Air {Elements of Power 3}

Chapter 11: Jasmine

"You!" she hissed as I opened the door. She was sitting on the bed in the centre of the room, a flame already glowing brightly in her left hand. I should have taken that as a warning. I should have left then.

Or when the spark came straight at my chest, causing me to dive sharply to the right to avoid it.

"What the flames are you doing in here?" She was on her feet now. Her hair blazed around her in disarray. She hadn't even changed since she had arrived. Probably hadn't washed either. She looked wild. And terrifying.

"Come to gloat?" She spat the words in my direction, but didn't come any closer, for which I was thankful. "You're more Helian than I realised during the escape: callous, manipulative, selfish."

"I-" I began, but she cut across me.

"No. You don't get to speak. You have to listen. You left me. You didn't even tell him. You've let him think that I betrayed him."

"Roxy I-"

"I waited!"

Her eyes were frantic, red, was she going to cry? Oh air, what had I done to her?

"I sat by my window for weeks, waiting for him to send someone to rescue me. Cin had taken everything from me: my powers, my freedom, my choices. But he hadn't taken my hope. Naive, idiot that I was, I thought that you would tell him the truth once you had got away. I thought that-being as unlimitedly good as he was-he would help me. Even if he couldn't come himself, I thought he might send someone, attempt something.

"But no. He never even got the chance. You didn't give it to him. You were too worried about keeping him to yourself."

This time the flames hit me before I could register that they were coming. They didn't burn my skin, but they made a pretty mess of my clothes, burning straight through the blazer and the top below.

Roxy threw her head back, eyes gleaming. "Oooh that felt good." So she sent another, and another.

It was easier to stand there and take them. She couldn't hurt me-physically, at least. And I deserved it. I knew that. I also knew that it would be safest to let her vent her anger on me, rather than on the room or, air forbid, in the hearing of others.

The flares flickered as they hit my skin and made it tingle.

Eventually, she stopped, breathing deeply from both the exertion and anger.

"Roxy?" I began tentatively, unsure if she would let me say anything now.

To my surprise, she shrugged and flopped back down on the bed, crossing her arms over her stomach. "Go on then, Hybrid. Let's hear it. How are you going to lie your way out of this one?"

I took a deep breath. "Roxy, I'm sorry. I never, for a second, thought that I was leaving you in any kind of danger. I thought that I was doing the best thing for everyone-Brae would have insisted on trying to save you himself and he would have only gotten himself hurt in the process. And you, you can't be happy over here. I know how much I feel the cold and it must be even worse for you, since you've never experienced it before. I thought that you would be better off staying in the Helian Realm."

"Better for you, at any rate." The left side of her mouth tweaked upwards in a lopsided smirk. "Come on, Jasmine. Be honest-with yourself at least, if not with me. By leaving me in the Helian Realm you got to keep Brae all to yourself. And that seems to be working out rather nicely for you, doesn't it." She smirked again. I hated the arrogance of her tone, the way she thought she had me all figured out, that my motives were purely, only, selfish.

"That's not true. Although keeping you away from Brae definitely benefits him. He's too good for you. Too kind, too loving, too generous. Whereas you, you're dark, manipulative and cruel. You don't deserve him. You never could."

"And you do? You can be cruel too, Jazz: you lie; you deceive; you manipulate situations for your own gain. You're no better than I am, not really. We're scarily similar." She paused for a moment, perhaps intrigued. "I wonder why that is?"

I couldn't do it. I couldn't tell her why.

Not yet. Not now.

"I am nothing like you," I told her, with as much resolve as I could muster, then I left the room, slamming the door behind me.

As I leant against the cool metal of the door, breathing deeply, I was certain that I could hear her laughing inside.

{Well done - you all guessed correctly! What do you think of Jazz and Roxy's first fight? One of my favourite things about writing this book was all the interaction between Jazz and Roxy - I hope you enjoy reading these scenes. Let me know with a vote or a comment.}