Page 111 of Seized to Sacrifice
She ran down the corridor to the main hall of the Library and she found Nyx, Rye, and Thorne sitting at a desk, poring over books, trying to make sense of what was going on. They were trying save her and her realm.
She felt guilty for not telling them the rest, that Gaila had waited for the Light Realm to amass enough power for Elle to completely destroy Ceres. If she survived this, Rye would definitely be punishing her further, and her core clenched as she thought of what he might do.
She smiled as she watched them, taking them in and hoping this wasn’t the last time she saw them. She loved them despite her rocky beginning with them here.
She was glad they’d had last night. It was fitting.
She walked towards them and, when they saw her, all three of them brightened. She caressed Rye’s face and kissed him gently. She did the same with Nyx and then with Thorne.
‘I love you,’ she said quietly. ‘Everything that has happened has led to this and I don't regret saving you. I don't regret this pain, but it's time. Even if anything happens to me, I will ensure the babe is safe with my last breath, I promise you.’
‘What do you mean?’ Nyx said, grabbing her to him. ‘You’re not leaving us here again. Wherever you go, we go with you.’
His grip on her tightened.
She smiled at him. ‘I love you,’ she said again, ‘and I know that you are with me, that you would sacrifice everything to protect me. I know I’m not alone anymore, and neither are you. But it’s time that Ceres was taught a lesson and it has to come from Gaila the First.’
‘But you aren’t truly her,’ Rye said, frowning. ‘What can you do?’
Gaila had been telling the truth. Elle knew what to do, she just had to find a way to destroy Ceres at the same time.
She stepped away from them and closed her eyes, opening the floodgates that had been closed so long, letting the power of the Light Realm flow through her veins the way it should have been for these many, many years.
She sighed in ecstasy, her entire human body alive with the sensations of it, bathing every part of her in pleasure.
More awareness of her world took over as the power fed her. She could feel the Dark Realms closing in, tendrils of black flowing into the Light Realm, and it infuriated her. Ceres thought he could come here and take the things she cared about from her. He had imprisoned her, Gaila the First, stolen her happiness, and the happiness of the men she loved. It was time she showed him why he was the Second.
She winked every single Dark Realm creature roaming her realm out of existence with a thought.
She turned her attention to the Horde, already attacking her city. They looked like ants from where she was – so far away and yet so close – running over the top of each other to get over the city walls, killingherpeople, ruininghercity.
She clenched her fist and destroyed them all at once, each one falling dead on the ground, their bodies crushed. She stretched her mind outward.
The balance of power was wrong here. It was like an itch at the edge of her consciousness, the equilibrium destroyed when Ceres had begun playing his games, getting his agents to fiddle withherportals and wards.
She funneled her power into her network of bridges, making them equal once more opening the ones that had had been destroyed and creating new ones where needed. She put broken wards back into place to keep her realm safe. She had created these magicks and no one knew them like she did. The Dark Realms would never again be able to infect her realm and the balance between them and the Light Realm would remain constant.
She gasped as she saw what had become of the Underhill. It had been larger than the Light Realm itself once. And her fae were now in hiding in the Dark Realms with nowhere to be safe.
Restoring the fold, she it made it larger and more beautiful. She ensured the portals were open to welcome the fae back as soon as they realized it was there and she warded it tightly so that it couldn’t be breached by anyone other than those with fae blood.
She let out a sigh. Ceres was still trying to get in. A Liathmor was closing in on her. They’d become even more of a menace under his orders.
She opened a portal and stepped through, finding herself in Ceres’ fold. This was a gamble. She wasn’t nearly as powerful here cut off from her realm, but she couldn’t leave him to continue to be a threat, not with the babe on the way. She, Rye, Thorne, and Nyx would be constantly looking over their shoulders.
Ceres sat at a desk, looking as if he didn’t have a care. He had the audacity to grin at her, standing up and striding forward.
‘What did you think to accomplish by coming here, Gaila? You have little power in my realms and as a human too. You’re a fool.’
‘We were friends once,’ Elle said to him. ‘More than friends. Why did you turn on me? Was it just the power you wanted?’
His lips curled up into a sneer. ‘You never cared about me,’ he snapped. ‘Not after you found your three mongrels. I only decided to take what should have been mine in the first place.’
Elle barked a laugh. ‘Don’t you dare pretend you did this because you were jealous. You were always hungry for power, old friend. Your damaged pride was just an excuse to garner more.’
He snorted at her. ‘You’ve lost. You can’t defeat me. You’ve been starved of your realm for too long while I have grown stronger thanks to my Horde.’
He grinned. ‘You’re with child,’ he noted, his eyes moving over her though he couldn’t possibly see it from her appearance. ‘Perhaps I’ll keep you here until you birth the whelp and then I’ll feed it to my Liathmor.’
