I almost growled out loud, blowing my cover. I successfully pushed it back, continuing to keep up my act. A pang flashed across my chest, an unknown feeling crawling up my chest. I pushed it back immediately.
”She’s going to be fine,” I tried sounding convincing. My feet took me to my drawer, which I opened to take out a ring. What was I doing? Shouldn’t I be letting them suffer? I shouldn’t be helping them. But I did, anyway. I didn’t know why, but I wanted to. This feeling couldn’t have been mine.
Walking back towards them, I put the ring in her hands. I wanted them to leave immediately. This feeling was unwanted. It wasn’t mine. It was his.
”There’s something called a medium,” I began, slight control over my voice. ”It stores energy for as long as you want. Scylla should be able to put her energy in here, and tap into it whenever she wants.”
I scooped Scylla up into my arms, smothering a wince when her hot skin began to burn mine. While bounding her up and down as if cradling a child, I nodded slowly. "I'll do anything at this point. How long do we have?"
I blinked, shaking my head, something trying to force out. I immediately pushed him out.
”Luckily, you still have a day,” I responded, running a hand through my hair. ”Have you learned how to transfer energy?”
Transferring energy…
I swallowed. "Kaden did it with a leaf—but isn't that power exclusively for Healers? You're an Attacker, and I'm a Defender."
Oh, so that boy managed to get that far, huh?
”Type A are special,” I answered nonchalantly. ”You, as a Defender, are most closely related to the Healers. You can copy their technique easily as compared to an Attacker’s.”
"Oh." I blinked, bewildered. How much was there that I didn't know about my powers because the only other person like me happened to hate everything I did?
"How do I do that? Is it hard?"
”Depends,” I answered, sighing softly. This was the most I’d talked ever since I took over. Was this girl always chatty? Why did my heart beat fast every time her voice reached my ears? ”You need to tap into your reservoir and gently create a path for the energy. It’s like a stream. You have to do it smoothly or else the energy’s going to escape.”
Shoulders taught, I shifted anxiously. "And…..what will happen if it escapes? How much am I risking?"
I stared at her intently for a few seconds before answering.
“Best case scenario is that nothing happens,” I stuffed my hands in my pockets. ”Worst case scenario—it’s going to blow up. But you’ll be fine as long as you don’t lose focus. Which, I suppose, is one of your weak points.”
My breath caught in my throat, first from the intensity of his stare, then from the meaning of his words. "Shit," I cursed, eyes flickering away. Not lose focus? When he was in the room? It was nearly impossible. I knew I had to do it, Scylla's life was at stake, but by being in Colton's presence, I was endangering everyone.
I quirked an eyebrow, trying to hide my amused smile. Was she that bad at concentrating? Who knew…
”It doesn’t explode very often,” I pretended to make her feel better. At least, I thought I was. ”It’s an easy thing to do, like how you control water. Why don’t I show you how?”
I picked up a pen from the side, spreading my palm before I took a deep breath, closing my eyes for better concentration.
I felt the energy leak out of me, flowing smoothly out of the dam. It slithered out of me like a snake, the pen heating up in my hand as energy began to pool up inside of it. When I was done, I immediately shut the door to the dam and opened my eyes.
The pen in my hand changed from white to black.
The moment his eyes fell shut, mine were dancing over his perfect features, brushing across each scattered freckly, his pronounced cheekbones, the way his mouth twisted up when he was concentrating. A blush bloomed across my cheeks.
But my attention was pulled away from Colton's soft, very kissable lips when the pen in his hand began to glow. Slowly, white seeped into a much darker, more ominous colour, and my eyes narrowed. "Why does it look like that?"
Shit. That wasn’t supposed to happen. Of course my energy wouldn’t be pure. Why had I been so stupid as to give a demonstration?
Still, I kept my face leveled, trying not to give anything away.
”Because it has energy stored into it,” I said, the half-lie escaping through my lips. ”Sometimes the medium changes color, but it depends on the type of energy you have. I twisted my energy into black flames before I transferred it into the pen, so I could simply directly use it without sucking it back in.”
"….Oh," I responded quietly as Scylla raised her head to peer at the pen. Something about his explanation didn't feel right, and the pen was the same, unsettling colour his eyes had flashed last week……Or maybe I was just reading too far into this. "What would I transfer Scylla's energy into? And what if I transferred too much?"
Feeling up to no good, I innocently reached for her hand, having her touch the pen.
”The more energy that goes in, the warmer the medium becomes,” I explained, suddenly wanting to keep a hold of her hand. My Mistress wouldn’t appreciate this. ”When it becomes hot to the point where it burns, that means you’ve used up all of the space. You don’t transfer too much energy. There are always signs.”
I barely heard him through the static cluttering my head. All I could focus on was his warm hand around mine, his thumb brushing against my knuckles—And that was when I realized how stupid I was being. Scylla could die, and I was too wrapped up in idiotic fantasies to focus on something that could save her life. I pulled my hand away abruptly, giving a nod. "Should I—Should I do it now?"
”You can,” I replied, nodding back, satisfied with her reaction.
Do you see that, Colton? See how I’m messing with your girl? What are you going to do about it?
”I’ll be here if you need help,” I said, giving a smile, masking the horror that came up afterwards. That wasn’t me. It was me speaking—it was my voice, but it wasn’t me at the same time. I realized I’d spoken what he would have said to her. I realize I spoke what he wanted to say at this moment.
"But—What if I can't do it? What if I hurt her? What if I lose focus and it explodes? Colton—Shit. I–I don't know if I can do this without causing more damage." Panic had made me soft, cracking my already failing shell, but at that moment I couldn't have cared less. "Is there any other way?"
Do you see that, Colton? Your girl’s terrified. What are you going to do about it? Nothing, I suppose. You’re going to hide in there like a coward—like you’re suppose to.
”You won’t,” I reached out to pat him on the head. ”You won’t lose focus. You won’t cause any more damage. If you don’t believe in yourself, who will?”
I’m the one comforting her, you pathetic weakling. Aren’t you going to do something about it? I guess not, huh? You’ve learned your place. There’s nothing for you here.
What the hell? I jerked away from Colton, my eyes narrowing. That didn't sound remotely like him—at least, the side of him that had become known to me after my colossal mistake. What was he trying to accomplish?
"Scylla," I replied shortly, suddenly realizing that the little head-pat was the first contact we'd shared in over a week.
I quirked an eyebrow, surprised at her response. Did I do something wrong? I had been acting like Colton, hadn't I? So why did she look at me like that?
"You know what I meant," I sighed, shaking my head. "Now, are you going to start? The sooner we get done, the faster you can get rid of me."
And now he was……. perplexed by my response? Was he going insane? Little to no contact for over a week, and no he was touching my hair and holding my hand as if it was nothing?
"I—Okay," I agreed hesitantly, eyes flickering downwards. "But answer something first."
I looked at her expectantly. Was she sharper than I realized? Did she figure out what was going on? Mistress wouldn't be pleased. I would have to–
"Do go on," I nodded at her, beckoning her to continue.
"How is it possible for someone to change mods so drastically in the space of a few minutes?" I purposely honed my voice, giving it a harsher, biting edge. "You went from cold, to worried, to ruffling my hair like nothing ever happened two weeks ago."
Shit. So that's where I screwed up. That's the part I did wrong.
"Well, what do you want me to do?" I questioned, bending down towards her level. "Turn you away, kick you out? You came to me, Elle, even if it killed you. I could rub it in, but I choose not to. I'm being helpful, and you're being ungrateful. Shouldn't that satisfy you?"
Ungrateful. What was I, a petulant child? This didn't sound anything like the Colton I knew. I took another step backwards, heart hammering wildly. "All I did was ask, Colton. You can't blame me for being curious—I'm not complaining."
"Why does it matter to you so much?" I shot back, trying to keep my voice leveled as she took another step back. "You're getting the help you need. Scylla will get better. What does my change in mood have to do with this?"
"Why are you getting so worked up about it?" I asked defensively as Scylla slid over my shoulders. I winced when her burning skin make contact with mine, but otherwise ignored the heat. "I asked one question. Relax."
"Because you, Elle, have no right to question me about myself," that's right. Be like him. Put your frustration into it. But even when I tried to copy him… why did it feel like I wasn't pretending? "Stop wasting our time, Elle. We both know you would kill me the first chance you get."
