He clicks his tongue and shakes his head. “I was afraid you might say that, so let us make a bargain, then. Accept it now if you care for your lover, because I will not offer it again.” Backing away, he clasps his hands behind his back. “Be the villain, Nyx. Be the monster I need you to be while I pull the strings in the background. The ones who call themselves royalty, the ones lying to their realms about their true identities might I add, cannot know I am free. Erebus is dead to them and shall stay that way. Knowing I am alive means knowing I seek revenge for their heinous acts against myself and the one I love, and I would rather their downfall be a delightful surprise.” He swallows, eyes shifting above my head to the twinkling stars visible now that the storm clouds have faded away.
“What the hell did they do to you? What happens if I refuse?” The serpents hiss in my ear, unhinging their jaws and then snapping their mouths closed near my face, a threat or a warning, I am not sure. “If you want revenge so badly, why not go after them yourself? You do not need me.”
“I offer you the bargain out of the kindness of my heart because you are my flesh and blood, but if you refuse, then Hekate will die right along with everyone else who destroyed my life and my home.” Eyes pinned on me, his jawline clenches, his fingers flexing at his sides. “I would love nothing more than to watch the witch who betrayed me burn with the others, but I will let her live for you. My daughter.”
Anger surges through me, flames igniting in my palms and crackling with fury. They are no longer bright and beautiful, but fully black now and icy like the feel of my father’s power. I stare down at them, considering his words. No matter the cost to my soul, the stains left on my withered heart, I would do anything to keep Hekate safe. If being the villain is the price I must pay, then I will pay it gladly for her.
“Who betrayed you so, father, that you feel the need to use your own daughter in your diabolical plan for revenge? Tell me everything.” My flames flicker out, and I swallow back the fear, the absolute terror of accepting my fate. “I accept your bargain. Just please, let her live.”
He nods once and then steps in closer. “My dear old mother and father destroyed my life, Nyx. And my brother,” he huffs a laugh, shaking his head. “Well, it was him who destroyed my heart by siding with them over me, stealing away the last bit of hope I clung to. He is who must suffer worst of all. I will smile as I watch his world fall apart, helpless to do anything to stop it.” Shadows emerge, tendrils whispering in the air, searching for a target, his brother I assume, who is not here.
“What are your parents’ names?” I ask, and my muscles stiffen in fear, mind racing to put pieces together, clues or signs or anything to point to who it could possibly be.
“You know them well, or at least you believed you did.” His head tilts and he takes another step forward. “My mother is queen Gaia and my father is king Ourahnus. The betraying fools who have now also betrayed their own granddaughter. I should not be surprised.” His fingers twitch and then clamp into tight fists at his sides near the hilts of curved three-pointed weapons strapped there.
“That is impossible,” I breathe, more to myself than to him. “We would know of another son.”
“You know of the only son they accept as their own. The one who they believe is the perfect example of what a celestial should be. The one they chose to rule one day when it was always meant to be me.” Shadows skate across the grass, reaching the tree line and smashing into the large trunks of them, snaking around them until they splinter and creak and come tumbling to the ground.
“No. I do not believe it. It cannot be true. It has always only been...”
“Kairos,” he spits through clenched teeth, his dark power searching my mind and pulling the word out the moment I think it. “My brother and my betrayer. The saint. The son of gods who will one day be crowned king. The forgotten god of fate and time who fucked me over eternally.” His power surges, the twinkle of the stars dimming as small clusters of them are ripped from the sky by his shadows.
Kairos abandoned me in the cave, bleeding and scared after his parents commanded him to do so, and though I hate him for it, I do not wish for him to die. He was kind to me even when others were not. He trained me to fight when others were too fearful to come anywhere near me. Oh gods, I cannot let him do this. I fear his wrath, his vengeance, will not only destroy the three of them, but will likely destroy them all.
“Your thoughts are not wrong. I wish to slowly, and painfully, destroy them all.” His shadows retreat, the darkness wrapping around me, numbness again replacing anything I might feel or think. “I see you are having second thoughts. Your heart is too gentle, dear daughter, and unfortunately, mine has no room for gentleness or compassion for any of them any longer.” Warm eyes darken to crimson, his lips curving up into a smile that one should not wear while breaking their own daughter.
But that is what he has done. What he will do. He will break me.
“Please,” I beg, fighting against the power that is much too strong, too foreign to know how to begin to fight it.
I cannot move now unless he allows me to. Cannot breathe without his power within letting me. I am a weapon to him, and he will use me as he pleases. I never had a fucking choice.
“I am not just your father, Nyx. I am the beginning and the end.” Golden eyes meet mine and his charming, deceitful smile flashes briefly. “I am not only king of The Underworld, but the God of Shadows and Darkness. The devourer of light. And you, Nyx, will do as I say and say as I do until I release you. Fight it if you wish, but it will only hurt more to hold onto the past. I can help you forget.”
Images flash in my mind, ones of Hekate and I together and happy, her face slowly fading from each memory and ceasing to exist in them as if she were never there at all.
No! Please, do not take her from me. I need her to exist! I cannot exist in a world where she does not!
Screaming does not work. The words do not leave my lips like I intended them to, instead they echo back to me, crashing against a thick wall of darkness where I am trapped within my own mind. I am nothing. Non-existent unless I play by his rules, and dead like the others, if I disobey or betray him.
The memories of her return and I thank the gods above for not letting her fade away, the same gods who do not care about what happens to me now and the ones who will one day be victims of my fathers’ wrath. I do not dare to speak in my mind or fight against his power, too afraid to lose her for any amount of time ever again. I stay silent as he offers me his hand, dark magic releasing its tight grip on my mind, a test to see if I will play by his rules or risk it all to fight or flee.
He waves a hand and opens a portal, the inky black swirl of it hypnotizing in a way. What lies within it seems to call me home. He raises a hand, gesturing toward it with a graceful elegance that looks strange on a man like him. He is the most beautiful yet powerful and terrifying creature I have ever encountered, and I know even if I wanted to, I could not escape him. Nothing could compete or banish or extinguish an immortal who possesses the kind of dark, cruel power that radiates off him, let alone one who is a god.
“To your new realm, daughter, where you will now be queen in the eyes of every realm. They will all fear you and I will be proud. Your mother will be even prouder.”
Though my old self fully exists when his power does not consume me, I do what feels entirely wrong and let her fade away. That woman cannot be here. This is not the time to fight. For now, I must survive. I tell myself anything I can to push the old me away, to bury her down so deep until I cannot feel her at all. The celestials did not want me. My realm abandoned me. At least here, I am wanted. I tell myself anything to survive. I take a deep breath and step through the portal, groups of demons stopping and lowering themselves to the ground, bowing their heads against the cracked, dry earth.
Here, I will be a queen, and I suppose for now that is better than dead.
Erebus enters the realm and closes the portal behind him. With only black flames flickering from torches lining the path up to the throne, he is even more frightening. His power not only creates the darkness but controls it in his surroundings, too. The shadows part as he steps forward with only a slight twitch of his finger. What little light exists from the flames of the pit and torches focuses only on lighting the way for the two of us.
I follow him up the stone steps and come to a stop beside him as he gazes down at the velvety chair and the spiked, obsidian adorned crown sitting on a cloth beside it. He waves me forward and I do not hesitate. I sit, crossing my legs and holding my head high, eyes burning into the demons gathered below us, commanding their attention and submission. If he wants me to play the part of the villainous queen, then I shall.
“You are no longer the celestial called Nyx, but a queen to be feared by all. You can hide no thought from me so do not waste your time plotting. I know you do not want this. I can feel the hatred seeping out of you.” He picks up the crown, running his fingers along the glistening obsidian stones. “I am only doing what is necessary to save your mother. You will forgive me one day. She did not deserve what happened to her. Neither did I.” Placing the crown upon my head, he smiles and then brushes the backs of his fingers across my cheeks. “Your mother and I are not the villains, here. Everyone you believed to be innocent and pure; they are the true villains. You shall be free to do whatever you please once I have my fated mate back in my arms. I only hope you choose her and I over the monsters who hide in plain sight, pretending to be the heroes.” His crimson eyes swirl and I feel myself fading into oblivion, my ability to think and speak for myself slowly slipping away.
“What will we do to your parents and Kairos? To the celestials?” I force out, grinding my teeth and fighting against the dark power, because I need to know how far gone my soul will be after it is all said and done.
“Your soul is too pure, dear daughter.” His head tilts, eyes shifting from gold to bright crimson. “I truly hope one day you will forgive me. After all I have been through, there is nothing pure or good within me. All life in this world, save for yours, Melino?’s and mine are meaningless to me. I will take all they find beautiful and let it rot. Every precious thing they hold dear—I will drain the life away slowly until it is nothing. They will endlessly suffer until they beg for death to take them. Their realms will crumble to the ground after I am through, and it will be exactly what they deserve, and nothing less.” His gaze shifts away from me and focuses on two rings he pulls out of his pocket, his shadows whispering to life and swirling around us. “Destroying my brother, taking everything away from the traitorous bastard, that will be my favorite part of all.” He smiles, lifting the rings toward the light of the torches before gently sliding them back into his pocket.
I stand, shaking my head as the realization slams into me that having my wings burned with holy fire was not my true punishment. This is. “It cannot just be us who exists. Light must exist. Mortals, witches, and celestials must exist. The balance of light and darkness cannot be broken or else we all fall.”
He laughs, tipping his head back and spreading his wings wide. “Look around, my queen.” He bows his head slightly, waving a hand out to the realm for emphasis. “I have fallen long ago. Your realm let you fall. We cannot get much lower than this.” He turns his back to me, one foot on the top stair, hesitating there. “Light has existed for long enough. Let them all fade into oblivion as they deserve to. It is time for shadows and darkness to reign. You are the Goddess of the Night. You were born to live amongst only darkness. You will thrive in it.”
He makes his way down the stairs, the demons growling and snarling and running to his side like little children thrilled to have their father’s attention. As I follow after him, the scent of decay and death and emptiness seeps into my soul, numbness slipping in stealthily and clamping down tight, refusing to let me fight it any longer. My thoughts are not my own. I feel nothing. All that exists now is him. The only thing that matters is making those who have wronged us pay dearly. My father smiles and I smile back, suddenly knowing this is where I have always belonged.
After all, I was born of darkness. In the end, into darkness I shall return…
