Daughter of Dusk

I turn as we run through the trees, the village now out of sight, giving me the indication that it’s okay to stop for at least a moment.

Bewilderment covers Soren’s eyes, the dried tears still present on his cheeks as he looks between me and back toward the village, catching his breath.

“We – we have to go back. We have to go back for my mother.” His voice is barely audible.

I look down, pressing my lips together, holding my tears back. “We can’t. It’s too dangerous. The village will take care of her once Father is gone.”

He nods, hanging his head.

I don’t know if Soren will ever be the same after this. Not that I would ever expect him to be, but to think that a short time ago, we were professing our love for one another and making our plans for our future.

And Father took it away from him. From us. From me.

He always takes everything.

Landyn. Evangeline. And now Rhea.

It never ends.

I can feel my anger begin to bubble beneath the surface of my skin, when I remember Rhea’s words to me. “Don’t let your hate consume you.”

Her voice echoing in my mind causes my heart to spiral as another tear rolls down my cheek. She’s right. Soren and I are going to go to Kera anyway, to live as best as we can.

Together.

“Look at me.” I cradle Soren’s cheek in my hand. “It’s going to be okay. We’ll get through this. And then we’ll be on the other side. And we can start something new, away from all this.” My voice cracks. “Away from who we were.”

The faintest of smiles crosses his face as he gives me a short, gentle kiss.

“Let’s go to Kera,” he whispers.

I nod and begin focusing my energy as a mauve swirl appears in front of us, watching as it grows, and the dream of going to the world of Enas with Soren finally begins to look like a reality. I can almost see the blue sky, the salt of the ocean nearly touching my nose, the bright colours all around us, dancing in my mind’s eye . . .

“Duck!”

He grabs me and pulls me to the ground with him as a flood of shadows whizzes over us, cloaking the area in pitch darkness for half a second as the portal fizzes shut. The wave looks like ink, made up of small shards of black glass.

I’m suddenly blown back to the time Father attacked me in the study, the shadows landing on the bookshelf behind me . . .

I shake my head out of my daze.

We get up as soon as the wave passes, but the darkness surrounds us, making it impossible to see more than a few feet in front of us. It doesn’t feel like the mist that I’ve made before. This is a cloak of darkness, something light can’t ever touch.

This is Father’s power.

I grab Soren’s hand, looking at what I can see of his face intently. “Don’t let go, okay?”

He nods and I create a shield to protect us with one hand, just in case the twins or Father are planning some kind of stealth attack.

“Is it possible to make a portal in this?”

I concentrate my energy, trying to get any semblance of a spark going, but . . . nothing.

“No, I can’t. It’s like the Manor. Whatever is in this darkness is blocking my ability to do it. We have to get out of here before I can get us to the island.”

“Is there anything I can do?” Soren asks.

I bite my lip. “You know these woods better than me. Can you tell where we are? That might lead to a way out.”

He looks around, narrowing his eyes at the ground and the whispers of trees that are just barely visible around us. “I think so.”

Suddenly, an attack explodes as it makes an impact on my shield. The protection leaves us unaffected, but the hit blows us backwards, separating us, and I fall to the ground with a thud.

Oh no.

I look around as I get up, but all I can see is blackness.

“Let me go!” Soren shouts.

I move toward the direction of his voice, but there’s no sign of him anywhere.

“Soren?”

No answer.

Panic infests me as I shout his name again, my heart pounding in my ears.

He can’t be gone. Did Nox and Melinoe get to him? Or worse . . .

I’m about to continue my search, when a dark presence in front of me stops me in my tracks, threatening to steal all the light from my heart that I worked so hard to find.

As I bring my gaze up, I can just barely see Father through the shadows, his dark gaze meeting mine.

But it doesn’t pin me in place anymore.

“Where’s Soren?”

“I couldn’t tell you.” Silence falls as he takes a step closer. “I’ll give you one more chance to spare your life if you come back to the Manor. But don’t think I’m forgetting about all this. Having you spar against your siblings clearly won’t teach you anything anymore, so you can stay in the dungeons permanently for all I care. You’re never leaving that Manor again.”

The very notion of being in the dungeons for the rest of my life is enough to make me want to run away and never return. But I hold my ground.

“I’m not going back there.” My response is automatic.

“Stubborn, just like your mother.”

“Did you ever really love her?” I can’t stop the words from falling out of my mouth. “Or were you just so desperate to forget Rhea that you were willing to do anything?”

The darkness around us intensifies, but I manage to keep him in my sights.

“I would think you’d know the answer to that, considering you broke into the study. Regardless, your two options are still available to you. The fate you bring upon yourself is your choice.”

As I take in his words, my thoughts click together, and the facade of his ultimatums becomes clear.

“My decision to leave Zala is my decision. If you decide to kill me, that’s on you. I’m not going anywhere near that Manor with you ever again.”

He’s silent for several moments, but then I suddenly feel pain so intense radiate through my head that it’s a wonder I didn’t lose consciousness. It’s a pain I can’t put into words; a pulsing, excruciating sensation, as though my head is trying to cave in on itself. Or that someone is knocking something hard against it, each blow getting more and more and more intense.

I drop to the ground, clutching my hair between my fingers as my heartbeat radiates through my body, screaming at me to run, to get out of here and never look back.

Suddenly, a voice echoes through my mind.

But it doesn’t belong to me.

You’re the reason your mother is dead.

She’s gone because of you.

The more I resist, the more intense the pain becomes, pulsing through every fiber of my mind, as though there’s a force trying to get inside.

Wait a second. I know what this is.

This is what Nox did to Soren. Father is trying to compel me. To infiltrate my mind.

The words repeat over, and over, and over . . .

No. This isn’t my voice. It isn’t me. It won’t ever be me.

“Get out of my head!”

I slam my hands on the ground without meaning to, and a shockwave of gray expands around me. It pushes the literal and figurative darkness away, and the pain leaves my mind as quickly as it came.

I breathe hard as I look around. The trees are visible again, the muted leaves giving me solace. My head feels lighter than air, savouring its freedom, but I can feel it readying itself for another onslaught of pain should it arrive.

As my vision focuses, I notice Father lying on the ground a little ways away, unmoving.

Did the shockwave hit him? Did it actually knock him out?

I get up as a rush of dizziness hits me, but it quickly retreats after several seconds and a few shakes of my head.

I walk past Father, looking at him one final time. If I were seeing him for the first time, I would hardly think much of him. I would consider him an ordinary-looking person, even.

How blissful would that be? To live in complete ignorance of his atrocities. But I’d rather know than live my life completely blind.

I’m about to continue on when a sinister thought enters my mind. You could end this right now.

No, stop it. I already gave in to my hatred once before. And that’s not who I am.

Without another thought, I run and don’t look back.

“Soren!”

I rush through the trees, coming upon a large clearing as the gray overcast sky hangs above me. But there’s no sign of him. Or anyone, for that matter.

Oh no, what if I can’t find him? What if the twins still have him?

Before I have a chance to let my panic fester, I turn with a gasp as my ears pick up the sound of a branch snapping to my right. The dark bush leaves rustle with movement, coming ever closer as an ache fills my chest.

God, please let it be Soren.