Frozen Edges
The air carried a subtle scent of pomegranates I suspected was from the new shampoos Khalid bought me two days ago after I got myself a new hairdo. The room was quiet, save for the occasional rustle of pages as I flipped through yet another book on self-control.
I wasn’t sure how much good they were doing.
Somehow the last conversation I had with Ethan two weeks ago still made a point to play in my mind in unshakable echoes. His explanation about the original werewolf bloodlines, his tales of meeting my apparent mother, Gaiyetre, the mark, and then the warning.
'...now that you’re aware of it, you might start waking up parts of yourself that have been dormant this whole time... your real abilities could start manifesting. Things beyond just speed or heightened senses...'
To my dismay, he wasn’t wrong. I had been feeling it. Every day since my shift. Some force inside me had been shifting and stirring uncontrolled.
The energy in my limbs felt heavier, and denser, like I was carrying a foreign entity under my skin. My body had been buzzing with an awareness I didn’t know how to turn off, a quiet hum of power waiting for my command.
And then there were the times it wouldn't wait for my commands, the incidents.
There was a case of the room temperature dropping when I got frustrated in one of my spar sessions with the twins. My mouthwash froze solid under my fingertips when I held it a week ago. A faint shimmer of frost curled at the edges of my mirror when I stared at my reflection too long last night.
There would be many abilities to awaken according to Ethan, but somehow out of that many I could have manifested first, it was frost. Khalid theorized it was because I was exposed to it first in the store. I hated it.
A sigh danced out my lips as I rubbed my temples before returning to my book.
It was an old self-help book about emotional control, and though it was meant for people with anger issues and destructive anxiety, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to apply some of the principles to myself.
I didn't want to accidentally freeze my pillow at four in the morning after waking from a vivid dream... again.
My fingers itched as I flipped another page. A chill shot through my bones. I ignored it hoping it would simmer and die from the lack of attention.
The edges of the book in my hands were turning white, frost creeping over the pages like delicate lacework. I was blatantly failing.
With a sharp exhale, I announced.“It’s freezing again.”
From the couch across the room, Khalid let out an amused chuckle. “But hey, you held it longer this time.”
“Two hours,” I quirked a brow in question as I glanced up to meet his face.
He was grinning, all pearly whites in sight, looking far too relaxed for someone watching me unwillingly turn a self-help book into a Popsicle. Flavor? Bland useless knowledge with a sprinkle of aged dust.
“Progress,” Khalid remarked rather enthusiastically with a lopsided smirk.
I huffed, shutting the book carefully, doing my best to keep my frustration at bay to not add to the frost. “I never in all my life pictured myself talking about ‘making progress in controlling some sorcery manifesting powers’ to someone I technically murdered.“
Khalid placed a hand over his neck, rubbing it gently with a haunted grim look. “Of all the ways I've been caught off guard, that was a rare one.” Then slowly, he grinned again, his expression light and teasing. “But, you know, this is the woes of life. At times you snap off your friend's neck, and it leads you to bond over frozen gibberish on paperback.“
I snickered with a shake of my head, running my hand through my hair. That was my reality now?
Some months ago, I wouldn't have guessed In any way things would get like that. But there I was, sitting, chatting with a pretty blonde devil — who should by all means hate me — about how well I was controlling my magic.
Something in my chest softened. In the past two weeks, it has just been Khalid and I. “I appreciate you sticking around,” I admitted, my voice quieter now. “Even when the others don’t.”
Khalid’s smirk faded slightly, replaced by something more thoughtful. “They’ll come around. They just don’t know what to make of you yet.” he tapped his fingers on the book sitting by the edge of the couch beside him.
I swallowed, looking down at my hands. “I feel it, you know. How they avoid me. Like I’m something… unstable.” I bite down on my bottom lip gently looking at him, hoping he'd tell me why.
“Because technically you are,” he uttered simply with a casual shrug, but quickly added, “For now.”
I rolled my eyes curling my lip in annoyance. Nevertheless, I knew he wasn’t wrong but things were growing too awkward and it had only managed to put me more on edge.
Khalid leaned back against the couch, his gaze steady. “You’re new, strong, irritable, and utterly clueless as to what you’re fully capable of yet. That can put people on edge.”
I hummed, nodding my head. He was more than right but how long would I have to deal with that? Somehow it didn't beat being treated like a glass egg. Did Khalid also feel that way? “Are you on edge?”
His brows knitted atop his forehead for a brief second before he grinned. “Nah. What are you going to do? Snap my neck again? Whatever it is, surely I—“ He paused before correcting himself, “we can handle it, I promise.“
“I do hope I can handle it, I don't appreciate people avoiding me because they're scared of me,” I let myself fall against the bed with a muffled oomph, quickly followed by a deep exhale.
Shifting to stare at the ceiling, I heard Khalid say with an amused tone, “They’re not scared of you per se.”
I frowned slightly, shifting my weight but I tilted my head to look his way. “Then what are they scared of?”