I didn't know why, but the itch in my left wrist was getting worse. The longer they kept us waiting out in the snow and cold. I had no idea what they were talking about that was taking so long but my hands were getting cold and Jarec was making origami swans that kept floating around him in simplistic flight patterns.

He wasn't even dressed for the cold. A white shirt with an open and thin looking blue blazer and a folded square of red tucked into a pocket.

I would have been freezing. He wasn't even wearing gloves.

Was this a Hearth coven thing? Just not feeling the cold? Mom never complained about cold. She only ever commented on whether a jacket was pretty.

Was that just something magic did? Keep you warm even in the height of winter?

The itch evolved into a faint burn.

It was fine. I was fine. Jarec could do whatever he wanted.

I looked up to see a clear blue sky above us. Not a single cloud today. And yet, I wished it would be dark and ready for a storm. A perfectly clear day felt wrong somehow.

I scratched at the curse, not that it helped any.

Breathe Serafina.

I had this under control. I had nothing to be irritated or upset about.

The curse burned a little bit hotter.

I clenched the curse with my right hand. I needed to calm down to get it to stop. But telling myself to just calm down wasn't really helpful.

I started pacing around in the snow. Avoiding looking at either of our snowmen since that wasn't helping me feel better. I closed my eyes entirely.

It didn't really help either.

What was taking them so long? Mom and Dad had were going to need a better explanation than Odysseus for keeping me waiting.

Breathe Serafina.

In and out.

The cold crispness of the winter air. The smell of the unfamiliar forest around. The sound of the paper birds flying around Jarec. The slight breeze in the wind. The gloves on my hands. The weight of the hoodie covering me. The crunch of snow beneath my boots.

My wrist still burned beneath my hand.

"Um…are you okay?" Jarec finally asked.

"I'm…fine." It was a lie, but stressing him out wouldn't help the situation.

"You're terrible at lying."

"I know, that's why I don't do it."

"No, you just leave out information."

"Only sometimes." And right now. I clenched my wrist tighter, trying to will it to just stop. Not that it did anything.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"This is why Celica doesn't fully trust you, you know."

I let out a small laugh, it wasn't funny. But I couldn't stop it. My body was simply betraying me on all fronts today. The vice grip I had on my wrist would probably be painful if I could feel my left arm beyond the burning of the curse.

But the numbness was spreading outwards. Crawling up my veins and nerves, spreading across my cells in fractals. I couldn't stop it. The air was getting heavier around me. Spots were appearing on the fringes of my vision.

My breath left in thick puffs of fog. Heavier than it had been just moments ago. My heart thumped in my chest loud enough to drown out the sound of paper. It was getting harder to breathe.

Breathe. Breathe.

My lungs refused to cooperate, they were filled with ice crystals. Something sharp and cold that made it hurt to even try to breathe beyond shallow breaths.

"Um…Serafina?" Jarec's voice barely made it through the building chaos inside me.

I couldn't stamp it down. I needed to. I didn't want this. Not now.

I couldn't answer him, which probably was a complete giveaway that something was horrifically wrong. Come on, hold it together.

There was a strange metallic smell in the air.

I think Jarec was speaking again, but I couldn't hear him.

The world around me had faded completely.

I was drowning in dark green. It was in my eyes, in my lungs, in my throat, in my veins. Thunder crackled in my ears and lightning arced inside my brain. Was there still earth and snow beneath me? I couldn't feel it.

Was this what being a Tesla coil felt like?

I needed to get free. To break out. I reached out, not with my hands, I couldn't feel those. But with something else. Something smoldering deep in my chest.

The thunder was suffocating.

I held onto that unknown feeling. The embers glowing in my heart, hiding away under my ribs.

The dark green keeping me prisoner cracked. A hyper thin fault line that was just enough to let the tiniest sliver of familiar pink light in. It pierced through the green like a silver bullet. Cleaving through the wretched curse and finally letting me breathe.

Breathe Serafina.

Breathe Serafina.

"Breathe Serafina."

My eyes opened. Dad was kneeling in the snow in front of me. His hands gripped my shoulders. They were probably the only thing holding me up. My legs had collapsed beneath me, the cold snow was melting into my jeans.

I took a deep breath.

Jarec was looking panicked while his mother had one hand on his shoulder. Mom was standing back, genuine shock and a hint of fear in the way she had her hands clasped together. Vivian was staring at my dad like she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Dad sighed, relief in every inch of his posture, "How's your hand?"

I looked down at my left hand. It was shaking and I could see traces of dark green. "Not great," I admitted.

"Let me see."

I held up my hand and pulled the glove off slowly. My right hand wasn't shaking but the tremors in my left didn't help. Dad's expression didn't change as he examined the mark and started wrapping a bandage around it. Compressed and firm around it like this was just another scrape from a rock.

Trust Dad to overprepare and be ready for anything.

"There. How are you feeling?"

"Tired."

"I bet."

"You're not…upset?"

"Ask me again when the worrying has run its course."

"I think…I feel better."

He hummed, a confirmation he was listening and waiting for an elaboration.

My left hand still trembled as I held it up to my face. My fingers curled slowly as I clenched and released it. The feeling was starting to return slowly. I could also still feel that infinitesimal glimmer of pink light in my chest. Pulsing but even at its weakest it was still there. Steady as the drums of a rock song.

My fingers felt warm, like someone had pressed a mug of hot chocolate into them. It was hard to name the exact feeling but it was in every single one of my nerves.

My body felt weak, my legs couldn't stand. And yet, I was almost giddy from the warmth seeping into my cells. A warmth that was always supposed to be there.

My eyes were heavy. My heart was loud in my ears. The crackle of the curse finally died down, the warm chasing it away. Forcing it to retreat for now into the mark.

I could feel it now, Something sharp and cold. Like someone had stabbed me with an icicle. I could feel it sapping the warm feeling away. It couldn't do it completely though. Not anymore.

I took several more deep breaths. Just feeling the be and flow of the curse and my magic.

That's what it was, wasn't it? It had to be.

I giggled, even as I swayed to the side.

They all probably thought I'd finally lost my mind. Maybe I had, but it was worth it. I'd never felt better.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.