Taming Darkness

~Aleera-

Despite my body reacting this way, the situation still plays to my advantage. This weakness isn't planned, but what better way to sell my powerlessness than being unable to walk? I'll stop her, regardless of what I must endure. Her vile future plans and the madness she seeks to spread over the world won't come to fruition.

She cackles again as I flinch, her soldiers still practically dragging me through the doorway. When this is over, I'll never have to endure that laughter again. It's already seared into my memory, a sound that echoes in my head and features in my worst nightmares. I'll do anything to eradicate it forever.

The power hunters force me forward, shoving me the rest of the way through, and for a moment, I wonder if they're about to throw me down the narrow flight of stairs leading downward, but surprisingly, they hold back.

One of my captors releases me and pushes me to the side as he stomps down the stairs. The other shoves me after the first, making me stumble. I catch myself before I lose control and take a deep breath as I descend.

Worst decision ever. The intense stench only worsens the lower we go. These monsters must be nose blind, as the gut-wrenching smell doesn't phase them. I glance around, attempting to make out our destination, but beyond the dim light that reflects on the stairs, everything else around me is pitch-black darkness.

As we near the end of the steps, my mind races. What will she try next? What wicked plan does she have up her sleeve? Considering she's bringing me down here, I wonder if I'm her next guinea pig. Perhaps she'll throw me in a cell until she's ready to use me. However, once we reach the basement floor, I realize how wrong I've been. My mother waits behind me, tapping her foot impatiently. My traumatic descent down the stairs has evidently bored her. "This floor is the original basement, but this..." she motions to a door that her man opens, shoving me through it into another stairwell leading further down. "...is where I opened a portal the night Darius came for you. Your father's experiments died on the floor above, but this place remained untouched," she continues to explain in her mocking tone as I descend the cold, concrete stairs, accompanied only by her thin, irritating voice.

The darkness below stretches on, and it now makes perfect sense why I've been forbidden entry here, and why they instilled such fear in me about this place. This is no place for a child.

When I reach the bottom, she flicks on the lights, illuminating the room. I'm certain she hadn't done so earlier because she wanted to remind me that she's in control. A sterile white glow casts over the surrounding scene. I'd thought this was some sort of t*****e chamber, but the sight before me reveals a different kind of depravity. The stench that's been tormenting me since setting foot down here suddenly becomes horrifyingly, nauseatingly clear. If I'd had any doubts about the type of woman she is, they're all cleared away now. There's no way for her to fall lower, not after this, not after everything she's done.

Fresh tears prick my eyes as I take in the sight: an immense wall stretching further than I can see, lined with row after row of glass cages, each separated from the next. Crystal chains are clamped to every wall, gleaming menacingly in the dim light. My heart races as I realize what these cells are designed for: to imprison and torment their hapless victims. Everywhere I look, there's evidence of inhumanity and cruelty, a chilling reminder of the darkness lurking just beneath the surface.

My heart nearly stops as I take in the sight before me. It's clear that almost every cell is occupied by Harmony-Fae. We were thought to be nothing but a myth, like unicorns-gone from existence. But here she stands, with an entire basement full of them, caged like animals, ready to be used for her twisted purposes.

The smell emanating from the cages makes me want to retch, and I shudder at the thought of what they've been through all this time. The details are overwhelming; their eyes are sunken, drained of life and hope; their wings look tattered and broken; their hair is matted and dulled-a stark contrast to the silken softness it would usually possess.

The sight is too much to bear, and I can feel my rage boiling inside me-demanding justice for these creatures who've suffered so long in silence.

My eyes dart around the expansive clinical chamber, searching for any signs of those restrained by the shimmering crystal cuffs. I'm sure they must be here, waiting to become her next hapless victims. She wouldn't dare take the risk of leaving her prey out in the open. No, she's too calculated for that; she needs to make absolutely certain no one will have any chance of slipping away from her sinister grasp. I can feel the tension in the air as my gaze lingers over every square inch of this horror-filled room.

The scale of this place is beyond my comprehension, but it's obvious that the Harmony-Fae aren't nearly the extinct species I'd been led to believe they were. There are more Harmony-Fae here than I could've possibly imagined still existed. Not even in my wildest dreams would I have thought there were so many of us.

The prisoners are trapped in my mother's grasp, powerless to her whims. She clearly uses them as test subjects with no regard for their fate, solely focused on empowering herself. Power hunters rely on my mother's sinister scheme to maintain their authority for as long as possible. It's evident that she has left reality far behind; her actions are not just insane, but utterly depraved. With more facts and details revealed, the full extent of her malevolent nature becomes abundantly clear.

From the moment I'd landed here, I'd made plans to escape this hell as soon as I physically could. Those plans need to change. I can't leave all these innocent prisoners behind to endure her wrath, but how will I find a way to release them? There are far too many for me to take with me, and none of them look like they would be useful in a fight. Their dull, hopeless eyes are glazed over, not even registering my presence.

My gaze is still fixed on the Fae trapped in the cells as my mother's soldiers drag me down the hall. They force me to a stop at my own prison cell, identical to those of the other Harmony-Fae. One of the soldiers jams a key in the lock and swings the door open while his cohort shoves me inside with more force than necessary, then slams it shut, bolting it behind me.

I take in my small prison space: cold concrete walls encase me, and steel bars block out any glimmer of hope for escape. Suddenly, I'm aware of every sound and movement around me, realizing that I'm completely alone with no one to save me.

As soon as the henchman disappears from my view, my infinity mark burns, reminding me I'm not alone. It's a hard reach with the cuffs still on, but I manage it and cover it from prying eyes. I need to alert my mates; they have to know what's happening here. I push my fingers deeper into the mark. This has to work. I need to recharge their magic with my own and share my location with them.

I can't give up; I have to help these poor, trapped Fae used for my mother's selfish gain. And I can't do it without my mates-they have to come after me.

They have to learn that the Harmony-Fae didn't die or become extinct. All of them were kidnapped and hidden away by my evil mother for all these years. How she fooled everyone into believing they were all dead this long is beyond me. It shows what greed and the promise of power can truly do to a person.

I try to stare at my mark to see if maybe my mates feel theirs and if my plan has a chance to work. A defeated sigh escapes my lips, yet my mark begins to tingle, making my lips tug in the corners at the reminder of them.

A movement to my left catches my attention. My head snaps in that direction and my eyes widen. Porter? Lycus' father stands there just a few feet away. He smirks at me through the glass, triumph glittering in his eyes.

The sight of Porter only intensifies my anger to end this nightmare. I can't let my mother and her accomplices continue their wicked plans. I must find a way to free the Harmony-Fae and bring them all to justice. This twisted and sinister world that they have created can no longer continue.