I wanted to run to Jem, explain. I stared after where he was moments before, my heart hammering in my chest. How could I explain to him that I was in love with him? That if I wanted to run off, it would only be with only him? We were so close to the dragon Kingdom now. Ren had pointed it out to us yesterday, the rim of the old Vulcano. Two weeks away, he had said. A kingdom inside a volcano, he had said. The place he met Jem. I could see the images of the past haunting Jem when we saw it, the way he clenched his hands tightly, the fear and the determination in his eyes. Was his father in there somewhere, waiting for Jem to kill him? Did he even know Jem was alive? How could I burden him with my love, knowing he didn’t feel the same, just a silly girl with a crush on a man she couldn’t
