Aftermath | Sebastian Sallow

I run as fast as my legs will carry me. I know I could've flown to my destination but I don't feel like stopping to get my broom. I honestly don't even know where I'm heading. I need to find somewhere to release this energy. A clearing. Where no one can get hurt.

I'm running through the Forbidden Forest, not even paying attention to any of the dark creatures lurking in the woods around me. Finally, I find what I've been looking for.

It's an abandoned encampment left over from Ranrok's evil reign. Perfect.

At this point, the ancient magic is zipping from my fingertips in streaks of bright blue. It's humming inside my head. "Use me."

I give in, knowing I need the release, badly. I lift both hands and with a swift downward motion, I blast the gates open to the encampment. At that point, I am uncontrollable. I grab my wand and start shooting anything in my sight, twisting and turning my body feverishly and targeting whatever I see first.

No. That's not enough. I store my wand into my robe and hold out my hands to my sides, palms facing forward. The ancient magic once again sparking at my fingertips. I had never seen it coming out of my body like this. I'm moving quickly once again, only this time I'm picking up objects with my power and slamming them into the ground and fence surrounding me. Barrels, crates, weapons, whatever contents are scattered inside of their tents, lifting and thwarting down. Or sideways. Or up into the air. I spot three large wagons towards the side of the encampment, probably ones they stole. I lurch back my hand and throw it forward, hurling ancient magic towards it. It explodes.

I stand there for a moment, panting. Realizing how good it feels to release these emotions, I pull back my arm again and shoot more magic towards the wagons. The other two explode with little effort. With those destroyed I turn again and start lifting more of the encampment to throw and break into pieces. I'm raising a large barrel and getting ready to throw it when I immediately halt as it almost hits a shadowy figure. It drops to the ground mere inches away. The shadowy figure jumps.

I pull my wand out of my robe and I'm at the ready. "Who are you?" I yell out.

The figure steps closer, my hand squeezes tightly around my wand. Then it loosens completely when they step into the moonlight.

"What are you doing here? I thought I told you not to follow me." I say, panting and relaxing my arms to my sides.

"What in Merlin's beard are you doing?" Sebastian says. He keeps inching closer, slowly. Did I scare him? I honestly scared myself. Once I started wielding the power I really couldn't stop. "I had no clue, no clue that this was what you were dealing with. Have you been bottling it this whole time?" He says to me, worry in his voice.

I'm suddenly faint. Whether it's the lack of sleep, or the insane amount of energy I exerted, or maybe the emotions I let go earlier with him- I fall to my knees.

"Y/n." He rushed towards me and grabs my arm, helping me stand up and steadying me.

"Sebastian, I'm so sorry. I don't know what's happening. It's growing, I can feel it. I'm losing more and more control every single day." I force out the words as my lungs are now entirely out of breath.

"First of all, I asked you to stop apologizing to me. Next time, I won't be asking so nicely. Now, come. Let's get you back so you can rest. Tomorrow we'll sort this out." He says, throwing my arm around his shoulder and wrapping his arm around me to help me walk with him out of the encampment- or at least, what remained of it..

"How did you know where I was?" I ask.

"Are you seriously asking me that? It wasn't hard with all the noise and blasts you were making. Next time you decide to decompress, let's find you a more secluded location. And I don't think the undercroft is a suitable place anymore." He nervously laughs. I let out a smile along with him.

We mount his broom, me sitting in front of him. His arms are looped underneath mine and gripping the broom through them. "Hold on tight." he says, and we descend into the air. We're traveling fast back to the castle and it's making me sick to my stomach. But vomiting all over myself and Sebastian is not what I want to be doing right now.

I try to relax as much as I can in his arms, and surprisingly it's easier than I expected. I feel comfort with him. I feel like this is exactly where I have belonged all this time.