Lux [h.s]

fifty-five

There was a low thud, and then some steps.

Cora's eyes snapped open, and she sat up, looking for the source of the noise.

The moonlight coming in through the sliver between the silvery curtains was suddenly cut off, a shadow taking its place.

Cora's heart beat louder in her chest as she silently slid off the bed. She called for her magic, but she'd just woken up and the threads of sleep and power were tangled inside her mind, and no echo inside of her answered.

The stranger was drawing closer, and her eyes travelled around the room until they found the perfect weapon. She lifted the chair in front of the desk, careful not to pass in front of the window, and flanked the wall next to it.

There was a step on the balcony, and then another. The lock on her window was undone. Cora's knuckles turned white around the back of the chair. Her heartbeat was now a loud thud in her ears, so strong that she could barely hear the sounds coming from outside. Scream, a voice inside her said, but she didn't. She could hold her own. This was her chance to prove it.

The stranger entered the bedroom at last, a dark shadow against the pale light of the moon. Cora raised the chair and brought it down on the shadow's back, hard.

But the hit didn't land.

The shadow turned around, as fast as lightning, and stopped the chair with his hand. He didn't even flinch when the wood came in contact with his skin, and the dark green of his eyes flickered. "Cora."

Cora gasped, and the chair fell to the ground. "Harry?!" Her mouth fell open in surprise, and she lowered herself to the ground as the tension left her body. "By Luces, what are you doing?!"

He raised a dark eyebrow, as if she was the one that had to explain herself instead of him, and pulled the curtains behind her wide open to bring the moonlight into the room. "I was hoping to talk to you for a moment," he said, "alone."

"And you thought it was a good idea to come in through the balcony?!" she silently shouted at him, having to remind herself that they were in the dead of night to keep herself from screaming and waking the entire house up. "I could've hit you!"

Harry tilted his head, the shadow of a smile on his face. "No, you couldn't have." It was likely true considering how fast he'd turned around, but it didn't reassure Cora in the slightest. The chair was still on the ground between them, and she told herself that it was staring at her accusingly for almost breaking its master's back.

"I..." Words left her, and she sat on the bed and hid her face in her hands. Adrenaline was still coursing through her veins, awakening the thrill of magic inside her. She wondered if Harry could perceive it.

Her question was answered when she saw a spark in Harry's eyes—a little shiver, a reflection of her own. A thin white flame danced between his fingers, and he put it out quickly, brushing his hand on his trousers as if to clean off a speck of dirt.

Cora's eyes followed the movement, but she didn't ask the question that was burning on her tongue. She asked another instead. "Couldn't it wait until tomorrow morning?"

He sighed and walked towards her. "As you know, it isn't easy to find some secrecy in this house anymore," he explained, "not with Thalia here. But her magic only answers to her call—to know, she has to ask a question first."

"If she doesn't know we're talking now, she won't be able to find out what we talked about," Cora finished for him. She was starting to get it, now. When she'd first been welcomed into that world, she'd thought everything was energy and untapped power. Now, even though energy was indeed into everything, she knew it had limits and rules that were stricter for some than others. Magic was a fickle thing, like a cat or stubborn child. To bend it to their will, someone had to be specific—because how she'd found out the hard way, it was more likely to give in less than it should, rather than more.