wistfully.

“Well, now you do,” Jackson says, shrugging. “Here, take this one.” He holds it out to her. “Maybe we can…make it a necklace or something? Then you don’t have to carry it around.”

Midnight stumbles back a step, gasping up at him. “Jackson, it’s – it’s too precious – it was a gift from a god –“

My eyebrows raise because…wait, what? Is that really true?

Why…why is a god interested enough in Jackson to give him such a powerful tool?

And if he’s got it…why isn’t he corrupted? Quietly I send out my wolf to sniff at his soul but…nope, nothing. Jackson smirks, sensing what I’m doing and glancing over at me. I just shrug.

“I mean, I’m not going to use it,” Jackson says, pointing over his shoulder at our bedroom. “If you don’t take it I’ll just throw it in the bottom of a pack at the back of our closet –“

Midnight squeaks, lunging for the talisman. Jackson grins and lets her have it.

“Thank you,” Midnight says, pressing it tight to her chest, looking up at him with eyes that border on reverence. “I – I can never repay you –“

“It’s cool,” Jackson says, reaching out and putting a warm hand on her shoulder. “I’m glad you have it. Feels right.”

She grins up at him, giving a happy nod.

“All right, cool,” Jesse says, smacking his hands against his thighs and standing up. “Well, if we have a way to get to the Underworld again…I guess it’s time to go.”

“Wait, what?” Midnight asks, turning to him in confusion.

“Come on, Mids,” Jesse says, gesturing for everyone to stand as well. We all obey, mostly out of curiosity, getting to our feet. “Time for Ariel to have her long-promised reunion.”

I gasp as Marigold runs to Jackson, who scoops her up in her arms. “Really?” I say, my eyes misting already. “We – we can go see Juniper!?”

“Oh yeah!’ Midnight says, laughing. “Everyone hold hands!”

“Trust me, Ari,” Jesse says, grinning at me as Rafe steps close, taking Jesse’s hand. “I know you miss your sister but…Juniper isn’t even the biggest draw here. Not this time.”

“What?” I ask, spinning my head to look up at Jackson, even as I reach out and take the two hands closest to me. “Who, who else –“

“Oh, just let yourself be surprised,” Jackson says, leaning down to kiss me on the forehead.

Before I can say anything else, the whole world tilts forward, and we disappear.

That evening, Midnight sits on the roof of the castle, thinking about…everything.

It was a nice day and all, first getting the darkness cleared and then going to the Underworld to see Juniper and Orion and the Tony-boy. But after they’d returned home, she felt like she’d just needed…space.

Space, and sky. When she’d lived all that time in the Land of Darkness she had nothing but sky – sky and desert and a yurt. And while she doesn’t miss any of the rest of it - not really - the wide expanse of the sky…

Well, all that infinity had been nice, hadn’t it? Calming, in its own way. And she’d wanted it again, now, when she feels so confused. So, she’d climbed as high as she could in the castle to get as close to that familiar dark spread of sky as she could.

She has to admit though…the stars are a pleasant addition.

Midnight’s wolf gives a little worried howl, sprawled out in her soul, her little legs too weak to carry her much or far these days. But Midnight smiles a little and strokes a mental hand over her wolf’s fur, pleased to see her free and clear and happy. Excited now to have that for herself too.

The world just…open for her. Infinitely possible. Midnight smiles, looking up at the stars in the velvety black sky, full of hope.

But beneath that hope curls…worry. Dread. Because she knows…

Well, I know what I want now, don’t I? she thinks, sighing long through her nose. And to get it…I have to hurt the one who loves me most.

Midnight turns her head towards the creaking of the window, and then the footstep that sounds on the roof next to her.

“There you are,” Jesse says, strolling over to her with his hands in his pockets, a little frown on his lips. “We were worried for you, Mids. Are you okay up here?”

“I’m okay,” she says, giving him a soft smile.

His frown deepens, his eyes narrowing, suspicious. “You’re all…calm,” he murmurs. “I don’t trust it.”

She grins, patting the roof next to her. Her mate sits down with a sigh, looping his arms around his knees. They sit that way for a long time, just looking up at the sky together, basking in the cool air and the quiet and the solitude. But then he leans closer to her, nudging her shoulder with his, inviting – or requesting – for her to tell him what’s wrong.

“Jesse,” Midnight says on a sigh, dropping her eyes to the roof tiles. “I…I think I need to make some changes.”

He pauses for a moment. “All right,” he says, his voice low. “What kind of changes?”

She bites her lip, anxious. “I…” But then she sighs, shutting her eyes, frightened and out of her element, but determined all the same. “Can I…can I tell you the long story?”

“Of course.”

She nods and takes a deep breath. “My whole life, Jess,” she says quietly, the words spilling off her tongue like they’ve been waiting there a long time. “I’ve been…just waiting for you to show up.”

He goes still but stays silent, letting her have the space.

“That’s…all Darkness ever said to me. It was the only thing that was important. That one day he would show me how to find you, and that it would be my job to bear your pups, and that we would raise them all to worship Darkness. And that you would love me and everything would be right. And I…I was so excited when Darkness finally came to me and took me to the place where I could shift to the Academy and spy on you.”

She takes a deep breath, opening her eyes and turning them to her mate.

“And you were…so great, Jess,” she whispers, her voice creaking, tears coming to her eyes. “I was…I watched you all for hours. And you were so funny. And you all…loved each other so much. I was so excited to take you home and make you mine.”

He swallows hard, getting choked up too.

“You weren’t what Darkness promised, in the end,” she whispers, dropping her eyes again to the roof.

He laughs a little, a strangled sound.

“Nah, you were better,” she says, sniffing, the tears finding their way down her cheeks. “You saved me instead of the other way around. And you brought me home and made me family. And gave me…so much. I love you so much, Jesse, I – I am so grateful –“

“I love you too, Mids,” Jesse says, slipping an arm around her and pulling her tight. “You don’t have to be grateful. You deserve…all of it. Everything.”

She nods, sniffing again. “Do you promise not to hate me?”

He goes still again. “What? I mean…I mean, yes, Midnight. I’ll never hate you – I couldn’t. But…why on earth do you ask?”

“Because,” she whispers, shaking her head, her black curls bouncing lightly. “I’m going to ask you to let me go.”

“Midnight,” Jesse whispers, his arm tightening around her. “Wha – what are you talking about?”

“If you want to blame someone you should blame your mom,” she says, slightly snappy, turning her face up to him with a frown. He smiles a little at this, but it falls quickly away. “She – she told me that I can live whatever life I want. That I can have my own dreams. That I can do anything – absolutely anything. And that no one has any power to stop me.”

“Midnight, all of that is true,” Jesse murmurs, just staring at her. “But…what does that have to do with me?”

“Jesse,” she says, turning and taking his cheeks between her palms. “My whole life, all I’ve been told is that you’re my fate and you’re my destiny. And now that I know that there’s more…I want that. All of it. And it’s not that you’re not the best thing on the planet – because I think you might be?” Her voice goes all high and squeaky with pain. “But I…I want…I want to decide what my destiny is. I want to be free.”

“Midnight,” Jesse says, his voice breaking on the word. “What are you saying to me?”