BRAYDEN
TWELVE
As I walked out of the bathroom, getting ready to turn in for the night, I noticed my phone light up and vibrate across my nightstand. Grabbing it, I noticed it was Cami, so I swiped to answer immediately, knowing this wasn’t a good sign.
“Cami, what’s wrong?”
“You need to get to Lailah’s dorm right now! She’s going to lose it, and I’m afraid she’ll take everyone with her.”
“Slow down, tell me what happened.”
“Brayden, you're not understanding me, there is no time to explain. You need to get here now.” With that, the call was cut off, and I flew into action.
I thought about telling one of the others since Lailah still wasn’t really talking to me, but I didn’t think I had time for that.
I threw on sweatpants over my boxers and grabbed a zip-up hoodie, then raced out the door.
Needing to get there as fast as I could, I grabbed the keys for Parker’s motorcycle off the wall.
He would forgive me later when he knew what it was for.
Racing out of the garage, I decided to avoid the main road.
I took the walking paths instead. Since it was so late, I was betting on there not being anyone out.
As I got closer to the dorm, I could feel the waves of power pulsing from somewhere inside.
It didn’t take a genius to know it was coming from Lailah.
Watching her adjust the last few weeks made me appreciate my parents and Beth so much more.
Lailah was volatile and could turn on a dime between her sweet, normal self and the wicked witch of the west. It killed me not knowing how to help her through this, but I knew it would pass in time—we just needed to survive through it first.
All the guys decided to give her some space after she and I had our blow up.
Micah avoided her at all costs, knowing that the two of them were like oil and water, setting each other off.
This alone showed me, in his own way, how much he really cared about Lailah—because if he didn’t, he would do as he pleased, damning the consequences.
I pulled up right on the sidewalk in front of the steps leading to the dorm entryway.
Thankfully, I thought to grab the master keycard that we had so I could get into the dorm without having to get someone to let me in.
Not wanting to wait for the elevator, I flew up the steps, taking them two or three at a time, my heart beating wildly in my chest, knowing I was running out of time.
Lailah’s power vibrated around me, zapping across my skin, causing my own to flare up around me and seek out the owner of the golden energy.
Finally, I made it to her floor. Why did she have to be on the tenth floor, of all places, at a time like this!
? Running down the hall, her doorway was the only thing in my sight.
It was open, and I could see a glowing, golden light that flickered like flames.
Anger and violence pulsed through the energy, giving me a heads up on what I would be dealing with.
Skidding to a halt in her doorway, I growled at the state of her room and the words plastered across her wall.
This was the perfect thing to set anyone off, but little did they know they’d pissed off the one person who could take out the whole school with one flick of a finger.
“Lala, listen to me. I know you're upset, but this is not the way to handle this. You need to take a deep breath, or your power is going to take down the building with you in it,” I heard Cami beg, but Lailah didn’t seem to hear her.
Turning on her heel, she stalked to the door, where I was standing.
I don’t think she noticed me at first, but her power did.
If I had any doubt about who Lailah was, or how powerful she would be, the sight of her right now would erase that.
Golden power swirled around her, pulling at her loose curls as if there were a breeze.
When her eyes finally met mine, they were no longer their normal crystal blue color, instead, they were like liquid gold.
Finally seeing me, she paused, taking me in, and yet not really seeing me.
As if testing me, her power lashed out, but I had been ready, knowing she wasn’t in full control.
Creating a shield with my power, I wrapped it around myself and braced for impact.
I didn’t let it show how hard her attack had hit, not wanting to seem weak.
When her blow glanced off my shield, she frowned, her energy wrapping itself around me, seeking out any place it could wiggle its way in.
“Enough,” I said, putting power into my words. “I am not your enemy, Lailah.”
Her body jolted as if I had struck her, and I could see in her eyes that she was fighting to gain control.
“Lailah, I need you to take my hand. Let me help you. I know you’re angry, and you have every right to be, but this isn’t the way you want to handle things. Not really,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm but still backing it up with my power.
I could see Cami behind Lailah, tears streaming down her face as she fought against the staggering amount of power echoing in the room.
Humans, for the most part, could never feel or see our powers—unless an overwhelming amount was being used.
At this moment, in this tiny room with two of us letting our power loose, it was.
I couldn’t imagine how suffocating it must be for Cami, but she wasn’t going to abandon her friend.
I turned my attention back to Lailah, who I could see struggling for control.
Her breathing was erratic and panicked. I took a step closer to her, seeing that she couldn’t do it herself.
I grasped her hands in mine, and she sucked in air like she could finally take a deep breath.
Her power no longer fighting mine, I was able to twine our powers together and attempt to bleed off some of hers by sending it into the earth.
The floor beneath our feet started to shake as the earth below tried to disperse her immense power.
This was not going to work. I was going to need to do something else.
“Lailah, take a deep breath for me, and when you let that breath out, send your power away from you. Let it go like sand through your hands. You’re safe, and I won’t let anything happen to you.
I promise you no one will harm you,” I said, reassuring her by rubbing my thumbs over the backs of her hands.
She took a deep, shuddering breath, closing her eyes, and the energy in the room lessoned, making it more manageable. When she opened her eyes, they were that mesmerizing clear blue once again. Seeing the fear, sadness, and lingering anger flicker through her gaze made me pull her close to me.
“How could they do this to me, Brayden? They broke into my room, my safe place,” Lailah sobbed, wrapping her arms and power around me.
This time, I noticed the golden wisps didn’t try to fight with mine; instead, the gold and green energies mingled.
I could see them intertwining, swirling, and cocooning us in their protective hold.
My heart broke for the woman in my arms. So much had happened to her in the past few weeks, and then to add on this petty girl shit seemed so pointless.
It also made me mad. I was one of her guardians, and we had failed at our job to keep her safe.
If random twenty-somethings could break into her room this easily, then who or what else could?
My protectiveness reared up, and I held Lailah even tighter as I said, “I promise you that I’ll do everything in my power to make sure this never happens again.”
With those words, the world around us began to glow in a pure, white light. Then I realized it wasn’t something around us—it was Lailah. Her whole body burst into a blinding beacon that forced me to let her go and drop to my knees before her.
Then she spoke.