Page 20 of Taming Darkness

Darius leans closer. “And that is why I am here, Lysander.” Darius smirks, and Lysander's lips part. “I am going to show you what a real monster is capable of,” Darius warns before clamping his hands on either side of his head. He's flooding Lysander with every single second of Karla's destruction, of his son's, every second of pain he caused them; Darius returns it and amplifies it. He not only witnesses catching the brunt of his own atrocities, but makes him feel every second of it, feel their physical pain.

Lysander screams, brought to his knees, his body taking on every injury, internal and otherwise, then Darius gives him every emotion, every thought, every fear they felt at this man's hand. His screams echo around the room, and bounce off the tiles, a never-ending echo of torture.

Darius continues to pour the memories and emotions of Karla into Lysander, not stopping even as Lysander's screams become hoarse and his body shudders from the strain. Darius shows him every sleepless night Karla endured, every time she had to hide from Lysander, and every plan she made to try to escape his grasp. He shows Lysander how he tore apart her family, and how he made her feel like she was nothing.

Finally, after what seems like an eternity, Darius stops the onslaught. Lysander lies on the ground, panting and covered in sweat. His body is broken, but his mind is shattered. He sees everything differently now, and sees himself as the monster he truly is.

Darius stands over him, watching with a cold expression. “I hope you've learned something today, Lysander,” he says in a voice that makes Lysander want to crawl away. “I hope you realize what a true monster looks like.” Lysander wails loudly. Curled into a ball he rocks back and forth. But still, Darius was not done with him. He had a promise to keep. Sure, he could stop here, knowing that for the rest of his life, Lysander will only dream about what he showed him. Lysander will forever be scared to go to sleep, knowing he'll be a victim of his own self. Trapped living in Karla's shoes for the rest of his miserable life.

But after witnessing firsthand this man's atrocities, death would be a kindness to him, but Darius also can't risk him hurting another woman again like that. So he ensures no woman will ever come near him again. He sets the steam in the air on fire. Darius watches with sick amusement as Lysander burns for his crimes. Darius then lets the flames die away, only to make the air so ice-cold it causes Lysander frostbite. His skin turns black as his mouth opens. He gasps, the air becoming so cold Lysander feels like his lungs are freezing. Smoke clouds puff out with each agonized breath he takes. Like the fire, it dwindles away, his skin black and marred, burned and scarred. Darius squats in front of him.

“Now your outside matches your insides,” Darius whispers. He grips Lysander's face, his fingers digging deeply into his cheeks. “Now, my last gift to you, Lysander,” Darius smiles. Lysander’s dark eyes look hollow, paler, his pupils dilated, his eyes wide in horror.

“Now I am going to remove your ability to ever feel happiness again. You will never know anything but misery. You'll never be able to take on energy that reflects happiness, joy, and love. The only emotions I'll grant you, are fear, depression, paranoia, helplessness, pain, loneliness, and inadequacy. You'll never know any emotion, I hex you, Lysander Elliot Lycarian, to a life of misery. Never feel even a glimmer of anything apart from the negative energy bestowed on Karla,” Darius whispers.

“Congratulations Lysander, you've now entered a tailor-made version of hell,” Darius laughs before opening a portal and disappearing.

Yet, when Darius' pain and power surge through the bond, something inside me breaks. My scream echoes in my head and bleeds out of me. It feels powerful enough to force my eyes open and break the veil between reality and memories.

I can now hear and see everything, but my body is paralyzed. I can hear my mates, see them. Hearing glass breaking. Even the tiniest cracks sound like the loudest speakers replaying the same sound over and over again in my mind.

And then, finally, I can hear the power surging as I force it on them, feeding my mates with power through the bond. For a brief moment, relief washes over me. I did something I had no idea I was desperate to do.

I’m not certain how I did it. Furthermore, I was unaware it was even possible. But when I felt Darius fight with a renewed vigor, I knew I must have done something useful. Wherever he is, whatever he’s doing, he has me now, and I will do anything to get him out of there alive.

Just like he chose me. Regardless of how wrong or right, his doings were — he always picked me. Now, I am choosing Darius. Now I accept every dark part of him, just like he chose to love every dark and light-filled part of me.

“He’s hurt!” Kalen grits out. His voice is filled with anguish, and that alone makes my heart sink. Desperation overtakes my senses again.

I know that, just like me, my mates are desperate to get Darius out of wherever he is and bring him back to safety.

I suck in a deep, sharp breath, yet I still can’t break the trance. Although I think I have gotten past the veil, broken it, that is as far from the truth as something could be.

Darius' memories became translucent as I peered up at the ceiling in our room. I feel like I’m watching everything through cellophane, still stuck in that transient state between the waking world and a time that has already passed.

All of a sudden, the lights flicker brightly, too brightly, and the entire room starts shaking. Even the memories shake as I try to break the hold his bond has on me.

The brickwork cracks, and glass shatters when a loud, deafening scream leaves me. I can’t stop it.

But the moment my scream breaks out, a shift in energy ripples around me, and I feel it surging in my veins as it bursts out of me, white-hot and fucking furious.

Like a slivering crack in the glass, I feel the seal Darius placed start to ripple, bend, and crack before it explodes along with the light bulbs and the windows.

My breath hitches as a cold seeps into my bones. The darkness envelops me, making my bones ache. While I can’t move a muscle, the pain continues to surge through me; my heart feels like a raging inferno, growing hotter with each throbbing beat.

When I finally manage to open my eyes, the room is so cold that my breath reminds me of smoke clouds in the air. Fog fills the room as goosebumps lace over my skin.

The room is ice-cold, like a freezer. Whatever awoke inside me wants out. I wonder how long I could last in this frigid tundra before I, too, started to freeze.

Fire and ice, light and darkness, both combative and yet, both fighting to set me free together. Both sides of me fought a war inside as I did my damnedest to fight his memories.

But I can still feel Darius, feel my mates.

Lycus moves to touch me, but once his fingers barely graze my skin, he hisses in pain. I can feel everything, but I can’t respond or move.

His fingers turn black as if frostbitten, and he screams, jerking away from me. “How do we wake her?” Lycus says, fear in his voice.

I try to tell them that I’m right here with them, yet no sound leaves my lips. Frozen like a block of ice, trapped in a freezing room and my own mind. I could have screamed and even that sound wouldn’t reach my mates.

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