Page 52 of Above (Darkness Reigns #1)

Nova

“Sometimes I worry that Celeste is right. That magic is changing me.”

O ur last illusion came with a fierce and sudden jolt.

Two months had come and gone, our lives halting still and rushing forward at the same time.

Death, while not expected, had become casual.

Our nightmares had merged with our reality.

We lived in a constant state of movement that also required us to remain vigilant.

Today, though, was the culmination of it all. From here, we would be tested on our ability to act on what we had learned. To further pave the path each elite before us had walked. And we were doing it in front of every captain, colonel, and elite who cared to watch. To witness.

Our line was buzzing with nerves, though we all dutifully remained still and silent.

I had found home in my mind, which would soon be invaded and torn apart.

All of my illusions had been similar, my family dead from some sort of horrible accident and those around me placing no faith in my abilities.

I was mocked and ridiculed before being left alone to suffer in silence.

Sadly, I had a feeling this one would be worse. So much worse.

I was in the middle of the group, Talon in front of me.

While my illusions had mostly stayed the same, I saw a change in his.

Especially since we began having sex, which I gave to him whenever he asked despite knowing it would only cause pain.

Talon’s fears began to all center around me.

My safety, my interest, my love, my devotion.

He’d scream for me, and, while I was fairly certain they were doing it to him on purpose, he almost always lost me to Altair—who took me by blade or by hand.

Altair never said anything about it anymore, but I was confident he made it worse somehow.

Last night, Talon hadn’t even bothered to hide his fury.

He fucked me over and over again, so hard that he left me covered in bruises the shape of his hands.

This morning he had profusely apologized, telling me it wouldn’t happen again, but I wasn’t worried about it.

I knew it would all be over soon, and it wasn’t like I hadn’t experienced that before.

We all speculated what this particular illusion would look like, but there was no clear answer. Even the cores, who had obviously been previously informed, were unsure what to expect according to Talon and the whispers within the halls.

So we waited and watched, the elites taking their time setting up today as if to further torment us.

Abruptly, forty wisps and puffs of darkness appeared just ahead of our line, the training center light fading as the colonels and captains walked out of their shadows.

Darkness encircled me, the blackness like a living, breathing entity hoping to strangle us all.

Talon’s hand flung back, grabbing mine and rubbing soothing circles onto my skin.

I tried to breathe, to remember all he had taught me and drilled into my mind.

Faintly, I could hear the whispers he had offered me for the last few nights.

“You will succeed, Supernova. Every day you get closer to becoming the force you were meant to be. Nothing and no one can stop you.”

I felt that reassurance now as his fingers entwined with mine.

For the first time, I considered what life would be like if Talon and I found some impossible way to be together after all of this.

Maybe it wouldn’t be the life-altering love my parents had, but I wouldn’t ever be alone, and I’d be understood. Valued. Cherished.

“Attention trainees!” came the deep and chilling voice of General Altair. I stilled, wishing I could run away from the man who would rather see me dead than become an elite. “The time has come.”

At my back, I heard shuffling, people moving to make room for someone.

I knew who it would be. It was always him.

“Little Void,” he whispered near my ear, the smell of what had to be a musky vanilla cologne strong with the absence of his whiskey breath.

Someone finally sobered up. I could feel his hand enter my hair, his fingers toying with one of my curls.

Demeaning me, as always. Like I was a toy he could throw out when it lost its usefulness.

Talon’s hand gripped mine tighter, his heat closer as he took a step back toward me.

“Remember to think of me when your turn comes. I’m eager to watch how you believe I’ll finally kill you. Maybe it will give me some good ideas.”

“During this illusion, we will test you like we never have before,” General Altair said from somewhere in the darkness.

“You know, I would believe that if you weren’t such a gutless, weak-willed coward every time you got the chance to take me out,” I retorted to Altair, not wanting his insults to get me off track. “Now go to the back like a good little daddy’s boy.”

Talon let out the barest hint of a chuckle, my smile widening before morphing into a grimace when Altair tugged hard on the curl he still held.

My head flung back, landing on Altair’s chest as his hand moved to my throat, his many rings icy on my skin as his thumb mirrored the strokes of Talon’s across my jaw.

I could just make out his hair, which radiated light even in the unending darkness.

“Today, we will broadcast your illusion into the minds of everyone present, which means we all—” The general’s voice faded as his son spoke.

“When it all comes crashing down, just remember what I told you the other night.” His breath fanned across my face, his heart beating a slow and steady pace against the crown of my head.

Talon’s low growl was ignored, only Altair and I present at that moment.

He was talking about my family. About how my death didn’t need to hurt them immediately.

“Maybe if you go out without a fight I can help them.”

“As if you would care enough to help them.” His finger grazed my bottom lip, and I couldn’t stop the shiver that crawled up my spine. Stars, even my body was repulsed by him.

“I don’t.” Lips hit my temple, warm and soft. “But I can be persuaded.”

“Get off of her, Az,” Talon ordered, giving in to Altair’s teasing.

“Afraid I might hurt her? Or is it that you think I’ll steal her from you?” Leave it to Altair to pretend like he was interested just to spark Talon’s temper. How could Talon not see right through him?

“She doesn’t want you, so your actions don’t mean anything,” Talon hissed, being louder than he should.

“Funny how he didn’t acknowledge my threat to your life,” Altair whispered once again in my ear, the words mostly for me. “His jealousy is getting worse and worse by the day. Imagine wishing you dead rather than knowing you like the feel of my cock inside of you.”

“She wouldn’t!”

“You would,” Altair cooed, his hand releasing my hair and moving to my stomach. “I’d make sure of it. I wouldn’t be nice, but I’d be thorough. Relentless. Determined. You’d never think of Talon again.”

“Get off of me,” I hissed, wiggling in his grasp.

“Anything for you, Little Void,” he mocked, letting me go and disappearing into the darkness as Talon’s arms secured around me.

“It’s okay. I won’t let him hurt you, Nova.” I nodded, returning the hug, unconvinced but unwilling to admit it.

Would Altair really help my family if I let him kill me without fighting back? Maybe they would trust him after meeting him. But they wouldn’t live for long. Especially Dad. Still, it could be better than whatever I was offering.

“Now, let the finale of the black phase begin!” the general roared, lights blinking into existence across the room. Dammit, I missed all of his speech. Hopefully it only consisted of what Talon had already told me. I had no room for error.

A light appeared on my left, revealing Colonel Zade, his scowl animalistic. He forcibly parted Talon and I with a raspy sound of disgust.

“This isn’t about surviving your illusion, Talon,” he scolded, grabbing his son by the arm and guiding him to the front. His voice remained loud, easily heard by all in attendance. “If you don’t impress me, then I’ll kill you myself.”

Talon was shoved forward, the intel catching him by his head and immediately ripping screams up his throat from deep in his chest. It only lasted seconds this time, as if nothing more was needed.

Again, Talon was pushed, this time forced to slip through the glowing silver dome.

Teetering for a moment, he didn’t see what the rest of us did right away.

The sight wasn’t blurry like it was when we normally watched.

This time, it was like seeing two things at once, the intels sharing the images with us in our minds as our eyes saw the dome. As we saw me.

I appeared there, wearing nothing but a thin, lacy red slip. My body was on full display everywhere my wild curls and dark shadow marks didn’t cover it, pulling snickers from some of the trainees. I didn’t have time to care. Not when I saw the dagger in my hand.

Finally, Talon caught sight of me, a groan escaping his mouth. It was far from sexual. It was a desperate sound. One of begging and relief. Talon knew what I knew at that moment.

These illusions were a loyalty test.

“Talon,” I cooed, walking up to him, “I’ve missed you.”

Shaking his head, he backed away, as if not wanting to be near me.

“Where are you going?” I asked, reaching out for him. “I love you.”

“Please, don’t,” he whispered. But we all heard it. We all knew he was resisting.

“Anything you want is yours, Talon. Take me. Love me. Use me. Fuck me. I’m yours.

” By then I was against him fully, and I watched with shame as Talon fell to his knees.

My hand still gripped the dagger as I bent down to straddle him, my arms sliding around his neck.

I was going to kill him. Maybe that was the point.

If it went on any longer, I was going to vomit.

“Make me forget about him. We can kill him together. We can watch the life leave his wicked eyes. We can have snake for dinner. You can fuck me in a pool of his blood as I scream your name. Anything you want.” My sultry voice made my stomach further roll, and I had to choke back the gags as I started writhing on him.

His hands moved to my ass, his head falling back, and I thought for a moment that he had failed.

That he had lost sight of what was going on. “Fuck me, baby.”

“Supernova, you have no idea how much I wish this was real,” he murmured.

Shock radiated through me as he then lifted me up and slammed my back into the ground.

My illusion self screamed in pain, but Talon was quick to silence me with his hands around my throat.

He didn’t bother to suffocate me, opting instead to snap my neck.

It was over. He had done it. While I was nauseous and uncomfortable, I still sighed in relief.

But the illusion didn’t end. Talon grabbed the dagger from my unmoving hand, lifting it high and letting out a ferocious scream before bringing it down into my still chest. Again and again, Talon stabbed my corpse, blood splattering him.

Soon, I was unrecognizable, just a mess of flesh and bone and death.

All at once, the illusion ended, revealing Talon alone within the dome.

Silence had become another onlooker, a sentient being stealing our voices as we watched.

And it seemed to disappear as the Zade heir stood, claps erupting.

But I remained still. Alone once more as Talon’s father pulled him in for an embrace and clapped him on the back.

While I was lost in the sight, someone yanked on my hair. A shriek snuck from between my lips, my legs slipping and allowing me to crash to the ground. Looking up, I saw that it was Captain Zade who held me, her scowl deep as she began to drag me toward the dome. “Your turn, filthy akhata.”

Pointless as it was, I struggled in her grip, kicking and thrashing with the hopes of getting free.

Captain Zade was strong, though, and soon I was being dropped at the feet of the intel.

They didn’t bother to help me up, instead reaching down and clawing at my face.

More screams were torn from me, the intel carelessly attacking every corner of my mind, shredding every facet of my being.

“Ready, Captain,” they stated, revealing their dingy, raspy voice.

Captain Zade nodded, and then the intel lifted me by my stomach and unceremoniously tossed me through the dome.

My wrist hit hard on the ground, a snap indicating the broken or fractured bone.

This time I only cried softly, wishing I had somehow been capable of fighting off the elites so I could have entered with some semblance of dignity.

The first person to appear was Celeste. She stared at me with terror in her eyes. The grey of her irises were bright with unshed tears, her clothes bloody and ripped. “Don’t let them do this to us. We have to fight back.”

With open arms, my sister walked toward me, practically begging me. My heart jolted, a stutter that made me fear it might never beat again. It did though. Which somehow was worse, because I knew exactly what I needed to do.

On my right, the sound of Dad’s chair came out of nowhere. My head flung his way, seeing blood dribble from his mouth as he attempted to push the wheels. “My Nova, please, help me. The stars have punished me. We must destroy them.”

“The cores want us dead, Nova,” Mama cried out from my left. She was grabbing her stomach, blood escaping from the spaces between her fingers. Slowly but steadily, they surrounded me, every inch my way a thunderous demand to take action. To do something other than stand there and watch them die.

“Kill them all, Starlight,” they said in unison. My head felt like it would explode from the pressure of their pleas.

This isn’t real. Do what you need to do just like Talon did.

They fell to the ground, Dad’s chair disappearing. “Please,” they begged.

“I love you all,” I whispered, sobs overtaking me as I willed magic into my hands, the movement seeming to slowly heal my bones.

Unnervingly bright wisps of silver and terrifying dark swirls of black coagulated in my palms, and I let my head fall back with a scream as I ordered my magic forward and out.

Three blasts soared free, my eyes not needing to see them to know that their chests were being torn apart.

Bodies fell. Silence gathered. The illusion ended. Cheers never came.

I had completed the black phase.