I turned to face her fully, studying the lines of her face in the dim light. She was beautiful in that effortless way that made everything else seem like a pale imitation. Silver hair and golden eyes and skin that seemed to glow from within. The original protagonist's destined love interest.
The girl I was supposed to steal.
"What do you want, Aurora?"
"I don't know."
"Try again."
"I want—" She stopped. Started over. "When you kissed me, I felt something. Something I've never felt with Nolan, not in three years of dating. Something that scared me."
"What did you feel?"
"Alive." The word was almost a whisper. "Like I'd been sleepwalking through my own life and suddenly woke up."
The drain pulsed harder. I kept it closed through sheer force of will.
"That's not the kiss," I said. "That's you finally admitting what you actually want."
"And what do I want?"
"You tell me."
