But she lied to him.
She wasn’t his to claim.
She was married to another, bound by vows, and taken in body and soul.
Jareth had committed an unforgivable act. One that demanded payment in the cruelest of ways. He’d taken her from another man. He’d bound her to him when she wasn’t free to be bound.
Therefore, the blood bond between monster and maiden took away what he coveted.
Her heart stopped.
She dropped dead at his feet.
And her bones adorned his lonely cave ever after.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
I WAITED BEHIND KAS, afraid to step into the dorm.
Something wasn’t right.
The aura in the room was tight and tingling with rage.
Jareth growled under his breath as he slammed the book he was reading closed. His shoulders shuddered and the glint of the bourbon bottle, that he’d encouraged us all to drink in the games room, dangled from his fingers.
“I thought you said you were hungry,” Kas muttered, reaching to pat Jareth on the back. But his hand never connected.
In a lightning-fast move, Jareth shot toward one of the sad, single beds and threw the book down. It flopped open, its pages wide and taunting. His arm came up, his hand tipped over, and he poured a waterfall of alcohol all over it.
“Wait. What the fuck are you—?” Kas leaped forward just as Jareth pulled his lighter from his pocket. He punched the book with the flame dancing in his fingers, instantly igniting the pages with a whoosh of blue, bourbon fire.
“Holy shit.” I backed up, my mouth falling wide as fire billowed and roared.
Kas dashed to a bed next to the one currently smoking and curling with angry, desperate flames. Snatching the blankets off, he attacked the flame-chewed book, hitting it over and over again with the covers.
But it wasn’t any use.
The fire leaped from the book to the puddle of booze soaking into the mattress. It ate up every inch of fuel, switching from a book fire to a bed bonfire.
It happened so fast.
Too fast.
Terrifyingly fast.
Oh, God.
The roar and crackle amplified with every second. Black smoke began to curl, bringing with it the acrid, terrifying scent of danger. Baser instincts told me to run. To get away before it was too late.
“Motherfucker.” Kas kept fighting the fire, spreading the flames as it latched onto the blanket he was using to beat and smother.
“Do something!” I yelled at Jareth, pure fury pooling through me as he just backed up, taking a healthy pull of bourbon, his eyes glowing with flames as he watched his old bed burn. He didn’t answer me. His eyes were crowded with the past and demons. His face a twisted mask of vengeance.
Kas continued to hit, losing an unwinnable battle.
The smoke thickened, making my eyes sting and lungs cough. I dashed forward, only to dance away as his strikes became fast and desperate. “Kas...stop. You can’t—”
“Help me!” he bellowed at Jareth. “Help me put it out, for Christ’s sake!”
Jareth shook his head, taking another drink and moving to stand in the doorway. His lips twisted into a sick smirk. “I think I’ll just watch thanks.”
“It’ll burn the entire place down if we don’t stop it!” Kas continued to beat the disaster with a blanket now on fire, sending flames to the tatty curtains and other books just waiting to be eaten by the greedy flames.
Another book sparked, smoldered, ignited.
I coughed as the smoke turned black and thick on the ceiling.
“That’s true.” Jareth winked in my direction, utterly calm in the chaos he’d brought. “But would that be so bad? You said it yourself; you have no food.”
My heart galloped as I coughed again. “You can’t be serious.”
“Well...you want out, don’t you? Do you honestly want to spend an entire winter eating scraps and slowly dying beneath harsh frosts?” He drank straight from the bottle again, his throat working with a large swallow. “Because I sure as fuck don’t.”
“You don’t fucking live here!” Kas yelled, still trying to win. Not ready to accept defeat. The fire licked its way from Jareth’s bed to the one beside it, devouring another book, setting fire in a woosh of fresh fuel.
Kas spun to look at me, sweat poured down his face, and his eyes were afraid. More afraid than I’d ever seen. “Gem, go get some water!”
“Right!” I turned to fly down the stairs, but Jareth’s fingers latched around my wrist. “You have a choice here, Gemma.” His eyes narrowed with hate and historical hurt. “Let this place burn to ash. Erase the ghosts. Set the past free. Have an excuse to go home.”
I fought against his hold. “I’m not going anywhere without Kas.”
“He won’t have a choice but to go with you.” He leaned in, whispering into my ear, his breath rank with booze. “Let Fables burn, and he’s homeless. He’ll have to make another choice—seeing as he’s suddenly so fond of those. Either choose to die in a forest with nothing or go with you...the girl he’s in love with.”