Tasting Darkness

Read Taming Darkness By Jessica Hall Book 3 Chapter 17 - Aleera POV Darius’ screams of despair broke my heart as he was forced out of the pentagram, his body hurled through the air to the safety of my portal. | felt like | could break down in tears, yet was unsure if it was because of the relief that they were safe, or despair for possibly losing them.

The portal shut, just as the last tower was charged, and | was smashed with electricity. It traveled through my body with such force, | didn’t have enough tto register if | felt any pain.

My knees went out from under me, hitting the hard ground along with my hands as | was propelled forward. | tried to get up, to fight the force that helddown, but each attempt ended with the sscena- a helpless dead end. | was wasting the little energy left in my body.

The energy emanating from the towers slowly drainedof power, immobilizing it. | gritted my teeth and ignored the pain that slowly spread though my body as I lifted my head. My eyes found her within a second, and | made it a point to glare at my mother.

| forced all hatred | had for that woman into my gaze, but even that didn’t feel like enough. There was no living person | could ever hate more than her. And yet, as unfazed as ever, she casually strolled down the stairs toward me.

Her feet stopped next to my face. | expected a blow, a show of power and superiority, but instead, she circled around me. “Your father’s death won't be in vain.” An amused giggle escapedat her words. “You have no idea what you have just done,” | growled at her.

“See, now that is where you are wrong. | know exactly what | am doing, Aleera. Who do you think cup with the plague?” she murmured, crouching beside me. | didn’t want her so near me, if anything, | wanted her as far fromas possible, or better yet, dead.

She gripped my chin, forcingto meet her gaze. As my eyes looked into hers, | couldn’t believe this was the swoman who had given birth to me. The swoman | once called my mother.

Her eyes no longer resembled my mother’s. That part in her had died a long tago. Buried so deep inside the leftover shell of a person that no attempts would ever bring back even half of the mother she could have become.

Now, she was nothing but a monster. A woman responsible for so much carnage.

I refused to show her how hurt | was. Not after what she did, but for what she had lost and robbedof. A wicked smile spread across her lips, as if she could read my thoughts.

She pressed her fingers deeper into my skin, nearly breaking the skin and drawing blood. “I did,” she whispered.

Although | suspected that there had to be more to the plague than | knew, a part ofrefused to think someone close tohad a hand at its creation. My father, yes, he had lost his mind, but her? | could feel nothing but disgust, everything else faded, but she just laughed as | tried to jerk my face out of her grip. “Xandrius took everything from me, and once | am done, | will return the favor when I kill his son.” My brows furrowed at her evil promise.

“Silly girl, you still don’t understand,” she murmurs, lettinggo.

My gaze followed her as she straightened her body and opened a portal before nodding to someone. Hands suddenly grabbedwhen | felt my power immobilized completely as something was clamped on both wrists.

More crystals were hanging from the gold cuffs, entwined with magic | knew was hers. My wings folded in and disappeared under my skin. The shadows retreated once again, leavingpowerless.

| felt exposed, naked, and vulnerable. The one thing | never wanted to feel just washed overall at once, all thanks to the woman who was supposed to be my mother.

“When | am finished, this world will fall to the true Queen. Our species may be extinct, but not for much longer,” she announced, raising her voice for everyone to hear. “I will restore the order back to the rightful hands of our ancestors.” “You're crazy, no one will follow you,” | spat at her. For how long had she been feeding herself all those delusions? Was she really that desperate for power to lose any grip on reality she had, to forget how to tell evil and good apart? Or had 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,” she growled, her eyes flickering down toas the portal behind her rippled and shuddered.

| was hauled to my feet, as someone dug their nails into my upper arms. | almost hissed in pain, but before the sound escaped me, | pressed my lips together to keep the sound in. She won't get the pleasure of hearing my pain.

“And you, girlie,” she brought her hand to my cheek and ran her fingers over my skin, makingshudder. “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 last 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 glared at her, wishing | could burn the smug look off her face.” What are you talking about?” She clicked her tongue. “You still have no idea what you are, do you?” More of her games. Couldn't she speak her mind, share her plans or just talk like everyone else did? Why did she do everything to sound mysterious and important? | shook my head. “Of course, | know what | am. I'm Harmony- Fae.” “No, sweet girl. Why do you think we survived the plague when no one else did?” She asked, cupping my cheek.

| jerked my face away from her. “Your father was pure Dark-Fae, but- angel. Fae don’t have wings. History is wrong, Aleera. Only the Seraphim do. And you're gonna help get mine back! You may be part Fae, but your wings prove you're so much more, just like | knew you would be.” Her words shocked me. Angels were extinct, and have been for centuries.

“The plague was never created to wipe out the White-Fae, it was created to wipe out Demonic-Fae, They caused our ruin, and they will pay for it, because now his very DNA is morphed in yours, his magic yours, soon to be mine.” She spat, and | was shoved forward toward the portal before | felt it suckin, and | was suddenly looking at a place | thought no longer existed. Home, | watched this place burn to the ground, and yet here it stood, looking exactly the same.

“Welchome,” my mother’s voice taunts.