Page 22 of As Above, So Below

The desire to kill them all.

The unbearableneedto feed my innate.

And good gods, giving in iseuphoric.

A sickening crack echoes in my ears, stemming from the base of my skull, and I fall face-first into nothingness.

CHAPTER FIVE

The silence Iawaken to is deafening.

To my infernal dismay, I still exist.

Resounding defeat runs cold through my veins.

It contrasts the heat of the tears sliding down my face.

Of course Netharis wouldn’t end me.

Not after displaying that kind of power.

I’ll never escape him.

I’d given everything I had.

Gave in to my innate.

I let it control me in hopes it would be enough.

It wasn’t.

Staring at the ceiling, numbness overtakes me.

It creeps through every limb before settling in my chest.

Feeling drained, I turn over.

I know I need to fight, but I’m so incredibly tired.

I close my eyes, hoping to dream of the night sky the living take for granted.

CHAPTER SIX

I should haveknown better.

Expecting Netharis to end me was foolish. I still have my uses. He’s never going to let me go.

I’ve lost.

And despite unleashing every ounce of innate magic I possess, it wasn’t enough. I’ll never win.

Resigned to existing, the weeks following passed in a listless haze.

I didn’t bother leaving my bedroom.

Netharis never sent for me, and neither Vaelyn nor Ylara visited. While this was likely by my father’s design, not hearing from them hurt. I would have found a way to reach them were the situation reversed.

Netharis has isolated me, again. This time, thankfully, not within an obsidian box. Though I’m not convinced he meant it as a kindness. Instead of enduring the torturous magics of cursed obsidian, I’ve spent my time lamenting.