27. Matilda
27
MATILDA
The suffocating weight of eyes on me makes my skin crawl as I squirm in my seat at the front of the Advanced Dark Magick class. Without the magick of the pendant, I feel naked and exposed. My magick crackles beneath my skin, fighting to break free after being caged for so long. Every breath I take sends sparks of rainbow lightning across my fingertips.
Professor Night stands at the front of the class, his dark eyes boring into me with curiosity and wariness but not a single shred of apology after scaring me shitless and calling me names yesterday.
Jerk.
Vex leans against the desk beside him, his expression unreadable, but I can feel the tension in his voice. Despite his encouragement, he knows how dangerous this could be, especially in this class, especially surrounded by people who saw my failure yesterday.
“Today,” Professor Night announces, “we will be working on channelling dark energy. This requires precise control and focus.” His gaze lingers on me. “Any loss of concentration could be catastrophic. Assuming you are able to do the assignment.”
I grimace, but Vex’s low growl as he glares at Night makes my skin tingle.
I ignore the chuckles and hushed whispers from the other students. Fuck them.
But then I wonder if I’ve made a terrible mistake. Not in taking the necklace off, but by letting my anger get the better of me.
I inhale deeply and exhale, trying to calm down.
“Matilda,” Professor Night says, making me jump. “Since you’re so prominently placed today, perhaps you’d like to demonstrate first?”
“I don’t think that’s wise,” Vex interjects, but Night waves him off.
“She is here to learn,” Night says coldly, not taking his eyes off me. “Stand up.”
I take a shaky breath and rise to my feet. My knees wobble, and I place my hand on the desk for support. The magick inside me bounces, responding to my anxiety. Rainbow sparks dance around my hands, but there’s something different about them now. They’re darker, shot through with threads of black.
Vex crosses over to me, his blue eyes intense. “Remember what we practised.”
I give him a panicked stare. We hadn’t practised anything. Not really. One explosive session in the library doesn’t count as training. Still, I nod, trying to project confidence I don’t feel. Be like Draven. Be like Draven…
“Channel the darkness within you,” Professor Night instructs. “Find that place inside where your darkest thoughts dwell and draw from it.”
I close my eyes and let his words wash over me. Where my darkest thoughts dwell. Is that how this works? Well, fuck knows, I’ve got enough of them. I bring my family to my mind. To my younger sister, Ellie, whose cruelty and glee at my abuse is too much to bear.
Without the pendant’s suppression, the magick, whatever that actually is, rises eagerly, too eagerly. The air around me grows heavy, crackling with energy.
“Control it,” Night snaps. “Don’t let it control you.”
But it’s too much. Too fast. The power whips through me like a whirlwind, and I gasp as it overwhelms my senses. Rainbow lightning explodes from my hands, dark and violent. The windows shatter, and students dive for cover as books fly off shelves.
“Matilda!” Vex’s voice cuts through the chaos. “Focus!”
I try, but the power is wild, untamed. It wants to be free after being caged for so long. Dark shadows writhe around me, and I feel something ancient stirring in my blood. Something that was never meant to be contained.
“Oh gods,” I whisper as the darkness rises. “I can’t stop it.”
The shadows coalesce around me, taking form into twisted shapes that look like creatures from nightmare realms. My classmates scream and struggle towards the door, but Night holds up his hand, keeping them in place.
“Let me see what she can do,” he says, his eyes gleaming with a frightening intensity.
Vex moves closer, his runes glowing bright blue. “This isn’t right,” he growls at Night. “Her magick... it’s not just dark. It’s something else.”
I can’t tell. My mind has been scrambled by the power flooding through me. It’s wild, primal, elements that shouldn’t exist together. The rainbow and black lightning arcs across the ceiling in violent bursts.
The shadow creatures dance around me, responding to my confusion and fear. Books explode into confetti, desks splinter, and the stone walls crack.
Blackthorn rushes into the room, but skids to a halt when his gaze lands on me.
“Help!” I scream at him. “I can’t?—”
Night raises his hands, casting a containment spell, but my power shatters his constraints like they’re made of glass. The backlash sends him stumbling backwards.
“Matilda,” Vex says urgently. “Look at me.”
I meet his gaze, desperate for an anchor in this chaos.
His strong hands grasp my shoulders, and instead of trying to suppress my magick like Night did, he lets it flow through him. The connection between us blazes like a supernova.
“Don’t fight it,” he murmurs. “Let it come. Show them who you really are.”
The power bursts one final time, and suddenly, I can see everything around me as clear as day. Ley lines run beneath the academy, glowing with ancient power. The web of dark magick that connects the students in this room. And something else, something hidden deep beneath the school that pulses in response to my magick.
The shadow creatures swirl faster, faster, whipping my hair into my eyes until they implode with a thunderous crack. The force of it brings everyone to their knees. When the dust settles, the classroom is in ruins, but I’m still standing. Vex’s hands steady me as my legs threaten to give way.
Blackthorn surveys the damage, but with an enigmatic smile, he vanishes, leaving me to explain to a furious Professor Night what the fuck just happened.
Professor Night rises slowly, his face ashen. “Class dismissed,” he says hoarsely. “Everyone out. Except you.” His eyes narrow. “We need to discuss what just happened.”
As my classmates flee, shooting terrified glances over their shoulders. The dark-haired girl I saw flirting with Vex is no longer smug. That should make me feel great, but instead, I’m already reaching into my backpack for the pendant. It’s safety. Everyone is safer with me wearing this.
“I don’t know what happened,” I stammer. “I have never accessed magick like that before.”
Vex snatches the pendant from me with a shake of his head, but I grab it and put it back on, feeling everything settle again. It hurts me, but it’s better for everyone. I could’ve really hurt someone before.
Night huffs and gives me a lecture on using dark magick responsibly, but I tune him out, staring at Vex as he stares back at me with a hint of a smile.
Somewhere deep underneath us, that ancient something I tapped into pulses again, calling to the wild magick in my blood.