Crown of Glass by Isabella August

Author:Isabella August [August, Isabella]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-10-07T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

Stars glimmered on the Looking Glass.

Jenna stared out over the false city for a long time, taking in the sheer breadth of it. Her mind was working, cycling through thoughts just beneath the surface.

“How’s the view?”

Gabe’s voice sounded softly behind her, and Jenna closed her eyes.

“Epic,” she replied. “I can’t get my head around how huge this place is.”

“Well… it is a whole world,” Gabe said. He leaned his elbows onto the concrete wall next to her. She opened her eyes to see him looking out over the city, a faint smile playing on his face.

Jenna studied him silently. In the darkness outside, with the pale starlight shining overhead, he was a perfect mix of beautiful and familiar. A whole world to ourselves, she thought. We would have loved this, when we were kids.

That strange silver light flickered behind his glassy eyes as he stared down at the city. “Do you remember coming up here?” he asked her. “In the real world, I mean.”

Jenna smiled distantly. “Yeah. Field trip. You were too scared to look over the edge.”

Gabe reached over to thread his fingers through hers. “I spent a lot of my life trying to feel safe,” he said. “I don’t know if I ever got over that completely… but I’ve found bigger fears since then, I guess. The little ones feel less important now, by comparison.”

Jenna leaned her head against his shoulder. “I know what you mean,” she sighed. She hesitated. “Gabe… some things about you still scare me. But you’re still…” She tightened her hand on his. “You’re not just my favorite person. You’re my person. I wasn’t supposed to let go of you. And I wasn’t supposed to leave you behind.”

Gabe closed his arm around her shoulder. “It’s okay,” he said softly. “I’m just glad you’re here now. For however long you are.”

Jenna’s heart gave a pang. She turned against him, staring up into his eyes — that pale, glimmering green, and not the friendly golden-brown she loved so much. I can’t keep comparing him to who he was, she thought. He got this way on my account.

“I’m not going to leave you again,” she whispered. “I told you that before.”

Gabe hesitated. She saw the moment of uncertainty in his body. “You can’t really promise that,” he said. “And I… I wouldn’t hold you to it.”

For some reason, of all the things he could have said, that was the thing that settled her crazy, anxious thoughts. A stubborn, contrary irritation replaced all of her doubts. “Don’t you tell me what I can and can’t promise,” she shot back. “I am sticking around, and I will find a way to help you. And if you don’t like it, then too bad — you already asked, and I already said yes.”

Gabe’s eyebrows inched upward. “Uh,” he said eloquently.

Jenna leaned into him, locking her hands behind his neck. He closed his arms around her on instinct, steadying her. “You know what your problem is, Gabe?” she demanded.

He blinked down at her, his glass-green eyes bewildered.

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