“Welcome to the Realm of Light. We are thrilled to have you here.” Hekate bows her head low, but keeps her eyes locked on our creation, smiling up at the bright cerulean and amethyst wings.
She is beautiful. Her hair sways in the breeze like little sparks of blood orange embers and her eyes glow and gleam as they meet mine. I cannot wait to ruin her, to snuff out every last spark of light in her perfect, pure body. Divine light should not exist in a world that will one day belong to me, and without it, without her, the celestial realm will crumble. It is all within her now—my most powerful creation of all. And she, whether she likes it or not, will belong to darkness one day. I will make sure of it.
No…
These are not my thoughts.
These are not my words.
This is not me.
Chapter Thirty
The Awakening
NORA
All I feel is darkness now. Nothing else exists. The icy breath of death caresses my face, but my skin is immune to the chill, and my body doesn’t shiver. I am numb. The cold doesn’t sting like the snowy winters I’m used to. In this moment, it feels right, as if nothing will ever hurt me again. No fear exists in my mind, just a sense of emptiness within. My soul is lost to me. I’m not sure it exists any longer. Maybe it died as I did.
Death whispers my name, his soothing voice surrounding me like a blanket of velvety shadows, tempting me back to life. I can’t face him. The moment I gazed into the darkness and it gazed back, I understood what it meant. I belong to it…to him, eternally. Clutching me tight, his tender strokes against my cheek help distract from the thunderous flap of wings. I won’t face him. I can’t escape and I know it, but I fear what he will look like. I’m afraid I’ll like what I see, the darkness that stares back at me.
The still silence goes on and on, my mind eagerly clinging to it, reaching and begging for more. The last few moments of my life I experienced a sense of freedom, as if an awakening I’ve secretly craved my whole life had arrived. Maybe this is a gift. A dream. A never-ending fucking nightmare. I’m not sure of anything anymore.
I’ll need to face him soon. I’ll need to open my eyes, but confronting death will be difficult. I haven’t gathered the courage just yet. The darkness, the silence, and the chilling numbness are my escape from the pain of living in a nightmare for so long. I’m no longer that girl I used to be, though, the one who was weak and broken. I can feel the shift within myself. As the silent seconds tick by, a separation from who I once was and who I’ll now be continues on. I willingly release those old, useless parts of myself. Never again will I be that unbearable, helpless girl.
Darkness and shadows surround me as the cold, gentle hands of sweet death grip me and lift me into his arms. Melting into his touch, I let him take me, content on having an escape from my old life. I prefer being here in the depths of eternal darkness over my mind being forced stuck in a constant loop of trauma and pain.
“Take me sweet death. I belong to you,” I whisper, and I feel his smile against my skin.
I am his.
Chapter Thirty-One
Queen of Darkness
NYX
PRESENT DAY
Adjusting my crown and spreading my wings out wide behind me, I take my place in the throne, casting a venomous smile at the demons bowing at my feet. The cracked, burnt earth greets their faces as my dark power forces their heads down. They do not deserve to look at me. My shimmery gown flashes, defying the absence of light, the black flame torches casting shadows from the deep depths of the River Styx to the rocky mountains encircling those sacred waters. I cross my legs, placing my talons in my lap, my red lips curling into a wicked smile. It gets harder by the day, pretending the urge to destroy them all does not consume me. Pretending the urge to destroy him does not. After a century here one would think it might get easier to fight the chains wrapped around me, the crushing boulders weighing me down and shattering my soul to nothing, but it has not. He is not in my head now, not here with his monsters, but still, I am nothing. I am a slave. And all his pitiful lies about my mother persist.
She is not alive. She is gone. The god killed her, just as he will possibly try to slaughter me once he is through with his games. I have not convinced myself there is much hope left for me. There is likely none. Maybe I am dead already.
The demons are all pathetic. Every last one of them. It truly is disappointing how easily they succumb to me, the one he has declared their queen, depriving me the thrill of tormenting and torturing them with my power. Black flames dance along my palms, and I raise them toward the demons. The flickering lights cast eerie shadows on their grotesque forms.
“Where is the girl, my loyal minions? Did I not make it clear what you were to do after killing her?” My voice is lithe and subdued, one of a calculated predator ready to pounce.
I have come to understand the strength in quiet, deadly calm. It brings with it more terror than a raging, thunderous storm.
My lips slit into a vicious grin as the first fool raises its hideous head, fixing its gaze on me. The audacity it has to make eye contact sends my blood boiling. I flick my wrists, directing my dark, vengeful fire toward its face, engulfing it in flames. With a piercing cry of agony, it bows in submission once again. Good little pet.
The second demon’s brain is at least a bit less of a waste of space than the one I burned. It keeps its eyes where they belong. “We attacked her. We did not take long, just like you asked. Then he…” it mutters, jabbing his scaly, slimy elbow into the third demon. “He pushed her into the lake to watch her drown.” His deep growl is a mix of guilt and regret.
“Why did you not watch her bleed out and bring her to me like I asked?” My voice is a dangerous tool, a venomous force that holds the power to unleash upon them whenever I so choose.
With a stifled whimper, the third demon’s monstrous voice trembles in fear. “I am s-sorry, Queen Nyx. The mortal girl’s life drained too slowly. Her blood seeped out but she lived on. I wanted to bring her to you as quickly as I could.”
His huge, trembling body releases a pungent aroma of fear, and I inhale the scent deep into my lungs, reveling in the pleasure it brings. It is a feast to my senses as they hope for a swift and painless end. I delight in the terror others feel when they realize death is near.
