Daughter of Dusk

Rhea’s eyes widen at the door before she turns to us. “The two of you need to hide. It’s not safe for either of you right now. I’ll deal with him.” She still has her gentle persona about her, but something has shifted. There’s an air of seriousness surrounding her, worry even. I can’t pin it down to one thing, but it’s an energy I haven’t felt around her before.

“But what about you?” Soren asks.

She looks away for a split second. “I’ll be okay. I’ve dealt with him before. This will all blow over and it’ll be like nothing ever happened.”

I admire her bravery, but I can’t help but think of the journal entry from when Father cast Rhea out. The anger in his words . . . does he still feel that way towards her?

There’s no telling what he’ll do.

But . . . this is the safest option, whether anyone likes it or not.

“No, we can’t just hide, I want to help,” Soren protests.

“I know you do. But I already watched Landyn die.” Her voice cracks. “I’m not going to lose you too.”

Soren contorts his face as his eyes become glassy, before pulling Rhea into a quick but tight embrace.

“I’ll be okay,” she assures. “It will all be over before you know it.”

He nods.

“Good.” She gives us a determined grin.

The pounding on the door echoes through the room again. “Rhea! Open this door now!”

Rhea lets out a frustrated sigh. “Show some patience! I’ll be right there.”

In the area under the stairs, she pulls open what looks to be a secret door. Well, secret from the outside at least. The illusion lines up perfectly with the grains of the rest of the wood, effectively hiding the door from unsuspecting eyes. Part of me wonders why such a secret area would exist in the first place. Maybe some part of Rhea was worried something like this could happen.

If that’s the case, I hate that her concerns are coming to fruition.

It leads into a small area that exists under the stairs, with what looks to be plenty of room for Soren and me to hide from the world.

I glance at Soren before heading inside the dark space as Rhea gently closes the door behind us.

It’s not completely pitch black – which is a relief – with occasional breaks in the stairs providing small windows to the outside world; or, more accurately, it gives a decent view of what is happening at the front door, if a little compressed horizontally.

I put an arm around Soren as we shift in the space, letting his presence ground me somewhat, but I know he’s just as nervous as I am.

“This will work. I know it will,” I whisper.

His lips move up into a small smile in the dim light before he kisses me gently, and we turn our attention to what we can see of the front door.

Rhea takes a deep breath, centring herself before she opens the door.

Father looks at Rhea with fury swimming through his dark eyes. “Rhea.”

“Darius.” She responds tightly. “I don’t suppose you have a reason for so rudely intruding on my home?”

“You were never good at feigning innocence. You know why I’m here.”

“As a matter of fact, I don’t.”

He lets out a frustrated sigh. “Soren blatantly disobeyed me and ran off with a girl. Her name is Luna. But I’m certain you knew that, considering she healed your sickness.”

“I see. But that still doesn’t explain why you’re here.”

His mouth forms into a hard line. “I know you know where they are.”

“I haven’t seen Luna since she healed me. And quite frankly, I thought Soren was with you.”

“You were always a terrible liar, you know. Even back when you were at the Manor, you couldn’t look me in the eye when I asked who the baby’s real father was.”

Soren.

He lets out a shaky exhale next to me, clutching my arm tighter, but my body doesn’t dare to make a sound.

Silence falls over the conversation before Nox’s voice breaks through the air. I can’t see him though – he must be outside the door. I’d imagine Melinoe is there too.

“Do you know her, Father?”

“Go on, tell them the truth.” Rhea pushes again. “If anyone should know, it’s them.”

I can’t see her face, but I can only imagine what it’s like for her to see Nox and Melinoe again. They are her children, after all. But after being raised by Father, would she even have any connection to them at all? Would she recognize them?

Or are they too far gone now?

“She’s your mother,” he says heavily.

“The one who abandoned us? She deserves to die!” Melinoe says darkly.

Her words send chills through me. How could someone say such a thing? Even if it is Melinoe. But it does fit Father’s twisted narrative.

“Abandoned?” She says through her teeth. “You lied to them? For what, to protect your image? Ever the manipulator, aren’t you?”

“Oh my God,” Soren breathes.

“Was it really a lie? Youdidabandon the Manor. You left and had another man’s child.” His tone is colder than ice.

“I was isolated in that God-forsaken place before any of that happened. And if that’s what you see as abandoning, then you’re a hypocrite.”

Father’s eyes narrow; a look I’ve seen before. He knows she’s hiding something.

“And why is that?”

“I know that girl you’re looking for is your daughter as well. And I know you didn’t have her with me. If being with someone else makes me a villain, then you’re a hypocrite.”

Rhea, be careful.

“What did Luna tell you?”

“Nothing more than that.”

The suspicion burns in his eyes. “You know where she and Soren are, don’t you?”

“I don’t.”

“That’s a lie.”

“You know,” Rhea starts, “I did love you, once. A long, long time ago. And now, I can’t think of the faintest reason why.”

Ouch.

He moves to start attacking, but she quickly sends what looks to be a shadowy blast toward him, knocking him to the ground.

“You dare attack me?” Father’s voice strains, filled with anger as he gets up.

“Enough. I don’t care about our past, I don’t care about you. You’re just a shadow from another life. I gave you your answer about Soren and Luna. Now, please, leave me alone.”

Silence covers them like a deafening blanket, muffling every and all possible sound. No one dares to move, no one dares to even breathe. Neither Soren nor I can pry our eyes away from the scene as time stands still.

She told him to go. She was successful in keeping our secret. So why isn’t he leaving?

“I never should have made that deal with you. It’s time I did what I should have done all those years ago.”

No. What’s he going to –

A blood-curdling scream lights the air on fire, a sound that I know will haunt me until my dying days.

“N –” I shift and cover Soren’s mouth before he can speak and tightly hold his back against my chest. He holds my arms as water pools against my fingers and his breath becomes short and stilted, matching the vibrations of his body.

The sensations nearly send my emotions over the edge, but my body numbs itself before it can happen.

I take a reluctant glance through the cracks as my vision blurs with tears. I can’t see Rhea anymore, but I can see the anger and shock flash across Father’s eyes for a split second. Even he can’t believe he just . . .

A knife twists into my heart.

No, don’t focus on that right now.

“Search the house.” The soul has left Father’s voice as footsteps echo around us. Some come close, seemingly in time with my pounding heart, and others fade into the distance.

I shift, moving so that I’m facing Soren as he puts his hands over his face, his breath still shaking with every exhale. Unsure of what else to do, I hold him close and lace my fingers through his hair.

I hold him tighter as more of the footsteps come closer, getting louder, deafening, until they stop abruptly. I don’t know who’s on the other side of our hiding place, but I can feel their presence from here, enveloping the space. I shut my eyes.

Please don’t let them find us. Please.

I flinch as Father’s voice hits my ears. “Search upstairs. There’s nothing down here.”

The footsteps echo above us as they head up the stairs above us, the thuds pounding into my head.

As silence covers the area, Soren separates himself from the hug, but he keeps his arms around me.

“We have to help her, you can heal her, can’t you?” His voice breaks several times and is barely above a whisper, but I can hear the hopefulness in his soft voice.

A tear rolls down my cheek as I let out a shaky exhale. “I don’t know. I can try. But now is our chance to get out of here.”

We open the secret door, careful to stay as quiet as possible, knowing that even the smallest sound could give us away.

I can see Soren’s face again as we stand at full height. His silvery-blue eyes are still watery as he holds back tears, like cracks forming in a frozen pond. It makes my heart ache, but I try my best to hide it.

I give his hand a gentle squeeze of reassurance before he glances at the doorway, and all the colour drains from his face.

I look over my shoulder, and I have to stop from losing myself.

Rhea lays on the ground in a pool of her own blood, her once vibrant silver eyes now lifeless, a haunted form of their former presence. They see into the deepest parts of my soul, as though they’re trying to tell me something; to warn me. But they’re speaking a language I can’t understand.

Soren runs to her in the next moment, gently shaking her shoulder, but it’s no use. He looks at me as the cracks in the pond begin to deepen. “Luna, please.”

I don’t have the strength to tell him she’s already gone, that she’s left this world far too soon. But even I refuse to believe it. Maybe I can heal her. Could I bring her back? I’ve never tested my abilities in this kind of situation . . . maybe it is possible. But at what cost?

I lower to my knees, hovering my hands over her chest, the main place the blood has pooled, staining her skin like red ink on white paper.

I concentrate on pulling the dead energy from her, just as I did before, focusing on the places where it’s taken hold . . . but death has already clawed its way into every part of her. A darkness that I can’t grasp, an energy that I can’t touch.

Or can I?

I keep trying for a few more moments, but every time I even get a small hold of the dead energy around her, it tries to pull me in. Like I’m standing on the edge of a precipice, each attempt to heal her pulling me closer and closer to the edge, until I’m gazing into the darkness, the claws of death reaching up to me, coming closer with every passing second.

I pull myself away from the abyss with a shaky breath, bringing my consciousness back to reality.

I can’t bring her back. Not without . . .

I glance up at Soren, and my heart is so heavy I’m certain it could fall to the floor.

“She’s, I’m so sorry.” I shake my head, barely able to even speak.

The sadness in his eyes is enough to split me in two, but he pulls me into a tight embrace before that can happen.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” I whisper against him, his arms tightening around me with every passing second.

A stifled gasp escapes him as he pulls away and I turn, my eyes meeting Nox, Melinoe, and Father on the stairs. Hatred ticks the back of my mind, like a time bomb beginning its countdown, certain to explode if we stay here.

“There you are,” Melinoe chastises.

I get up, shielding Soren with my arm. “Stay away, all of you.” My voice breaks, but I don’t let myself lose my composure. Not right now.

Father looks between Soren and me, the hatred still burning in his eyes. “You both have two options. Come back to the Manor, or you meet the same fate as Rhea. And I think we’ve all had enough violence for one day. But it’s your choice.”

“Grab my hand,” I whisper, and he obliges.

In the stunned silence, I concentrate my energy and create a cloud of opaque mist. It surrounds the entire first floor and I lead Soren out the front door, getting as much of a head start as we possibly can, escaping the waking nightmare, but for how long?