ANATOMY OF A GIRL

part twenty-seven

Sapphire woke to the sound of a lightbulb shattering. She barely managed to pull herself out of bed, the bottom of her stomach heavy and twisted, and every muscle tensed and aching ― a side-effect of overexerting her magic. She knew she should rest, but curiosity often pushed her to do things that lead her to trouble.

Though she knew this could've been one of those times, it didn't stop her from pulling on shoes and a knitted jersey before leaving the warmth of her room.

The air felt thin in the darkness of the hallway outside her room. Her lungs burned and the magic in her was flat ― a flame extinguished. The hallways were quiet except for her shoes against the wooden floor. She followed the flickering bulbs, and as she passed one, it blew. Sparks showered over her, bright gold and silver. The sparks faded and darkness swallowed up the hallway. Her stomach flipped, and dread held her with a vice-grip. But she kept walking, further and further down one hallway after the next, as bulbs flickered out and showered her with sparks. As each one blew, darkness swallowed her steps. She turned left down the next hallway.

It was awhile till she reached its end. A single light flickered above the electrical box in the corner. In the opposite corner, a place where shadows dwelled, Ayden stood. Beneath the single flickering light, she saw blackened eyes like a raven's feathers. A shirt of the same colour hugged the lines of his chest. He looked like something born from the shadows that was forced into the light. Perhaps he was.

Her voice was steady, strong, despite the fear that gripped her, that tugged at her insides and the edges of her heart. "Ayden?"

She got no response. His unblinking eyes on her and not at the same time. Like he was looking at her, but he couldn't really see her. Sapphire's forehead was clammy and the room felt too hot.

She repeated, louder this time, "Ayden?" But still no response. As if he hadn't even heard her. She was entirely sure he didn't. She didn't know if she wanted an answer from this Ayden anyway.

Slowly, gradually, something sparked in his veins and electricity grew up his arm. He didn't point it at her, but somehow she knew it was a threat. And then she knew, that this figure that looked like Ayden, dressed like him, had power like him, wasn't Ayden.

He took a slow step toward her, and she found herself taking one back. She breathed in, out, in, out. He took another hesitant step. Even if this was Ayden, he wasn't in control.

In, out, in, out. "Stop, Ayden. Wake up."

Her head thrummed. Her legs felt shaky, but she took another step back, and another. But soon she found her back pressed against a wall, and Ayden just in front of her. In, out, in, out. She couldn't run, not without pushing passed him and getting electrocuted. Sapphire wanted to scream at that moment, she wanted to let it tear loose and wake Ayden from this state. She almost let it, but then she thought about how it might look. For a girl to scream, and for a boy to have her held up against a wall. She knew it wasn't anything like that, but no one else would know that. How could they? Even if this figure wanted to hurt her, to possibly kill her, Ayden was in there somewhere, and she wouldn't let him get hurt. But as she looked above, she saw the blinking of a camera. Maybe it was already too late to try hide this. But she had to wake him up, to find the Ayden she knew was there beneath this darkness somewhere.

"Ayden, it's Sapphire. You know me. C'mon, wake up," she forced, because she could barely breathe with his gaze upon her so intently. There was so much darkness in those eyes. More than she'd ever seen. "If you're in there, fight back. Fight―"

A hand slammed into the wall beside her head, glowing shades of blue and silver and gold. Power incarnate. She could see the magic in his veins, fizzling and crackling. It was beautiful ― and deadly. Maybe that was what made it beautiful. Maybe it was what made all of them beautiful ― the power to hurt and kill and destroy. The power that was buried deep within them.