“I thought you were saving him for some grand theatrical revenge scheme.” The words drip with sarcasm, like this is some kind of joke.

My voice drops dangerously low as I get up in her face. “Jack has plenty of friends I can use for that purpose. Amber, Julio, Poppy, Marie . . . they’re all on their way here. So let’s get something straight. You’re going to be a good little Spring and show me how to wield the earth magic. You’re going to teach me to control it—the plants, the quakes, all of it—or I will cut your friends down one by one in front of you.”

A spark of fear lights in her eyes. Flashes of her memories flicker inside them, the vicious, violent ways she’s used that magic to protect the people she loves. It only makes me hungrier for it. Her mouth hardens into a thin line. “You aren’t human enough to wield that kind of magic.”

“There’s nothing human in Gaia’s magic.”

Fleur’s face tips up with a puzzled expression. Her eyes dart to the glowing orb on the desk, then back to me. A curious smile touches them. “You can’t hold it, can you?” Blood rushes to my cheeks and she barks out a laugh. “You tried to take it from her, and her magic rejected you.”

I lunge, taking Fleur by the throat, shaking with the urge to snuff out her life. Gaia’s magic riots against the glass, beams of light shooting from the orb like daggers.

Frost crackles up my arms, over Fleur’s chin. The ground shudders, dirt popping along the floor as she claws at my hands, starved for air. Magic glows inside her, threatening to break through her skin. I could stop time, right now. I could hold her on the brink of death indefinitely. I could watch it over and over, the way Noelle’s death plays out in my dreams every time I close my eyes.

A burning pain cinches my chest, stealing my breath.

Lixue’s eyes widen as a spill of warmth leaks from my nose. “Chronos, you’re bleeding.”

The smell of it is suddenly thick in the room. I double over, and Fleur crashes to the floor.

18

By the Highway Home

JACK