Flamethroat

By the time I got back to the camp, Jack had finished preparing the pheasant.

Together we cooked the bird by tying it to a long stick and hoisting it over the fire. Hawthorne sat by me, watching the flames lick the sides of the bird, a small amount of drool accumulating at his jowls.

Within the hour we had picked the pheasant clean and the bones lay in a pile in the middle of the clearing.

Jack and I leaned against Hawthorne’s massive body, using him as a giant fluffy pillow. We stared at the night sky for what felt like hours, unable to sleep. After a long while of counting bats that flew overhead, I could not stop myself.

‘Jack?’ I spoke into the silence.

‘Mmh?’ Jack’s response was instant – so I got the impression that he too had been laying awake. He lay comfortably with his hands behind his head.

‘What are you thinking about?’ I asked.

Jack let out a small laugh.

‘What?’ I said, rolling onto my side to face him. The moonlight and the dying embers of our fire illuminated Jack’s features. His expression was calm. Serene.

‘Nothing,’ he said with a small smile and a glance in my direction.

‘You were thinking nothing?’

Jack rolled onto his side to face me too. ‘Why? What’s on your mind?’

I pursed my lips and rolled onto my back again, looking at the stars. ‘What were you and Georgia talking about in the stables?’ I was glad Jack couldn’t see the blush creeping up my neck.

Jack took a deep breath. ‘Nothing interesting,’ he said, rolling onto his back too. ‘She asked me to help her saddle up Altair and I agreed.’

‘When I walked in … you were both laughing at something. Her hand was on your arm – on your chest. It looked like -’ I faltered.

‘She was thanking me,’ he said, shifting his weight.

I didn’t believe him.

A moment passed in silence before the words blurted from my mouth, ‘Have you ever kissed anyone before?’

Jack glanced at me. ‘Why?’

‘Just wondering.’

He pondered this for a moment. ‘Four,’ he said.

This surprised me, but I wasn’t sure why. Was I expecting more, or less?

‘Who?’ I asked.

Jack sighed. ‘You wouldn’t know them.’

‘Tell me,’ I said.

Jack cleared his throat, ‘Well, there was Rose Bailey. We took classes together in the city. She was a Water-Breather. She kissed me when we were both fourteen, in an alley at the marketplace.’

I watched Jacks face for some sign of change in his expression, yet nothing happened.

‘What did you do?’ I asked.

Jack cringed. ‘I wasn’t really sure what to do at the time. I ran away.’

I smiled. ‘That doesn’t sound like you.’

‘Then there was Esther McGowan, a Mage who could change the composition of raw materials. I was sixteen. She was thirty-one.’

‘Jack!’ I exclaimed.

‘She was my teacher. I kissed her after class one day as a dare.’ Jack’s smile was mischievous. ‘She slapped me afterwards.’

‘I should hope so,’ I said, aghast.

‘Third was Camryn.’ Jack’s cheeks burned pink. ‘At seventeen.’

‘Camryn?’ My eyebrows shot up.

Jack shook his head. ‘It’s not what you think. We have never been together. I grew up with Camryn, so I considered her as a sister. She saw it differently, I suppose.’

‘She kissed you?’

Jack nodded. ‘She did.’

‘Did you kiss her back?’

‘Of course,’ Jack laughed. ‘Many times, on many occasions.’

I frowned. ‘Why?’

Jack laughed. ‘A girl wanted to kiss me, Avalon. What was I supposed to do?’

This annoyed me. ‘Just because a girl fancies you doesn’t mean you have to use her-’

‘Oh, it wasn’t like that,’ he said.

I scoffed. ‘Who was lucky number four?’

Jack’s teeth clenched and I saw a vein throb in his temple. ‘Abby Butler. She could pass through solid objects. We were eighteen.’

I waited for Jack to elaborate; but he did not.

‘And?’ I pressed.

‘And she turned out to be quite horrible,’ he said, swallowing hard.

‘What did she do?’

‘It’s not important,’ he said. ‘She was not very nice, that’s all.’

‘You can tell me,’ I said.

Jack gave in easily. ‘I guess she was the first girl I really liked. I met her in the marketplace and saw her every day, but I never spoke to her. Until one day she spoke to me. I was so excited, I asked her on a date and she said yes. Everything went really well for a couple of weeks.’

‘What happened?’ I asked.

Jack rolled onto his side and faced me. ‘She was a criminal. A thief. She was using her Power to steal from all the manors in Frost Arch. She had been using me to get information on Forsythe manor.’

My brows knitted together, ‘That wasn’t very nice of her.’

Jack let out a dramatic sigh. ‘There you have it,’ he said. ‘My love life.’

I gave a small laugh and Jack grinned, his past heartaches forgotten.

‘So, go on then,’ he said. ‘It’s your turn.’

‘What?’

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