The Blood of Darkness

Chapter 25

Val

"Of course I came for you." I don't remember who is saying the words, where they are coming from, but they are the only things keeping me together as I am stripped down into my weakest, ugliest, and most monstrous self.

If I thought dreaming about being raped was bad, hallucinating it was a whole other story.

Same with being tortured by the Dark King once again.

And my mother slapping me, yelling, telling me how I was nothing.

And being locked in a small apartment in the heart of Nieves, starving and alone.

And Vance choking me to death, screaming, over and over again, that I wasn't strong enough to save him.

Will it ever stop, the pain? Haven't I been through enough? Don't I deserve a moment of peace?

No, I don't. Monsters don't deserve anything but suffering. When will I realize that?

All I want at this moment is to vanish. Vanish so completely that even I will not remember me.

No feelings, no memories, just the freedom of oblivion. It sounds nice.

I expect the Darkness to creep in at the edges of my mind, coaxing me to give in. Maybe I would. But the Darkness doesn't come, as if something, or someone, is warding it off.

Mixed in with my hallucinations are images of another world, images of blood and battle. But I feel disconnected from it all, as if I am tethered to the ground, and cannot fall any further than I already have.

Other images swirl at the edge of my mind as well, ones of Nieves and alleyways and axes. But they are torn from my mind one after another, followed by blinding pain.

Then, I am standing on a high balcony with a horribly familiar man at my side, overlooking a square full of sullen people, lie after lie leaving my lips.

The scene before me dissolves, and I find myself splayed on damp, grassy ground, staring up into a sky thick with smoke and darkness, only a single beam of light shining through.

But that disappears as well, and once again, I am on another balcony, this one overlooking a huge crowd of angry people, many wielding weapons, shouting with rage. I do not recognize the jagged mountains in the distance, or the navy sea stretching across the horizon in the opposite direction, surrounded by harsh cliffs. But I have the sudden urge to smile.

Finally, everything fades, and nothing is left but the familiar voice, still repeating the same words, over and over. "Of course I came for you."

I shift, ever so slightly, and pain shoots through me like a bolt of lightning, along with a wave of bone-deep weariness. I'm so tired. I just want to fall asleep and never wake up.

I just want to give in.

But the Darkness is nowhere to be found.

Suddenly, the comforting, repeated words stop. "Val?" I feel a gentle hand on my face. "Val, wake up."

I don't want to wake up. I just want to let go. Where's the Darkness? Why isn't it here when I'm finally ready to give in?

"Val." The hand is on my chest now, over my heart, and I force my eyes to open. At first, all I see is darkness. But then there is light. Reddish hair. Tanned skin. Golden eyes. Kye.

"Don't touch me," I tell him with a broken gasp. His hands immediately drop away from me.

His eyes flick up to meet mine, and he breathes a shuddering sigh of relief. "You went completely still. I was scared you had...."