Taming Darkness
Chapter 16

~Darius-

Since Lycus' hearing is far more sensitive than ours, he howls in agony. I can't look away as his claws tear at his face and ears. Tobias wails at the sound, covering his own. His hearing also heightened. Although we are in the same situation, in the heat of the moment, I can't understand where to go or what to do. I need them safe, all of them, but where am I supposed to go first?

Lydia snarls, getting to her feet. She straightens her body and clutches her neck where Lycus' teeth got her. A sheer look of disgust crosses her face.

Lycus' cries of agony force his shift, leaving him naked and clutching his head in his hands. Lydia casually walks down the stairs, unfazed by the chaos surrounding her. Aleera stops, seeing the strange look on her mother's face and how everyone suddenly backs up. "You dare betray me," Aleera snarls at her mother. Her lava snakes sliver behind her as she faces her mother. If we had more time on our hands, I would gladly stand aside and admire the beauty of Aleera's newfound, destructive power as she harnesses the shadows, morphs, and tames the darkness that is now writhing through her.

However, Lydia's loud, screeching laughter catches my attention. I turn my head in her direction just as she speaks up. "You silly girl, all you had to do was come back with me. None of this was necessary," Lydia chips back at her. Although I don't know what to expect, of all the things, I am more worried about the way Lydia's mutated monsters are backing away. "Aleera!" I call her name. My voice sends a jolt up her spine as she turns her head briefly in my direction. Slowly, as if not to be noticed moving, Tobias also backs up, joining me in the center. He keeps clutching Kalen close to him, refusing to let go.

Lycus is still on the stairs, gasping for breaths. Finally, Aleera notices the strangeness of their behavior. She has to understand something is terribly wrong if her mother's minions back away as if in the presence of a bigger monster. No, the looks on their faces say so much more--this place isn't just dangerous, it's deadly, and we are in the epicenter of a trap.

"Your father worked too hard for this to be for nothing," Lydia spits at Aleera. It takes a brief moment until I notice her mutated Fae lift their hands to the black, inky sky; unleashing their magic. It whips from one to the next like a giant Lasso, creating a powerful barrier of mystical magical energy. The ribbons of power emanating from each one morph as all their elements align, creating a new one, something powerful that charges the air. Then, the next moment, I finally realize what she's doing-they back away to get to their assigned places. The power hunters don't try to save their lives. They are changing their positioning.

Lydia gets us right where she needs us, right where she wants us to be. We are standing in a pentagram as the ground shakes. As the power hunters take shape in a star, cutting off any escape, I can see the pentagram that has been created. The ground is shaking, and I can feel the energy of the pentagram all around me. The power hunters are standing in a circle, forming a barrier that surrounds us and creates an inescapable prison with no way out. I can see the fear in my mates' eyes as we all realize what Lydia has done. We are completely trapped. My eyes scan our enemies as each one retrieves something from their pocket. Now, I finally understand why they domed us into this exact location.

They toss the crystals at the ground, letting them shatter before using their magic. They blast the broken crystals, making them grow in size.

Crystalline pillars start to rise from the ground. I don't risk tearing my eyes away from everything around us. However, the more I watch their actions, the more I wonder how long this had been planned.

A sharp, loud gasp escapes me when I notice Onyx, Lepidolite, Smoky Quartz, Hematite, and finally, Seraphanite crystal. The crystal towers grew larger, surrounding us like skyscrapers. Peering around at the crystal towers, I am amazed and shocked by their beauty. The energy radiating from them is magnificent. The first one that rose to full height is Onyx. Tall and imposing, it can't be missed. The Onyx is a deep black crystal with a glossy sheen. It's almost like staring into an abyss. It is dark and endless.

The Lepidolite is next, it shakes the earth as it takes form in a light green crystal with a vivid sparkle. It also has a range of speckled colors lurking within its depths.

Then the Smoky Quartz, it's a dark brown crystal with a smoky hue that is partially transparent, with the shadow of rainbows forming in its crystalline clutches, revealing the darkness it has absorbed.

Turning, I watch the Hematite shoot up from the ground. This one is a gray crystal with a metallic shine, and lastly, Seraphinite. It gets its name from angels and is a dark gray-green color with a beautiful pattern that resembles feathers.

The crystals grow tall, zapping a barrier from each one. Crystals can't immobilize general Fae, but Demonic-Fae they can. They can stop us from using magic.

Another gasp passes my lips as I watch each tower light up. Almost no time had passed since the crystal towers appeared around us, but I could already feel how they affected my magic.

I turn to try to warn my mates, and Aleera's eyes scan her surroundings and she notices them too. She knows, just as well as I do, what is about to happen, and my lips part in shock. ~Aleera~

As the towers rise, I can feel them drawing my energy, absorbing my dark magic; if I don't suppress it, it would steal it all. But the greed of the crystals doesn't stop there. It clutches onto the magic of my mates. Pure dark magic, it steals it, draining them of power. Their dark, murky auras pull toward the massive towers, absorbing all darkness from them. Just one issue with that, they are darkness. There is nothing light about them to stop it from absorbing them completely.

Darius turns to look at me. I can feel that he wants to warn me, but when our eyes meet, he knows we are thinking about the same thing. He knows the danger we're all in.

I focus my gaze back on the towers rising from the crystal shards, each one growing larger than the last, feeding off the last one's energy. Each of them zaps the next as it creates another barrier. A barrier I am trapped inside-inside a perfectly created fence that keeps me contained until the owner decides to release me. Or so she thinks, these crystals may harm my mates, but I am unlike my mates, I am not pure darkness. I am also pure light, I can switch and morph between the two, but even I feel my power lacking. My Phoenixes start attacking the creatures, pouring their magic into the towers. I'm not sure what they are, but it's obvious they were once Fae, but they are now something else. The creatures don't react to the constant attacks. Their eyes are glazed over, as if in a trance-like state. They aren't in control anymore. It's my mother, she's the one holding them hostage.

"Run!" Darius gasps as we watch the power surge to the last Crystal Tower. That's the last key that would seal us in. My mates' power is already immobilized, yet mine flexes like a muscle at the challenge.

Especially the shadow snakes. I can feel them sliding over my skin, slowly taking their places and gladly hissing at the danger heading towards us. In addition, they feed power into me, lending me magic. I can't be certain, but it feels like cold-blooded creatures are glad to test their strength, test my magic and bleed back into me.

My eyes turn to Kalen as he races toward me, and I tilt my head, feeling sad that he would think I was abandoning him once again. "I'm not running this time, I would never run from you," I tell him, feeling my magic surge down my arms.

We will not escape this pentagram. The only doorway out of this is closing in. Darius starts running at me too, as if they both believe they could scare me into running away or just force me out of this battle.

I won't let them be trapped here with me. My mates might think otherwise, but I know she wants me here. She needs me trapped inside here. But capturing me also traps them.

So I flick my wrist, opening a portal. Their eyes widen when a sad smile spreads across my lips. I'm doing the right thing; I know I am. I blast my mates with a powerful gust of wind. My Phoenixes screech their song as my mates fly backwards.

Darius screams, his last sliver of power surging to attack mine, but he is no match for me anymore. "Aleera, no!" Tobias screams as he's tossed into the portal back to Astrid. Lycus snarls, clawing at the ground as I throw him through, leaving Darius. "I forgive you, but it's about time you forgave yourself," I whisper, addressing Darius.

"No!" he gasps.

"Yes," I breathe, blasting him with every ounce I have left.