All of it is burning.
“Fuck, Jareth...where are you?” Kas wiped his mouth, leaving a streak of black soot. He stepped toward the fire, only for me to place a hand on his arm and stop him.
“He’s fine,” I croaked, swallowing the grotesque taste of smoke.
“He might’ve gotten stuck. He could’ve fallen or—”
“He’ll be okay.” I balled my other hand with animosity toward Jareth.
Even now, even while watching his entire home buckle beneath roaring fire, Kas was more worried about his blood-adopted brother than his own future.
That was what Jareth hadn’t understood.
He’d thought he was doing Kas a favor by destroying something that had once been a prison. Yet he hadn’t seen what I had.
Yes, Kas stayed because of his amnesia and lack of ease around society.
Yes, Fables had allowed him to sink into his mind and slowly suffocate beneath unresolved horrors.
But he’d also stayed for them.
He’d stayed to protect his family from ever being hurt again. He’d stayed because he felt closer to them in a home they’d shared than somewhere else far, far away. He stayed because he was loyal to the end. Loyal even if it meant he’d gone slowly insane.
Dropping my hand down his arm, I slinked my fingers between his.
He looked at me, his lips twitching into a bewildered half-smile. “How the fuck did this go so wrong so quickly?”
I shrugged, squeezing his hand. I wanted to say something wise and comforting, but I had nothing. Instead, I forced a low laugh, saying, “Jareth happened.”
Kas snorted, then coughed, struggling against his smoke inhalation. “Maybe I shouldn’t have welcomed him with open arms.”
“If I remember correctly, you gave him a right hook instead.”
He winced. “True.”
“You did the right thing.” I kissed his soot-covered cheek. “Punching him and welcoming him. And who knows, maybe he was the one who needed to do this. Burning Fables might not be about you at all but entirely about him and his issues.”
His forehead furrowed in thought. He looked back as the fire continued to burn, explode, and melt everything it could.
We stood there for a while, the night sky full of glowing orange smoke. Trees guarded like sentinels, black and ominous. Hopefully, the flames would not leap the distance across the garden and catch fire in the branches.
I swallowed hard.
If that happened, we would all die tonight. Not just ghosts and monsters but every animal who shared this national park.
With my heart thumping, I looked at the veggie patch where Kas and I had planted seedlings, and he’d taken me against the wall.
Would that burn?
How safe are we?
How long until we know if the entire park will go up in cinders?
I lost track of time as fear trickled through me.
Who knew what the time was? Close to nine o’clock, probably, after the evening of drinking and sex. How had that evening turned into this? What on earth were we going to do once Fable burned to dust? We were stranded and homeless and—
My stomach rumbled as yet another explosion happened inside. Some other liquor stash perhaps, or heater oil, or forgotten gasoline.
A rustle sounded behind us, ripping Kas around with his bared teeth. His long hair and soot-covered body looked as menacing as a bear. “Jareth?”
“Yeah.” Jareth stepped out of the darkness, his own backpack that he’d been wearing when he’d first appeared from the cave on his shoulders. Ash decorated his face and hands, and the whiff of caustic smoke trailed after him as he came closer.
Nodding in my direction, he shrugged out of his bag and let it thud against the ground. Coming to join us, he stood next to Kas, bumping shoulders. “I’m not going to say sorry.” Jareth coughed, his words slightly slurred from all the alcohol he’d ingested before sharing it with carpets and drapes. “It needed to happen.”
“You didn’t need to destroy brick and mortar,” Kas muttered. “It wasn’t guilty like they were.”
“That’s what you don’t understand, brother.” Jareth shook his head. “It was. It was entirely complicit in keeping us hidden. If I didn’t destroy it, who’s to say it wouldn’t be used again when you finally left with Gemma?”
Kas stiffened as he flicked me a look. He didn’t reply, but his eyes shadowed with pain.
I gave him a quick smile and another hand squeeze before following Jareth’s lead and shrugging out of my heavy backpack.
Jareth gave me a small nod before dropping to his haunches and sitting in the grass. Dew had already formed, making everything wet and chilly. Hopefully, if the atmosphere had dampened the forest, then the fire would be contained and not damage anything else tonight.
Kas sighed and practically collapsed next to him.
I followed, wincing as damp coldness soaked into my jeans, highly aware of how vulnerable we were now that we had no shelter in which to get warm. No blankets in which to huddle. No fireplace in which to set a controlled, cheery blaze.