I Never Knew

Chapter 23

***Just so you know, there will be a cover change for this book very soon! I decided it needed a better one LOL ***

***(Jay's POV; song for this chapter: "Fix You" by Coldplay)***

I'm a nervous wreck. Nya told us to trust her on this, but it's super sketchy. I mean, we've got a lot of what-if's here.

She sidles up. "Hey, Jay, I talked to your mom. She said we only arrived a few hours ago – you first, then me."

"Okay. At least that means we have time to save the others. I was terrified we'd been here for days. That would mean – "

She puts a hand on my arm. "Calm down, Jay. It'll be all right."

Through the dimness, I gaze into her blue eyes. "If we die tonight..."

"Don't even."

I press on anyway. "I love you, and I hope you realize how wonderful you are."

She rolls her eyes. "You're wrong about me being wonderful, but thanks."

Just as she turns to go, I stop her with a hand on her shoulder. "Aren't you going to say anything to me?"

"We're going to be fine, Jay."

"Just in case?" I beg. I need to know where she stands on our relationship.

She sighs. "Just in case we don't make it out of this, I wish I were someone else so we could still be together." She squirms out of my hold and stalks away.

Determination fills me. We have to get out of this alive so I can show Nya that she's not just some toxic brat. I mean, she can be a brat, but she's not toxic.

Then the door creaks. Nya, my mom, and I all get down on the floor. It's time.

The door fully opens, and my anxiety returns all over again.

In walks Ultraviolet. "Master of lightning, where are you? It's time for you to come see the Quiet One."

Oh, no. Nya never told me anything about that. She was taken before Camille when she was questioned. They probably plan to kill me. This is bad. This is very –

I stop that thought as I see Nya creeping out the cracked door. Her plan will work. It has to.

I just hope she and mom can get past the guards.

"There you are, ninja. You really think you can hide from me?" Ultraviolet cackles.

I stall. "Well, um, I was wondering if, before you take me to my doom, there was possibly a restroom I could use."

"You really think we have restrooms for the prisoners?" she laughs. "Come with me."

Rather than giving me a chance to obey her orders, she grabs me by the shirt collar and drags me out the door.

Given that Nya and mom are nowhere in sight, I take it they managed to subdue the guards and steal their uniforms. Can you even call biker gang garb a uniform?

"The Quiet One is most anxious to see you," grins Ultraviolet.

"Are you going to...um...kill me?" Might as well get that out in the open.

She laughs. "Are you kidding me? If we were going to kill you, we would've killed the other elemental masters, too. No, we have different plans for each of you. Someone, in particular, has requested to deal with you."