A sob wracked her chest. She’d failed at the singular thing she could have done.
Silver bars spiked the ground around her once again. And before she knew it, she was locked behind a door so thick and heavy, even her forceful strikes against it made no sound to anyone outside.
“Sylaira!” a voice cried, yet the young female was so lost to her vision that she could not respond.
Her mother dropped to her knees beside her daughter, wrapping her in a loving embrace. With a gentle shake, she called out again, trying to bring her back from the brink.
The corners of the newly-formed Seer’s mouth foamed. Her jaw locked tight, as if something inside her wanted to claw its way out.
A sword weighed down her shoulders as she faced off against a horde of attackers. Tears dragged down her cheeks, blurring their forms. She didn’t want to do this.
“You must fight. Or else I will force you,” her mate snapped. His invisible claws dug into her shoulders while hate squeezed her already-injured ribs.
Why couldn’t he love her as she was? Why couldn’t he love her peaceful ways?
An ache—soul deep and crushing—swept over her. She tossed away her weapon. It would be better to die than to continue on like this.
White light coiled around her. But it wasn’t a gentle cocoon of protection.
With a twist of his hands, the male flung her back, back, back, until she landed in that same silver cage.
In her mind, he appeared. “You’ll never be free again.”
His magic held her in place, scraping against her bones even as she resisted its thrall. He forced her to watch as he slaughtered every single opponent with brutal strikes of his sword. Ruby sprayed. A metallic tang scented the air. Screams echoed in her ears.
Yet no matter how hard she tried to call upon her power, it lay dormant in her chest.
She had been abandoned by the very gifts their Goddess had given her. Instead, she’d placed Her creation in the hands of a monster.
So by the time the skirmish ended, she saw through swollen eyes.
And the emptiness in her heart only deepened as the future of a war yet to come played out before her in violent strikes of lightning.
Air inflated her lungs as she snapped her head straight again.
“You’re safe now, I’ve got you,” her mother soothed, clutching her face into her bosom. Peonies filled her nostrils, but the scent could not reach where she’d been hollowed out.
All she could do was weep.
For her body, her mind, herlifewere no longer her own.
She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the images that had been forcibly planted in her head.
No, no, no, please no, Radiant Mother, don’t let this be my power,she prayed, hoping that their deity would hear.
No answer came.
A body-wide tremble overtook her, even as the woman who gave her life held her close. Sobs tore from her chest, and she twisted her fingers into the warm nightgown that smelled like home. Even in that safe embrace, terror wove tighter and tighter around her.
“Honey, tell me what happened,” her mother gently encouraged.
But she could not speak for the force of her fear.
Soft hands cupped her cheeks and lifted her head. But she could not see through the tears.
“He’s–he’s–,” she choked out, unable to catch her breath. Her hand flew to her throat like she could wrench it open. “I’ll never be free.”
Flashes of the battlefield returned to her. Along with the wicked way her mate had smiled as he swung. She collapsed forward again, on all fours, bile rising in her stomach. Pressing her lips together, she tried to keep it down.
