Chapter 5 SURGE

I'm still shaking. The plastic cup cracked in my hand like it couldn't handle me. Water spilled, and no one noticed except Eric. And maybe Jace.

I rush out of the cafeteria before either of them can stop me. I don't know where I'm going. Just... away. Away from eyes. From whispers. From them.

I push through the back doors of the school and into the open field. The wind slaps against my face, cold and sharp, but I keep walking, arms wrapped tight around myself. My skin still tingles. My heart's racing like I've just run miles. What was that? I stare at my hands like they're strangers. The glow is gone now, but I saw it. I felt it. Like lightning under my skin, like something alive trying to claw its way out.

I drop to the ground near the edge of the woods, the grass damp and cool against my jeans. My chest feels tight. Like I can't breathe right. Like I'm trying to hold something in that doesn't want to be caged. I want to scream. Cry. Break something. But all I do is sit there, breathing hard, like I'm fighting to stay human.

Because I'm not even sure I am anymore.

"Aria."

I flinch. I don't even have to look. I know that voice. I know that quiet way he says my name, like he's scared it might break me. Jace.

He walks slowly, hands in his pockets, eyes gentle but tense. Like he knows I'm about to snap. Like he's ready to catch the pieces.

"You okay?" he asks.

I let out a bitter laugh. "Sure. My cup exploded in front of half the school and my fingers were glowing like I swallowed the sun. I'm Totally fine."

He sits beside me, knees pulled up, close but not touching. I glance at him from the side, waiting. Wondering.

"You saw?"

"I felt it," he says quietly. "Your energy it changed. Spiked. Like something inside you was... waking up."

"So I'm a freak," I mutter.

"No." He looks at me, really looks. "You're powerful."

I shake my head. "I didn't ask for this."

"Neither did I."

The words hang between us, heavy and honest. A silence stretches out. Not awkward. Just real. Then he says, "You know what I am now."

"Yeah," I whisper. "You turned into a full-on wolf right in front of me."

He gives me a small, crooked smile. "Scared you, huh?"

I nod. "Terrified me."

"But you still came after me."

I look at him. "I didn't want to be alone."

Something shifts in his expression. Something soft and a little broken. "I get that."

We sit there like that for a while just breathing, listening to the wind rustle through the trees, pretending for a second that we're just normal kids hiding out after a bad day. But we're not. Not anymore.

Jace leans back on his hands and looks up at the sky. "You're changing, Aria. I don't know what into-but it's not just vampire. Your energy feels... different."

"How would you know?"

He shrugs. "Because it doesn't scare me. It calms me. Vampires don't do that."

My heart stutters. His voice drops. "It's like you're the moon, and I'm just trying not to howl."

I look at him. Really look. And for a second, I wonder-if none of this had happened, if I were just a regular girl would he still look at me like this? Like I'm worth something. Like I matter.

Then a cold breeze moves through the air-and I feel it. Not the wind. Him.

Eric doesn't walk. He appears. Like the shadows made him and let him go. All sharp angles, smooth movements, and unreadable eyes. My whole body tenses. Jace stands up instantly. Of course. Like it's instinct.

They stare at each other, two storms circling.

"I warned you," Eric says to Jace.

"She's not yours to protect," Jace fires back.

"I'm not yours, period," I snap, standing too.

Eric turns to me and pulls something from his coat. A piece of the cracked plastic cup. "Then explain this."

I frown. "Why would I...?". I didn't mean to do anything"

"That's the point," he says, voice dark and low. "You're not controlling it anymore. And if you don't, someone else will."

Jace steps in front of me. "Is that a threat?"

Eric doesn't blink. "It's a warning."

They move closer. Too close. Both tall, both strong, both glowing with something ancient. Power. Anger. Fear. Me, caught in the middle, spinning like the earth between two suns.

"Stop it!" I yell.

But my voice-it doesn't just echo. It hits. Like a force. Like a soundwave that crashes through both of them.

Jace stumbles. Eric flinches-flinches. Like I hit something deep inside.

I stare at my hands. They're glowing again. Brighter. White and silver, like moonlight dipped in fire. I blink, heart pounding.

"I..I don't know how to stop it"

Eric's voice slices in. "Because it's not meant to be stopped."

"What are you talking about?" My voice is shaking. "What is this?"

"You think this is just vampire?" He shakes his head. "No, Aria. This is older. Bigger. You're something more."

Jace pulls me behind him. "Back off, bloodsucker."

Eric's fangs flash. And then

I scream.

Not in fear. In power.

It rips out of me like a wave. Pure force. Energy. Light. It slams them both backward. They hit the ground hard. I drop to my knees, gasping. My palms dig into the grass, but it's not normal anymore.

It's glowing.

The ground beneath me is glowing. Silver veins of light spread out around me like cracks in the earth. Like I've awakened something ancient beneath the surface. Something wild.

I feel it in my blood. The surge. The pull. And I'm not scared of it this time.

I'm scared of what I'm becoming.

Everything feels fast. Too fast. Like I'm being dragged forward, no way back. Like something inside me is taking shape-something that doesn't care if I'm ready or not.

Eric and Jace are getting up, dazed, staring at me like they don't know who I am. Like maybe I don't know who I am.

"Aria," Jace says, voice shaky. "What did you just?"

"I didn't do that," I whisper. "I don't know how to do that."

Eric stands slowly. His eyes aren't cold now. They're cautious. Wide. "You're more than what you think. More than either of us."

My stomach knots. "What does that mean?"

"You're half vampire," he says. "But there's something else. Something ancient. Something powerful."

Jace takes a step toward me. "We'll figure it out, Aria. We'll figure you out."

"No," I say, backing away. "I can't just... become this."

I look at both of them. The moon overhead. The glowing earth. My hands. Everything feels wrong and real all at once.

"I can't handle this," I whisper.

Eric's eyes soften. "You don't have to do it alone."

But the way he says it... it doesn't comfort me. Not anymore. There's something behind his words. A weight. A plan. A reminder that maybe I don't belong to myself anymore.

Jace stands beside me again. His hand brushes mine, and I don't pull away.

"We'll figure it out," he says. "Together."

But I'm not sure anymore. My skin is still glowing. My breath too loud. My heart too wild. I'm not pretending this is normal. I can't pretend.

what is this thirst?

And the worst part? I don't know who I am anymore.