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“It’s one fucking night, Jax. She can spare you, I’m sure. Or do you need to get her off all night long to keep her satisfied?”
“What?” He laughs, shoves his blond bangs out of his eyes. “We haven’t even slept in the same room.”
Unaccountable relief floods me. “Good.”
“But I don’t owe Ashton anything. I was a slave at his house for years, he—”
“—turned a blind eye, I know, you’ve told us.”
Another one of those slow, confused blinks. “I have?”
“Dammit, Jax. Yes, you have. And that’s another reason you need to come and talk with Ash, because you may not know the whole story.”
“Are we talking about the same family who killedyourmother?” He sneers at me. “See, I remember the important stuff.”
“Very selective memory,” I grind out, my hands balling at my sides. Because yeah, he’s right and I’m trying fucking hard not to think about that right now, not to hold it against Ashton.Kraish, I need to talk with him, too. First things first, though. “He’s going through a tough time. We should be there for one another.”
“I always thought you were against us bonding and doing stuff together.”
“Now your fucking memory is suddenly flooding back?” I snap. “Do you remember at all how we helped each other, how Mia helped us? Don’t you give a damn anymore? This Ophelia appears out of the blue and you forget all about us in the blink of an eye?”
He sighs. “That’s a bit dramatic, don’t you think? It’s only been a couple of days, not much of a chance to—”
“It’s the truth!”
“Sin—”
“Ash would have done this for any one of us. And you will abandon him at his time of greatest need?”
“Put that way…” Jason winces. “I’ll speak to Emrys.”
“You do that. Tonight. We break out and help Ashton see his baby brother. Yeah?”
He nods and turns to go back to his new companions, leaving me rattled and unnerved. Just how strong is this girl’s magic, to take away some of Jason’s memories and make others seem distant? Does that mean I’m making a mistake by sticking with Mia? And most importantly… is it the strength of magic that matters or one’s intentions? Mia seems to care for us, to like us, despite having set out to destroy us… Ophelia says she’s here to save us but she’s interfering with memories and emotions, subtly trying to control us…
“Who controls the past controls the future,”Orwell said—yeah, not only Ashton knows his literature—and controlling memories is like controlling our past, but is Ophelia doing it on purpose?
And above all, is she telling the truth about being on our side?
4
MIA
“How come you stayed with me?” I’m seated on the grass beside Ashton. I glance sideways at him, at his tousled black hair and those long lashes casting shadows on his cheeks.
“Huh?”
“Look, I haven’t seen you in days, not since Ophelia arrived and… and I didn’t get a chance to ask you why you didn’t go to her like Jason and Emrys.” I pull on a tuft of grass, turn my hand and study the grass blades. Green like Jason’s eyes, spiky like Emrys’ hair. “What’s on your mind?”
“Toby,” he whispers. “My brother.”
“Right. I’m sorry.” I shake my head at my own stupidity. “Of course you were thinking about him, not this… mess.”
“Mia.” He puts his hand over mine, crushing the blades of grass between our palms. He turns to gaze at me. “I believe in you.”
“Thanks.” I swallow hard. “But what if I can’t help you, what if I’m not what you think?”
“Trust in yourself. Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”
