Page 21 of As Above, So Below

“Not leave the hells?” I repeat the words in a dry scoff.

Not walk in the veil? Not see the living realm? Be confined to the library and my bedroom for eternity? Contend with Vaelyn, Kassil, and the court of demons?

Please, no. Please, gods no.

“Do not do this.” My voice trembles with pained restraint. Restraint to keep from screaming, restraint to keep my innate under control. “Please do not lock me here. The veil is all I have—”

“You will not be without purpose, daughter,” he says, and for a split second there’s a flash of empathy in his eyes. I blink and it’s gone, his blood-red stare cold and distant. “You will serve your House in other ways.”

It’s not about serving my gods damned House.

It’s about beingtrappedin the hells for eternity.

My innate feeds with a voracious need upon my emotions. It should not be this difficult to keep my innate in line. And Ihaveto keep it under control. Unless—the thought emerges from the darkest parts of my mind—I push Netharis enough to end me.

“You cannot keep me prisoner.” My voice sounds strangely calmdespite the violent storm within me.

“Prisoner?” His face grows mottled as his eyes darken. “You belong to the hells, Vestaris!”he shouts the words he’s commanded as scripture and I flinch.

Netharis will never view me as a daughter.

I’ll never be Vaelyn.

Taking a deep breath, my lungs are filled with the scent of the hells, sulfur and smoke—and I nearly choke on it. Billows of shadows ebb underfoot as my control starts to crack and fissure.

“I’ve given you countless opportunities to prove your worth,” Netharis continues to shout, the room rattling with his voice. “And at every turn, youfail.”

My innate screams.

And I let go.

Darkness explodes from my being in a violent expulsion of shadowed tendrils. Lashing out in every direction, dark clouds race to smother the candles. In seconds we’re entrenched in darkness, glass shattering. Books and obsidian boxes crash and thunder to the floor, Netharis’ desk creaks and splinters.

A harrowingcold firerips through my very essence. The rage, the fear, the hopelessness—it’s all swept up in a swirling vortex of shadow and darkness, leaving me at its epicenter. A sluice has been thrown open, andIam no longer enough to satisfy the hunger of my innate, nor am I strong enough to close it. If Netharis doesn’t end me, my innate will.

My darknesswillfeed.

Bright white stars flash behind my eyes, a large taloned hand closing around my throat. Faster than lightning, sharp pain blooms in the back of my head, jarring my skull, rattling my teeth. Grimacing through the pain, Netharis pierces my soul with his blood-red stare as he pins me against the wall, his face inches from mine.

Laughter.

One of us is laughing, and judging by Netharis’ snarling face, it’s not him.

It’s a wild, manic sound as darkness continues to spread and destroy everything it touches. It tears at my hair, my robes, my feathers and cuts at Netharis, leaving him bloodied.

“Enough of this!” he roars, his grip tightening.

Flashes of hellfire strike, batting away barbed tendrils aimed for his throat and face. The tower begins to quake, the floor rumbling, but Netharis doesn’t move.

For once, I am beyond his control.

I will not shirk.

I will not bend.

Leaninghardinto my innate, a second wave ruptures, sending a shattering pulse of darkness across the room. Netharis’ grip vanishes, and I collapse to the floor. The obsidian beneath me cracks and shifts, a gaping fissure tearing through the center of the room. Blinded by my shadows, I scramble left, my hands slapping against the floor in haste.

As screams rise, the intoxicating sensation of my shadows feeding on demons lurking in the layers below floods my veins.Thisis the demonic urge I’ve fought against for centuries.