Typhoon & Tempest

Chapter Thirty Three

Jack fidgeted against the wall of the school hall, scowling at the amount of fairy lights and streamers hanging from the rafters. Her heels clanged together as she adjusted her stance once more. Her ringed fingers brushed the silky green fabric of the dress Claire had lent her.

She had to give Claire some credit - she knew how to plan an outfit together. Jack hated it but not because she didn't look good. She wasn't having fun. She'd had a bad day, let alone a traumatic week.

She couldn't get Yuric's screams out of her head.

The witch blew a strand of her dark choppy hair out of her eyes. Claire had plastered some make up on her, things Jack couldn't pronounce nor bothered to. All she knew was when she walked past the mirror at Claire's house - which was the whole wall, because she was from a wealthy family - her face shimmered and her eyes were lined to a sharp point, illuminating their vibrant emerald hue. Her mouth was sticky with the dark gloss Claire had slapped on her lips. In Jack's defense, Claire had pinned her down and smeared it on, so a lot of her face was sticky before Claire went back over and fixed it.

The giddy fairy bounced over, her hair in natural perfect ringlets and a big smile on her face. Her bright pink, fluffy dress hit Jack first before Claire's body did, giving her a fierce hug.

"Come on Jack!" Claire squealed over the loud music. "Come and dance with us!"

Jack shook her head, seeing Karen waving them both over from the dance floor. "No thanks Claire, keep going."

"Come on!" Claire tried to pull her towards the floor that was just beginning to stick with spilled drinks and dropped food. Jack scowled at the sight of the wasted goods. "You've been against this wall all night!"

"Fine," Jack said, "I'm getting a drink."

"That's not a dance!"

"I'm going to dance with the drink!" Jack waved Claire off, who laughed and bounced back to Karen. Jack wondered how Claire was jumping in her super-high stiletto shoes let alone walking. Her own shoes were a small strapped black wedge. She was barely an inch higher than normal but they were the only fancy shoes Jack had.

She didn't like going to events like a formal that begged everyone to wear their best and most expensive clothes and jewels. It only reminded her just how not-rich she was.

Jack didn't like the feel of the green silk dress Claire had given her. Yes, it hugged her like her favourite jumper. It was almost identical to the shade of her eyes and it looked great against her naturally tanned skin. But it wasn't her. Jack wished she was back home where she could comfortably be herself, but quickly regretted the thought.

Home wasn't a good place this week. Her mother's madness had gripped her tighter since they all returned on Sunday with a bloody Lily from their forest rescue.

Jack had seen it build and build over the years Freida hadn't had the ten rings on her hand. Her grandmother's way of controlling their large grove of magic, and there was only one set. When Andromeda died, Freida had them. When Jack first showed signs of her magic, Frieda passed them over to her - and she'd been slowly losing her mind since.

It was only this morning when Freida's madness gripped her in a trance. Her magic had curled around her frizzy, knotted hair and around her neck, hypnotised by whatever she was envisioning, and Jack had been careless and touched her arm to see if her mother was okay.

Jack, while swirling her newly poured water, fiddled with the black choker she'd added to Claire's outfit suddenly. When she'd shown up at Claire's house to get ready with her and Karen, they were shocked to see the bruise forming on her neck but didn't ask about it.