Griffin's tall body was still standing there with wide eyes, a bunch of keys beside his leg. I was slowly catching my breath, not able to comprehend Kimberly's now limp body. A tear rolled down my cheek just as I knelt beside Kimberly and sat her up, frantically reaching for my water bottle and pouring water on my palm. I sprinkled some on her.

It didn't work.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and my body tensed until I recognized Griffin's familiar hairy hand. "You're going to tell on me, aren't you?"

Griffin was quiet. I knew he was contemplating. I had done something utterly wrong, something I would kill Josh for doing.

"I'll take her to the sickbay." He went over to Kimberly and effortlessly carried her bridal style. "You go home."

I shook my head and tried to put her lifeless hands around Griffin's neck. Griffin pulled back. "Just go home, Emery."

"But-"

"Go away!" His topaz eyes went rigid but I could see the fear in his eyes, the fear that I would hurt him. I pulled back to give him a silent reassurance. "Just go away!" He walked past me and grabbed Kimberly's bag. "Do it now before I alert the principal," he threatened.

I stared at him for a few seconds, checking the genuineness in his eyes. He was goddamn serious. I rushed to Kimberly's table and quickly grabbed all the books that had fallen and forced them into my bag. I hung my bag over one shoulder and walked out of the class.

I made my way to the bathroom, opened the door and shut it as loudly and quietly as I could. And then I groaned loudly, I needed to get this off my chest.

Sighing, I took off the blazer and threw it against the basin, resting my hand on it and staring at the mirror. I groaned again and again and again. Anything to get Crypta out of my mind.

And then I saw it: the deep red colour in my eyes, piercing through my pupils and radiating around. I could see a familiar dragon moving around my head, I could feel it. It was saying things to me, making my head hurt.

I gripped my head and screamed. Tears rolled down my eyes in fear and uncertainty? What was happening to me? Was I becoming mad?

The shouting didn't stop. Knives against knives, swords against swords, skins slapping. I gripped my head tighter shutting my eyes completely, but I could still see everything, clearer now, even.

It was an intense battle. Huge figures battling with one another. Blood everywhere in the darkness, under a sky of twinkling crystals. I could hear crying, shouting, Cirile orders. My head was pounding.

"No. Please, stop. Leave me alone!" But it wasn't working. Instead, I could feel heat running through my body. The noises were louder, piercing through my ears, defeating me.

My legs wobbled in fragility and I held onto the basin for support and opened my eyes. They were now red, not flashing, but a deep deadly shade of red. One that scared me too. A gold liquid ran down my eyes.

No, this had to be my imagination.

I turned on the faucet and washed my face, frantically sprinkling the water on my forehead and eyes. I took off my bag since it was so much weight. My hands were trembling, thoughts of Kimberly squirming and slumping under me resurfacing.

I rubbed my palms together in agony. An image of blood running down Josh's neck appeared. I rubbed harder, breathing in and out. Somehow, King flashed in my head, him pinning me against the door, me letting our tongues meet, Sandra walking in with a horrifying hurt look on her face.

I rubbed even harder, trying to take the intense thoughts away. I'd shouted at Mr Steve when he offered me lessons for free, and then Mr McMahon, and now it was Mr Nicholas. Tears, gold liquid, they ran down together, mixing. Hatred coursed through my veins.

My eyes were still red. So red it felt as if I never had brown eyes. And I could feel my body heating up, heating up to my head, heating up to my eyes, heating up against my palm.

It wasn't until I looked down that I figured my palms were literally heating up as I rubbed harder. It started as the smoke got out and then I saw the orange-yellow colour of fire forming a sphere between my palms.

It grew bigger and bigger that I pushed my palms further apart to accommodate the size. It grew past the size of a ball, past the size of a big balloon until it was like one of those expensively large disco balls, floating within my arm protection.

A large fireball, I had read in books, and it was within my control. Even though, I didn't know how to control it pretty much. A gasp escaped my lips, palms still apart as I stared at the smoking fire the shape of a sphere, ready to burst anything I wanted it to.

I couldn't do this alone, I needed Crypta, problems or not. I tried to will the fire to turn off with my mind, as I had read in many fictional books.

But this was no story. This was real, and it scared me to death.

I pushed my hands down and the fire evaporated into smoke, falling into the sink and drying up whatever water droplets were in it.

I sighed in relief. At least that was taken care of. Mehjazgeu was in my drawer at home, I had decided to only be going to Neba from my room, to save myself from complications. I picked up my bag and blazer and walked out of the bathroom.

Griffin was walking toward the stairs. With him was the Vice Principal and King's mother dressed in a suit. I threw myself back into the bathroom and sucked in a breath.

I should've known. What if Griffin did expose me? I mean, how else would he explain Kimberly's condition? She fell off the stairs was hardly believable; her neck was noticeably red with marks and scratches.

I put my hand over my head and sighed, slumping down to my knees and resting against the red door, my eyes only now taking in the different stalls in the bathroom. I took off my bag and placed it between my legs and did the one thing that had always worked for me.

I huddled on the floor. I cried.

***

I shut the wooden front door of our house while taking in the last drop of water in my water bottle. Mum heard the thud sound because she stepped out, her hands and apron all covered in flour, as she passed me a stern look. I muttered a greeting, jumped over the sofa and made my way to the kitchen, frantically opening the refrigerator.

I needed chill liquid.

Honestly, I didn't expect mum to be home. She seemed more comfortable at dad's mansion, with Giada, Quinn and Jayden. I didn't know how to feel about that, truly. It was always a constant battle with Rowan on one side and dad on the other.

I found a carton of orange juice. It was almost empty. I turned the cap and gulped it down in a go, the smell of rolls hitting my nostrils.

I shut the refrigerator. Nora's amateur matchstick picture of mum and dad holding hands were still pinned to the door of the refrigerator. My lips stretched unconsciously; I missed this girl. I rested my head against the refrigerator.

She should have been in my room, bouncing on my bed and begging me to make chunk brownies. I should have been shouting at her to quit singing out loud a song while I was trying to read. She should have been running to me to tell me that Rowan had just seized her best doll or something.

My throat heated up, the chill juice wearing off. I opened the fridge and threw some ice into my mouth.

"Emery, what are you doing?"

"Nothing." I threw in another ice avoiding any sort of eye contact. "I just feel hot."

"Hot?"

"I... No, not that, mum." My face flushed.

She sighed and walked to the breakfast bar. Mum was still angry with what I had done to Josh. Sure, Giada and the school had settled, but that didn't reduce the uneasiness I felt around her, especially the Sunday before today.

She'd kept pacing around my room, telling me how Josh was in the hospital receiving serious treatment, and how Josh would have died had I pressed the knife just an inch further. I was trying to finish up my project at that time. Combined with the King incident, I was clearly in no mood for that.

I'd groaned and screamed at her to get the hell out of my room. And then she'd slapped me and told me not to speak to her like that. In a fit of rage, I'd grabbed my tossed trainers and threatened to hit her. "Leave me alone, mum! Go spend time with Giada. I see she's a magnet to you and dad!" And I stormed out at the brink of tears, got to Rowan's room and locked the door.

I had been trying my best to avoid her. Right now, I knew, despite how red my eyes probably were, I had to apologize. I was surprised she hadn't noticed it. Maybe she was used to seeing me every day she hadn't bothered to observe my facial features. "I'm sorry, mum, for yesterday."

She sat on the stool, thinking. "I swear it, mum, I do. I didn't mean to almost hit you. It was, I was mad and... and..."

"Violence seemed like the answer?'

I groaned, opened the refrigerator and threw another ice in my mouth, using my teeth to break it to bits. What was mum's deal with this topic, truly? Why couldn't she just let things go?

"I'm sorry." I kept my voice as low and calm as possible, completely contradicting what I felt at that moment. I also began to back away, scared that I would do something regrettable.

"I spoke with your dad about your wish."

I narrowed my eyes and turned away. I didn't want her to notice any change in my eyes if there would be any. "What wish?"

"About you wanting to go to a better, bully-free school..." I sucked in a breath as she continued. "We discussed and he agreed that you can be registered at Hillville College. It's one of the best-"

"No..."

"...schools in the city- did you say no?"

"You and dad discussed? When, exactly?"

"Saturday. He's even suggesting you move in so it's easier to-"

"So that's what this is about." I turned to her immediately, forgetting about whatever. Her body tensed, I could feel it. "You want to move in. Dad, you, Giada, that's what you want! This is barely anything about me!"

"Emery, you said you wanted to go to a new school."

"I did, one month ago! And I may have still wanted to mum if you'd really been bothered. Not until I hit Josh, not until the Principal and Giada settle, not until the whole shit's gone that you finally remember that I want a better school."

"Emery!"

"I'm Rose-Gold's Laboratory Prefect now. And I am running for class president. Do you even care about that?"

"Hillville is-"

"Mum! You can't deceive me as you did to Nora." I lowered my head, counted from ten to one, thought about coffee, anything to take the negative feelings away.

I turned again and made my way upstairs and to my room, making sure to lock my door, reached out to my drawer and grabbed Mehjazgeu. I sprayed it just as I grabbed my phone and called Rowan.

He picked on the second ring. I didn't waste words. "You were wrong about the making-Nora-forget-her-family thing, Rowan. Dad wants us all to move."

"Fuck him. What's your decision?"

"No one I've made. I visited Madeleine. She's said you've used her. I'd tried to defend you but apparently, she's with your friend... Sandro?"

"Emery are you crazy...!" I cut the call, threw my phone to my bed and walked through the damn hole. With a lot on my mind, I somehow managed to think of Crypta's cerise lips. They had a touch of dark blue and could form a strikingly handsome smile.

Nesylone river was a sure bet but it only provided temporary comfort. I needed to go to the source of — and answer to — all of my problems.

And that was definitely Crypta.

.

A/N

Okay, this was definitely shocking, am I right?

What d'you think of Emery's new. . .Power! Tbh, I've been waiting to get to this point. If you're with me, prove it with a vote ✨