Taming Darkness
Chapter 17

~Aleera-

Darius' screams of despair break my heart as he's forced out of the pentagram. His body is thrown through the air to the safety of the portal I created. The look on his face threatens to destroy me. I feel like I could break down in tears, yet I'm unsure if it's because of the relief that they are safe or despair at possibly losing them.

The portal shuts just as the last tower is charged, lighting up the sky as it meets in the middle. Then, I am smashed with electricity. The electric jolt travels through my body, scorching my nerves with such force that I don't have enough time to register if I actually feel pain. And if I do, it is only fleeting.

My knees go out from under me, hitting the concrete ground along with my hands as I propel forward. I try to get up, to fight the force holding me down, but each attempt ends with the same scenario-a helpless dead end. I'm wasting the little energy left in my body, so instead of letting them steal it all, I mask it, suffocate it under my white magic, obscuring it. Furthermore, I absorb it into the deepest parts of myself, where I can keep it safe.

The energy emanating from the towers slowly drains me of power, immobilizing it. I grit my teeth and ignore the pain that slowly spreads through my body as I lift my head, ignoring the urge to unleash what is left of my dark magic and waste it. My eyes replace my mother within a second, and I make it a point to glare at my mother. If only glares could kill.

I force all the hatred I feel for that woman into my gaze, but even that doesn't feel like enough. There is no living person I hate more than her. And yet, as unfazed as ever, she casually strolls down the stairs toward me. My mother's presence is powerful and intimidating, out of this world, ethereal. She is the embodiment of power, which is strange, almost as if the crystals that drained me, energized her. The dark energy wrapping around her is palpable, like a dark cloud hovering over her. Her eyes are cold and calculated, and her face is an expressionless mask. She holds her head high, her chin jutting out as she strides confidently toward me. She exudes an aura of darkness and power that would make any lesser being cower in fear.

Her feet stop next to my face. I expected a blow, a show of power and superiority, but instead, she circles me and clicks her tongue. "Your father's death won't be in vain."

An amused giggle escapes me at her words. "You have no idea what you have just done," I growl at her, glaring up at her through clenched teeth.

"See, that is where you are wrong. I know exactly what I am doing, Aleera. Who do you think came up with the plague?" she murmurs, crouching beside me. I don't want her near me. If anything, I want her as far from me as possible, or better yet, dead. Yet, she seems to love making sure her face is etched into everyone's darkest memories.

She grips my chin, forcing me to meet her gaze. As my eyes look into hers, I can't believe this horrible woman is the same one who gave birth to me. The same woman I once called my mother. The difference between the woman I grew up knowing and the one that stands before me now is vast. She is a monster.

Her eyes no longer resemble my mother's. That part of her died a long time ago. Buried so deep inside the leftover shell of a person, void and unfeeling. It makes me question how she became what she is, has she always been like this, and we only saw her through a rose-colored veil, do I remember her wrong?

Now, she is nothing but a monster. A woman is responsible for so much carnage, and for what?

I refuse to show her how hurt I am, not after what she did, but for what she has robbed me of. A wicked smile spread across her face, as if she could read my thoughts.

She presses her fingers deeper into my skin, nearly breaking the skin and drawing blood. "I did," she whispers.

Although I suspected that there had to be more to the plague than I knew, a part of me refused to think someone close to me had a hand in its creation. My father? Yes, he had lost his mind and became a mad scientist, but her?

I feel nothing but disgust. Everything else fades into the background compared to the feeling she induces in me. However, she has no care in the world for how I feel. She laughs as I try to jerk my face out of her grip. "Xandrious took everything from me, and once I am done with you, I will return the favor when I kill his son." My brows furrow at her evil promise.

"Silly girl, you still don't understand," she murmurs, letting me go.

My gaze follows her as she straightens her body and opens a portal before nodding at someone. Hands suddenly grab me and I feel my powers completely stifled as something clamps down on both wrists.

More crystals hang from the gold cuffs, entwined with the magic I know is hers. My wings fold in and disappear under my skin. The shadows retreat again, leaving me powerless.

I feel exposed, naked, and vulnerable. The one thing I never wanted to feel just washed over me all at once, thanks to the woman who is supposed to be my mother.

"When I am finished, this world will fall to the true Queen. Our species may be extinct, but not for much longer," she announces, raising her voice for everyone to hear. "I will restore order to our ancestors."

"You're crazy. No one will follow you," I spit back at her. For how long has she been feeding herself all these delusions?

Is she really that desperate for power to have lost any grip on reality? To have forgotten how to tell the difference between evil and good? Or has she always been like this? Vicious, disgusting, and tainted by her greed for power?

"Oh, they will; they will, when they see who has true power," growls my mother, her eyes flickering down at me as the portal behind her ripples and shudders.

I am hauled to my feet as someone digs their nails into my upper arms. I almost hiss in pain, but before the sound escapes me, I press my lips together to keep the sound in. She won't get the pleasure of hearing my pain.

"And you, girlie," she brings her hand to my cheek and runs her fingers over my skin, making me shudder. "You are the key to it all, the last of your existence, a Harmony. Pure of light and darkness. Our ancestors would be proud that through you, the remnants of us will be brought back to power, and not only that. You yield light but also darkness, the first of your kind. But you won't be the last."

I glare at her, wishing I could burn the smug look off her face. "What are you talking about?"

She clicks her tongue. "You still have no idea what you are, do you?"

More of her games. Can't she speak her mind, share her plans, or just talk like everyone else does? Why does she speak in a riddle? Is it to sound mysterious and important? I shake my head. "Of course, I know who I am. I'm Harmony-Fae."

"No, sweet girl. Why do you think we survived the plague when no one else did?" asks my mother, cupping my cheek. I jerk my face away from her. "Your father was pure Dark-Fae, but I was a pure Angel. Fae didn't have wings. History is wrong, Aleera. Only the Seraphim do. And you'll help me get mine back! You may be part Fae, but your wings prove you're so much more, just like I knew you would be." Her words shocked me. Angels are extinct and have been for centuries.

"The plague was never meant to wipe out the White-Fae. It was created to wipe out the Demonic-Fae. They caused our ruin, and they will pay for it because now his very DNA is morphed with yours, his magic is yours, soon to be mine." Before I realize what's going on, I'm shoved forward into the portal. It sucks me in, and I am suddenly looking at a place that no longer exists. Home.

I watched this place burn to the ground, and yet, here it stands, looking the same as I remember.

"Welcome home," my mother's voice taunts.