I lay on my double bed, staring at the blank ceiling as if it held the secrets of the universe.
Hours had passed in silence. No sound from the house, no voice from Pars. Boredom gnawed at me, turning into a physical weight. I groaned in frustration, tossing and turning, tangling myself in the sheets.
Then, a sharp knock echoed on my door.
I jumped up, a jolt of traitorous excitement spiking my pulse. I rushed to the door, unlocked it, and threw it wide.
Pars stood there. Of course, it was him. Who else would come for me?
I quickly composed myself, pulling a mask of indifference over my features. Pars leaned against the doorframe, his left hand resting casually on the jamb. He looked at me from beneath his lashes, his expression unreadable. Oddly, his eyes held nothing—no anger, no mockery. Perhaps that was why we fit together so well; we were both empty vessels.
I frowned at the thought. Pars's gaze flicked to my furrowed brows, and the corner of his lip curled upward.
"What is going on in that chaotic mind of yours?"
I smoothed my expression instantly, ignoring his question. I straightened my back, mimicking his defiance. He pushed off the doorframe, standing to his full height. For a moment, his sheer size felt overwhelming, filling the doorway, blocking out the light.
He turned and headed down the stairs without another word.
I blinked, momentarily stunned, then followed. Trying to understand Pars Sarehan was a losing game. He built walls within walls, ensuring no one could reach him.
"Come down quickly!" he shouted from the bottom of the stairs.
I froze. His voice... it sounded different. There was a unique timber to it, a dark charm I hadn't noticed before. Or was I just getting used to him?
No. Impossible.
I hurried down. Thankfully, I had changed into casual clothes after the party. Pars was waiting impatiently by the front door. He raked his eyes over me from head to toe, assessing me like a piece of equipment.
"My men caught the rats from the tunnel," he said, his voice clipped. "They were trying to infiltrate the perimeter. Let's go. We have work to do."
He stepped out. I followed close behind. The door locked automatically as we left.
We walked in silence to the main headquarters. The moment we stepped inside, the atmosphere shifted. Tension hung thick in the air. Soldiers moved with frantic urgency.
Why is everyone so worried? I wondered. The intruders were caught. The threat is neutralized.
I knew asking Pars would be useless. He guarded the truth like a dragon guarding gold.
We navigated the labyrinth of corridors until we reached a large, industrial elevator. Pars placed his left hand on a biometric scanner panel. The doors slid shut, and we began to descend.
And descend. And descend.
The air grew colder, sharper. It bit at my skin.
"Where are we going?" I asked, my voice low. The sudden shift in environment triggered my survival instincts.
Pars turned his head, fixing his dead eyes on mine. "Patience. You'll see."
He looked back at the doors. The elevator shuddered to a halt. The doors slid open.
I swallowed hard.
There was nothing ahead but darkness. Absolute, consuming void. I was used to the dark—I had lived in it my whole life—but this darkness felt... wrong. It felt malignant. Sick. It felt like standing on the edge of a cliff with a predator breathing down your neck.
Pars stared into the abyss, his expression unchanged. Then, he looked down at my hand.
Slowly, his large hand reached out. My heart hammered against my ribs as his cold fingers closed around mine. His hand was massive, completely engulfing my smaller one. It was cold, just like mine.
For a split second, as our skin touched, I saw a flash of raw rage in his eyes. It was gone as quickly as it came. Who was he angry at? Me? The darkness? The world?
"What's going on?" I whispered, tilting my head toward him. I wanted him to look at me, not at the darkness.
He met my gaze. The rage faded, replaced by a thoughtful, almost cruel calculation.
"This darkness is malignant, Alenas," he said softly. "No Soldier descends here without a light source. We never take a single step into this void unprotected. We keep our enemies down here because we know... this sickness kills them in a short time."
He took a step forward, pulling me with him. I tried to pull back, but his grip was iron.
"There has always been a reason I chose you."
One more step. We were on the precipice.
"This world has been dominated by endless darkness for centuries," he continued, his voice echoing in the silence. "And we do not know when our path will be completely swallowed by it."
He looked down at me and smiled—a terrifying, predatory smile. I looked back in fear, realizing finally what I was to him.
"You, Reverie... you will be my light in the dark. Until you die. If necessary... forever."
He took the final step, yanking me into the void.
A scent hit me instantly—the smell of death. It was the same scent that had filled the air the day my life fell apart.
I heard voices in the dark. Whispers. Screams. Thousands of them. They were hungry. They wanted my heart.
No.
I wanted to hide my heart. It was unloved, broken, and mine. I didn't want to share it. I didn't want to be a savior.
But survival is an instinct that overrides will.
As the malignant darkness pressed against me, trying to snuff me out, my body reacted. A bright, blinding light erupted from my chest. It wasn't a choice; it was a scream of existence.
The light expanded, pushing back the shadows, silencing the evil whispers. My skin began to glow with an ethereal brilliance, shining as if all the stars in the sky had been buried beneath my flesh. Tears flowed from my eyes, not like water, but like molten silver, shimmering in the light I created.
I turned to look at Pars.
He looked satisfied.
He had done this on purpose. He threw me into the abyss, knowing my power would react to the threat. He knew I feared the dark too much to let it touch me. He used my fear as a switch to turn me on.
I was a tool. My feelings didn't matter.
I had felt worthless all my life, but the indignation I felt now burned brighter than the light radiating from my skin.
"One day..." I said, my voice echoing with a strange, harmonic power. I kept my glowing eyes locked on his. "I will not light any darkness for you."
My body lifted gracefully into the air, defying gravity. I floated forward, a living lantern in the hell he had brought me to. The light revealed a heavy metal door ahead.
I drifted toward it, hearing his heavy footsteps following behind me in the safety of my glow.
"What will you do then?" he challenged, his voice amused.