AN: Song : Gasoline (Halsey)
“A mage?
I’m not a mage,” Jinx said, confused.
“You are a mage.
But because you don’t use your magic, it found another way to express itself.
Magic wants to be used, and no matter what people do to suppress it, it always finds a way,” Hope explained.
“No.
No, I can’t be a mage,” Jinx said.
Hope immediately realized something was wrong.
“I’m not a mage.
They died.
They died.
It’s my fault.
My fault,” Jinx began to mutter.
“I just wanted to help them…
I just wanted to help them…Shut up…Shut up…” she whispered.
“I’m a jinx.
A jinx…”
“It’s my fault!” she cried before striking herself.
In an instant, Hope pulled her into her arms.
The woman was trembling.
Hope gently took hold of her chin and lifted her head.
Just as I feared, she thought as she looked into Jinx’s eyes.
There was grief there, and madness.
But there was something else as well.
Something hidden.
If she had been an ordinary human, she wouldn’t have seen anything.
But she wasn’t.
The magic in those eyes was completely out of control.
Without thinking, she teleported them away.
They appeared in a desolate place of sand and canyons.
If Hope remembered the bits of geography she had learned from the beggar correctly, they were somewhere in the Shuriman desert.
The teleportation spell Freya had taught her relied heavily on the will of the witch casting it.
It was easier to travel to a place she already knew, but she had only just arrived in this world.
She knew nothing about it.
She had wanted to find somewhere deserted, and her magic had sent them straight into the desert.
She couldn’t believe she had been in this world for less than a day and all of this had already happened.
She would take the time to reflect on the absurdity of her life when she was alone.
For now, there was something far more urgent that needed her attention.
“You shouldn’t stay near me.
I ruin everything.
You’ll die like they did.
You’ll leave me too.”
Jinx was lost in her fears.
“Jinx.”
Hope tried to bring her back to reality.
“Jinx.
Come back to me.”
“Jinx, sweetheart, come back.
Please, I need you.”
“Sweetheart?” Jinx finally said, her voice rough and unsteady.
“There’s nothing sweet about me, Hope,” she said in a resigned tone.
Hope smiled softly.
“You came back.”
At those words, Jinx turned her head away to avoid Hope’s gaze.
“Where are we?” she asked, stunned.
“I think this is the Shuriman Desert.”
“You think?” Jinx said incredulously.
“I just wanted to find a deserted place, and the spell sent us here,” Hope admitted sheepishly.
“Tell me we’re not walking all the way home.”
“Of course not.”
Jinx let out a sigh of relief, but Hope sensed a hint of disappointment beneath it.
So she wants to travel someday.
Good.
Hope had no intention of spending her entire immortality in Zaun.
But she also had no intention of leaving Jinx behind.
That realization was oddly reassuring.
“Why are we here?”
“Magic needs to be used.
I don’t know why, but you’ve partially blocked yours.
It could be because of your environment, or because of trauma.
But when magic is suppressed, the consequences can be severe. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
It manifests differently for everyone.
But I think we’ve discovered how it manifests in your case,” Hope said, looking at her.
“Hope, what are you talking about?” Jinx asked, confused.
Hope bit her lip and sighed.
“Your hallucination episodes are a consequence of your suppressed magic.
You panicked when I told you about your magic .
That’s not surprising.
But when you started drowning in guilt afterward, your magic manifested and amplified your anxiety, creating hallucinations,” Hope finally said.
She studied Jinx, but couldn’t quite sense what she was feeling—there was a strange emptiness there.
Silence stretched on until Jinx finally spoke.
“How do I stop them?” she said in a barely audible voice.
“Your magic needs to be set free.
That’s its natural state.
But before that can happen, you have to find it.
I can help you, if you let me.”
Jinx nodded.
“Okay.
Do it.”
Hope stepped closer and pressed her forehead against Jinx’s.
“Close your eyes.”
Jinx blushed, but obeyed.
“Your magic is hiding inside you.
It’s a raging storm.
It wants to break free and tear everything apart.
It’s there.
It has always been there.
That electricity running through you, that energy filling you whenever you’re exhausted.
Can you see it?”
Suddenly, the air became charged.
The wind began to rise—a breeze at first, until it grew into powerful gusts.
When Hope pulled away, she saw that Jinx’s eyes had turned gray, like storm clouds.
“Now scream.
Let it all out.
The grief, the guilt, the fear, and the shame you’ve carried every single day.
Scream, and show them the storm.”
And Jinx screamed.
A sandstorm erupted in her wake, streaked with lightning.
It twisted into a tornado, sweeping up everything within hundreds of feet before finally dispersing.
Jinx’s eyes widened in shock.
She turned toward Hope—
—and fainted.
Jinx POV
She didn’t know where she was.
Mist surrounded her on all sides, thick and endless.
The only thing she remembered was unleashing that massive tornado.
That power…
it really came from me…
And Hope—Hope had helped her release it.
She didn’t know what to think about that woman.
She had heard her crying on that rooftop.
That despair had reminded Jinx of herself when Vi had abandoned her.
Back then, she had been searching for a reason to keep living, and she had attached herself to Silco.
Looking back, that probably hadn’t been her best decision.
Becoming the daughter of the man who had murdered her second father.
That made three fathers in total.
That had to be some kind of record.
She hadn’t been able to bear seeing Hope in that state, so she had started the game.
The rest hadn’t been planned.
Hope had followed her.
She had followed her.
Nobody did that.
People ran from her.
She was Silco’s mad demon.
A jinx.
Everyone knew that.
She was used to being alone.
Used to being feared.
Used to being hated.
But Hope had followed her.
What did she see in her?
Jinx wasn’t blind.
When you grew up in this city, you couldn’t afford to be.
A child had to know at a glance whether a target was worth robbing.
Jinx could tell someone had money just by the way they walked.
So she was certain of one thing. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
Hope had feelings for her.
She knew something had happened the moment their eyes met.
The fangs and the eyes had been one thing, but her magic had reacted too.
If Jinx was a storm, then Hope was a forest bathed in moonlight.
She had felt Hope’s magic brush against her.
It was…
Indescribable.
Jinx knew she was starting to develop feelings for Hope.
How could she not be charmed?
She had never really thought she would be this attracted to someone.
Zaunites learned early to guard their treasures fiercely.
The same was true for the people they loved.
Sometimes, a couple would get married after only a week.
Life was too short, too hard in this city.
So when you wanted something, you took it.
She didn’t think she deserved Hope.
But if Hope truly wanted her, Jinx knew she would never have the strength to push her away.
She was selfish like that.
As she was lost in thought, the fog began to lift.
A scene appeared before her eyes.
She saw herself as a baby, cradled in her mother’s arms.
The woman was hurrying through the streets of the city.
Jinx watched her push open a door and descend a staircase.
At the bottom stood an altar and a statue of Janna, Goddess of Air and Storms, the goddess of Zaun.
Kneeling before the altar was a man deep in prayer.
“Priest Erik!
Priest Erik!
Help me!” her mother cried.
“What’s wrong?”
“She’s sick.
Her fever won’t break, and I don’t know what to do anymore.
We can’t afford a doctor from Piltover!”
The man gently took the baby from her mother’s arms and examined her.
The child was screaming.
“This isn’t a normal fever.
She’s a mage, but her magic is too powerful for such a small body.”
“Then what can we do?”
“The only solution is to ask Janna for help, or this child won’t survive the night.”
Jinx’s mother went pale.
The priest placed the baby on the altar and began to chant.
Suddenly, a blue bird appeared and flew straight into the child’s neck.
When it was over, all that remained was a bird-shaped birthmark on the back of her neck.
“Janna’s power will seal her magic,” the priest explained.
“But a mage cannot spend their entire life with their magic blocked.
It would put her in great danger.
When she turns ten, you must bring her back here so the seal can be removed, or the consequences will be disastrous.”
The scene faded.
The image of her dead mother appeared.
Then her tears.
Her breakdowns.
Her episodes.
And finally, the release of her magic.
When it was over, the visions vanished, and a gentle breeze swept through the mist.
“Janna,” Jinx whispered.
A light, feminine voice answered.
“If your mother had not died, your magic would never have remained sealed.
The situation worsened when you absorbed the gemstone’s magic as a child.
I thought your madness would only grow worse.
And then you met your soulmate.”
Jinx trembled.
“My soulmate?”
Laughter echoed through the darkness.
“I’ve said too much.
I hope she won’t be too angry with me.”
“Hope,” Jinx murmured.
“She is remarkable.
Take care of her.
She is far more fragile than she appears.
Now wake up before she starts panicking.”
The mist wrapped around Jinx.
And she opened her eyes.