Lover

Alternate Universe

Bella:

When I was little, my mum would always talk me through pain. She would sooth me with her words and hands. She hated to see me hurt, and when I had broken things off with a friend of mine - whom I had been best friends with for ten years, and had been verbally abusive - she held me through my break down. She let me cry into her chest, because I hadn't want to let go of them. I was afraid what would happen when I let them go. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to cope.

But when I did let them go I felt - hollow. In fact, as hollow as I felt right now. Amren circled me, muttering nothing in particular, but saying everything all at once. I squeezed my eyes closed and reached deep into the endless abyss of darkness within me with a pale hand, reaching, grappling for the bubbling violet power.

My power.

I wondered what Sylas would think, how he would react when I told him that I had magical abilities. He would most likely scream and tell me to be the queen I was and kick some ass.

The arm that was reaching in for my power was not my arm, but rather, an alternate universe version of myself. What I would look like in another universe. The arm was long and pale, marred with long scars, almost as if I had harmed myself. I wanted to know why, why the scars were there.

My hand reached and reached for the violet power that was bubbling deep down. I winced in pain as I caught hold of a thread of power. I pulled, bringing it up and to the surface. It was a small thread, no where near enough to fully shift into an extravagant beast. But it was enough.

I pulled and pulled it up, curling my dainty fingers with cracked fingernails around the kernel of violet magic. And I yanked it to the surface. My face felt like it was on fire, I felt my eyes aching and my skin prickling. I felt my bones groan, strain before relaxing after the taught pull. And I jerked in my chair when I managed to pull together my strength and yank the small piece of power up.

And then I saw her.

Black hair with a red and purple reflect billowing in the wind, turquoise eyes ringed with gold. Pale skin, slim, slender, curvy body. Marred skin with scars. Her eyes were rimed with silver, her mouth parted and moist.

She was extravagant.

Me. She was me. This lively source of power, this girl that had deep shadows in her magnificent eyes. This source of power was me.

"Good." Somewhere far away, I heard Amren mutter. All I could do was stare at myself. "Now think about who or what you want to shift into. Think, Petal."

I was vaguely aware of everyone in the room; Elain, Lucien, Nesta, Cassian, Azriel, Mor, Rhys and Feyre. They all waited.

And I shifted. I shifted into her, I shifted into myself. A me that didn't belong in this universe. Everyone held their breath as I opened my eyes.

"Who is that?" Feyre breathed. They were all in awe, I stared right back at them all. Azriel looked as if he wasn't breathing, a small smile tugged at the corner of my mouth.

"Her power. Herself." Nesta said, staring with an unflinching gaze.

Elain shook her head, frowning. "I don't understand." Lucien soothed down her arm, kissing the side of her head.

"The form she is in right now, is her power in a human form. Fae form." he clarified, his scarlet hair catching the sunlight.

My hand snapped up and I touched my ears. As tiny as usual, but instead of the rounded cartilage I was used to, it was delicately pointed.