Page 35 of Releasing Darkness

The female stepped forward until she reached the fountain, then ran the tip of a pointed pearlescent fingernail through the water. As I watched, mesmerized by her movements, I saw an image form. It started out dark and formless, then purples and pinks appeared as she spoke.

“Eons ago, I was given a gift by someone very close to me. For the first time, I was allowed to have children. I was so very excited and was already forming grand plans. First, I needed a home for my children, so I took my favorite things and placed them on the land I chose.” Swirls of black settled into shapes of trees and animals in the water.

“But as I began to place my children there, I found that the one who had gifted me this joy of motherhood had angered another by denying them what they most wanted. Out of spite, that other being planted a seed in my garden. One that I hadn’t known was there until it was too late to pull out.”

As I watched, a sickly color of green thread began to weave through the pretty landscape.

“My children grew into wondrous beings! I couldn’t have been more proud of the differences and the variations of wonderful creatures. To maintain peace in my children’s kingdom, I assigned ten of my most powerful, talented, kind, and fair children to be Kings. I had chosen well, and my children flourished!”

Flashes of color filled my vision as I watched her story unfold in the water. I was as fascinated as I was capable of being. Then, her following words had my heart beating a little harder than it had since I’d been in this place of in-between.

“But the weed of deceit had taken root. One of my loyal Kings prayed to me, having seen what was to come, and asked me to intervene. It was forbidden, though. I had to watch with great sadness as the weed grew stronger. But I wasn’t without hope. I planted that hope inside my greatest achievement, one that would bring balance back into the world I had created for my children. Four wonderful beings that would be the hope for the future. Then those four were snatched away like wisps in the wind.”

She closed her fist, and darkness covered the water. “For millennia, the foulness has grown over the land, infecting everything within it. So I took the chance, my last chance, to save that world from full destruction.”

Four lights began to dance through the darkness in the water before the first one landed. As it connected with a dark shape, a bit of the light that had once been overshadowed by the dark showed through. Then, the second light settled next to another dark shape. The third swirled and dipped, and I watched, mesmerized, and felt my heartbeat quicken as it finally landed. I could hardly tear my eyes away from that third light, but the fourth light drew my eye, and I reluctantly turned to it. I watched as it hovered over a small bit of darkness but didn’t connect. A part of me wanted to nudge it forward, knowing somehow that it was essential to do so. I lifted my hand as if to do just that, but the beautiful female stopped me.

“No, my dear. We can’t interfere. Remember. We must embrace hope.”

“What about that one?” I gestured to the third light that didn’t seem to be shining as brightly as the first two.

A sad smile crossed the ruby-red lips of the female. “That one will be perfect very soon.”

I watched as she dipped her entire hand into the fountain. When she raised it, she was holding a brilliant goblet made from diamonds that captured every droplet of water in its prism, creating rainbows of color that sparkled as the water splashed gently into the fountain.

I swallowed as she held the diamond goblet out to me. “Drink, beautiful daughter. Drink and fulfill your destiny.”

With trembling fingers, I reached out for the goblet and took it from her steady hands. I glanced from the crystal clear water and back to the female. Before I brought it to my lips, I had to ask.

“Who are you?”

She smiled at me indulgently like a loving mother who is full of patience for their unruly child. “My name is Naamah.”

“The Mother of Demons,” I whispered in a reverent tone.

“And you, sweet one, will be the Queen of Demons. One of four other magnificent females who are pure of heart and worthy to be the mates of my greatest treasures.”

As I brought the goblet to my lips I kept my eyes on the light in the pool. As I took my first sip of the most delicious ambrosia I’d ever tasted, the light grew brighter. With each swallow the light shown until it was as brilliant as the first two.

When I was done, I handed the empty goblet back to Naamah.

“You are ready to return. Your mate has been waiting for you, sweet one. But before you go, I must send a warning with you. That weed has grown strong. It will take The Four and more to remove it. Stand strong at your mate’s side and all will be rewarded.” She waved her hand over the fountain, and the vision of light and darkness disappeared until there was nothing left but clear water. “Go, now!”

I startled, stepped back, and tripped over my own feet. I landed on my back, a cry on my tongue that never found an escape. Instead, I took a deep breath and blinked at the ceiling above me.

“Mate!”

A deep, raspy growl snatched my attention from the ceiling, and I turned my head on the pillow it was resting upon to see brilliant green eyes staring down at me. I swallowed back the thickness that suddenly filled my throat and whispered the name of the one being I knew I could never live without.

“Varos.”

Without another word, Varos ripped the blanket off of my body, revealing my nakedness. I gasped in surprise, thenwatched as he ran his palm over my abdomen, which had large black stitches sewn into the flesh. I eyed him as he inspected the stitches closely. A thin pink line was apparent, but other than that jagged line, there were no other wounds. It was healed and fully closed, and I saw no reason for stitches to be there.

“Why do I have stitches?”

Varos growled and rolled from the bed, dressed in black slacks and a T-shirt. He looked handsome, even more so than I had thought before, and he had taken my breath away then. He stood there looking down at me, his fists clenched at his sides and his chest heaving from his heavy breaths.

“Your wound wasn’t healing. The only way to keep it closed was for Juliette to sew it closed.”

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