Ava’s POV
Mom’s eyes flashed with anger, and for a mont, I glimpsed sothing almost feral in her expression.
"No right?" she repeated with a cold laugh. "I’m your mother. I’ve protected you your entire life from things you can’t even imagine."
I turned toward the door, grabbing my jacket from the hook. "I’m going out. I need so air before I say sothing I’ll regret."
Mom said in a low voice, "Go ahead. Try it. See if you can walk out that door."
There was sothing in her tone, like a challenge or certainty, that made hesitate. But my pride pushed forward.
I reached for the doorknob, determined to prove her wrong.
With a subtle flick of her wrist, a soft blue light pulsed through the apartnt. I felt it wash over like a cool wave, settling into my skin.
When I tried to take another step toward the door, my body refused to move. My feet felt cented to the floor, my muscles locked in place despite my brain screaming at them to work.
"What the hell?" I gasped, struggling against the invisible force holding in place. Panic rose in my chest as I realized what was happening. "What did you do to ?"
Mom walked slowly around . "It’s a binding spell, darling. Simple but effective. You won’t be going anywhere without my permission."
The casual way she said it, as if magically imprisoning her daughter was perfectly normal, ignited sothing primal inside .
Not just anger—pure, white-hot rage.
"You... you’re using magic against ?" My voice shook with disbelief and fury. "Your own daughter?"
"I’m doing what’s necessary," she replied calmly. "You’ll thank later."
"Thank you?" I spat the words, struggling harder against the invisible bonds. "For treating like a prisoner? For using magic to control instead of just talking to like a normal parent would?"
She sighed, looking almost disappointed. "I tried talking. You wouldn’t listen."
"So this is your solution? Magical restraints?" The humiliation burned as hot as my anger. "How long have you been planning this? Have you always had this as a backup plan whenever I disagreed with you?"
"Don’t be dramatic, Ava," she said dismissively. "This is temporary. Just until I can make you understand—"
"I understand perfectly," I cut her off, "You don’t see as a person with my own agency. I’m just a possession to you, sothing to control."
As my rage built, sothing strange happened. A warmth began spreading through my chest—not uncomfortable, but intense, like a banked fire suddenly given oxygen. It grew with each heartbeat, radiating outward through my limbs.
"Ava, be good and co with . Leave this supernatural world. Leave Harbor Bay," Mom repeated.
"I told you I’m not leaving," I growled, surprised by the power in my own voice.
The heat inside surged, filling every cell of my body until I felt like I might burst from containing it. Without knowing how, I pushed against the binding spell, feeling it stretch and strain around like an overfilled balloon.
My mother’s eyes widened. "Ava, stop. You don’t know what you’re doing."
But I couldn’t stop. I didn’t want to stop. For the first ti in my life, I felt powerful and I reveled in it.
With one final surge of will, I pushed outward with everything I had. The blue light of the binding spell shimred, trembled, and then shattered with an audible crack, falling away like shards of broken glass that disappeared before hitting the floor.
I stood unrestrained, breathing heavily, staring at my mother whose face had drained of all color.
"This... this isn’t possible," she whispered, taking a step back. "You shouldn’t be able to—" She stopped herself, eyes darting around as if reassessing everything she thought she knew about .
"Looks like there’s a lot about you don’t know," I said breathlessly. "Maybe if you’d been honest with instead of hiding everything, we wouldn’t be here right now."
I flexed my fingers, still tingling. "I’m not a child anymore, Mom. I’m not helpless. And I’m definitely not sothing you can control."
She stared at with fear mingled with wonder? Pride? Concern? Whatever it was, she seed speechless for perhaps the first ti in my life.
"Your power... it shouldn’t be this strong," she finally murmured. "This wasn’t supposed to happen yet... if at all."
"What wasn’t supposed to happen?" I demanded, stepping toward her. "Tell what’s going on with !"
But she just kept shaking her head, her eyes never leaving as if I might explode at any mont.
She wasn’t going to tell anything. Even now, faced with irrefutable evidence that sothing extraordinary was happening to , she was choosing secrets over honesty.
"Fine," I said, turning away from her. "If you won’t help understand what’s happening, I’ll find soone who will."
I marched to my bedroom, yanked my duffel bag from under the bed, and began throwing clothes into it haphazardly. My hands were still shaking, but not from fear anymore—from determination.
Mom appeared in the doorway but made no move to stop . "Where do you think you’re going?"
"Anywhere that’s not here," I snapped, not bothering to look up as I continued packing.
"Ava, please," her voice softened. "You don’t understand the dangers—"
"You’re right, I don’t!" I whirled to face her. "Because you’ve never told ! And now I know you never will."
I zipped up my bag with more force than necessary and pushed past her into the hall. Grabbing my phone and wallet from the counter, I stuffed them into my purse.
Mom followed but kept her distance, perhaps wary of another magical outburst. "If you leave now, without knowing how to control what’s awakening in you—"
"I’ll figure it out," I cut her off. "That’s what I’ve always done, isn’t it? Figure things out on my own because you only tell what you think I need to know."
I paused at the door, hand on the knob, and turned back to her. "If you ever decide you’re ready to tell the whole truth—about what I am, about what’s happening to —I’ll listen. But until then, I need space from... whatever this is."
A look of genuine pain crossed her face. "Ava, please. I’ve only ever wanted to protect you."
"Maybe it’s ti you protected by trusting with the truth," I replied, softer now. "I’m stronger than you think, Mom.Today proved that."
She didn’t answer, just stood there looking lost and frightened.
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