Chapter 46 Little Sparks
Maddie Pov
The empty field behind the old gymnasium had become my second home over the past week. Every single night after everyone else went to sleep I met Elara here so we could train together. We would punch and kick and channel all my anger and pain and rejection into something that felt productive and useful.
Tonight was no different from any other night. The moon was half full overhead and gave us just enough light to see by but not enough to draw unwanted attention. Elara had already arrived before me and set up all the equipment we needed. The punching bag was hanging from the old goalposts. Hand wraps were laid out neatly on the ground. Water bottles were waiting for us.
"You're late tonight," Elara said when she saw me approaching across the field. "I was starting to think you weren't going to show up."
"I'm sorry about that," I said. I dropped my bag on the ground and started wrapping my hands carefully. "Professor Harris kept our entire class after the lecture to discuss the upcoming midterm exam."
"How did you do on the last test?" Elara asked.
"I did fine on it," I said. I honestly didn't actually remember my score because I hadn't been paying attention to much of anything lately. "Can we just start training? I really need to hit something tonight."
"Did you have a bad day?" Elara asked. She was watching me very carefully with concern written all over her face. She had been watching me this way all week. Ever since Calix rejected me. Ever since my entire world fell apart around me.
"Every single day is a bad day," I said honestly. I finished wrapping my left hand and started working on the right one. "But yes. Today was significantly worse than usual."
"Did you see him today?" Elara asked gently.
"I see him every single day," I said bitterly. "It's hard not to see him when the mate bond keeps pulling me toward him constantly. It keeps making me aware of exactly where he is at all times."
"That sounds absolutely exhausting," Elara said sympathetically.
"It is exhausting," I agreed. "But training helps me deal with it. So can we please just start training now?"
"Alright," Elara said. She moved to hold the punching bag steady with both hands. "Let's start with your basic jab. Show me what you've got."
I got into the proper fighting position. My feet were shoulder width apart. My knees were slightly bent. My hands were up protecting my face. Then I threw a sharp jab. My fist connected solidly with the bag and it swung back slightly.
"That was good," Elara said encouragingly. "Do it again but make it faster this time."
I threw another jab and then another and then another. Each punch was faster than the one before it. Each one was harder and more powerful. Each one carried more of my anger and pain and everything I couldn't say out loud.
"Now add the cross punch," Elara instructed. "Give me a jab cross combination. Let me see it."
I threw the combination she asked for. I jabbed with my left hand and crossed with my right. The bag swung much harder this time. Elara had to brace her whole body to keep it steady.
"You're getting significantly stronger," she observed. "A lot stronger actually. Have you been training without me?"
"No I haven't," I said. I threw another combination at the bag. "I'm just angry I guess. Anger seems to make me hit harder than normal."
"Well then channel that anger," Elara said. "Use it to your advantage. Make it work for you instead of against you."
I kept punching the bag over and over. I threw jabs and crosses and hooks and uppercuts. I used all the combinations Elara had taught me over the past few months. My body moved without conscious thought now. It was just reacting and flowing and fighting.
Sweat started dripping down my face and back. My muscles started burning with the effort. But I refused to stop. I couldn't stop. Stopping meant thinking. Thinking meant feeling. Feeling meant remembering Calix's face when he called marking me a mistake.
"You need to take a break," Elara said after I had been punching for twenty minutes straight. "Drink some water. Catch your breath for a minute."
"I don't need a break yet," I insisted. I kept punching the bag.
"Maddie," Elara said much more firmly. "Take a break right now. You're going to hurt yourself if you don't."
I threw one more punch at the bag. It was harder than I meant it to be. My fist connected solidly and something very strange happened. A spark appeared. It was tiny and white and flickered across my knuckles for just a second. Then it disappeared completely.
I immediately froze in place. I stared at my hand in shock. What was that? Had I just imagined it? Had it been a trick of the moonlight?
"Did you see that?" I asked Elara urgently.
"See what exactly?" she asked. She was looking at the punching bag and not at me.
"Nothing," I said quickly. "Never mind. Forget I said anything."
I stepped back from the bag and unwrapped my hands. My knuckles were red but they weren't bleeding. There was no visible damage to my skin. But I could still feel something strange. There was a tingling sensation running just under my skin.
"Are you okay?" Elara asked. She was studying my face now with concern. "You look really pale all of a sudden."
"I'm fine," I lied. "You're right though. I do need a break."
I sat down on the grass and grabbed one of the water bottles. I drank half of it in one long swallow. My hands were shaking slightly so I shoved them between my knees to hide the trembling.
I got back into my fighting position and started hitting the bag again. I hit it harder this time. Faster. I was letting all my frustration pour out. All my anger. All my pain.
And then it happened again. The spark appeared. It was white and bright and flickering across my skin. This time it wasn't just on my knuckles. It ran up my entire arm. It made my muscles glow for just a second.
I pulled back immediately and looked at my arm. There was nothing visible. No obvious change to my skin. But I could feel it. I could feel something different. Something powerful. Something that absolutely shouldn't be happening.