Chapter 71
Elika follows Darkous into the living room, her legs heavy like stone had been tied to her ankles, she didn’t want to follow him, she didn’t want to do anything but crawl up into a ball and disperse from the earth. She was so tired of her life going places that she couldn’t control, she didn’t have a choice in any of it. She never had.
“Sit down.” He tells her, his voice once again cold, the small amount of kindness that she had seen from him gone.
Elika sits on the edge of a chair, her hands folded on her lap as she awaits her punishment. There is always a punishment. There is always something that she seems to do wrong.
Elika never gets anything right, especially when it comes to her powers. She barely had any control over them, she could use them whenever she wished, but as soon as she lost control of her mind they had their own mind.
“You need to learn better control.” Darkous says, sitting down on the sofa and leaning back, taking off the hat that he always wears. “We can’t have you destroying the entire building.”
“It’s not like I’m not trying.“ Elika snaps, huffing in annoyance, “it’s not like any of this is easy for me, you ripped me away from everything I had, twice. And now you expect me to help you destroy my own father, just how crazy are you?”
Darkous’ face darkens, “Don’t test me, little pup.” He warns coldly, “You have already agreed to help end this war, and you know that we cannot do it without the power that you hold inside of you.”
“Basically what you are telling me is that you need me, and yet you are still treating me like shit!” She scoffs again, leaning back against the side of the chair, “if you want my help you need to learn how to work as a team, you don’t command me, not anymore.”
Darkous stares at her, slightly amused, a little annoyed, but mostly impressed by the strength in her tone and the conviction he can feel in her words.
She is finally growing into a woman, and she is no longer the child that escaped him all those months ago. Elika is so different, she stronger and more sure of herself. She knows what she wants, and she isn’t afraid to fight for it.
Darkous could admire that about her, but he still will not allow her to leave, she is too important. She is the key to everything.
“You don’t get to bargain with me.” Darkous growls, his temper slowly beginning to boil over, “You belong to me, remember? Just because you escaped does not change the fact that you are mine.”
She couldn’t possibly think he would ever let her go? She’s too much of a risk to him. She belongs by his side where he can control her power as if it were his own. Elika belongs to him, and he is never letting her go, no matter how much she tries to fight for freedom.
“I belong to no one but myself, our family has always had strange customs, but I will never be yours.” Elika shakes her head, laughing in disbelief, “I’d never give myself to a monster like you.”
Darkous lunges at her, his hand wrapping around her throat as he shoves her back in the chair, pinning her in place.
How dare she speak to him that way, he won’t stand for it.
“Careful, pup.” He warns, tightening his hand around her throat. “If you continue down this path, we will go back to the way we started, a collar always did look good on you.”
Elika’s eyes widen in fear, she couldn’t let him do this to her, but he’s too strong, and without fully knowing how to control her powers, she was defenceless. Weak.
“I’m sorry, uncle.” She grinds out through clenched teeth, “I’ll help you win this war, but then I am gone, I will not spend the rest of my days with you.”
She struggled to speak with his hand wrapped so tightly around her throat, but she couldn’t let him push her around so easily. He has to know that she isn’t the same little girl anymore, he can’t control her in the same way. Not anymore.
“You will do what I say.” He tells her harshly, but let’s go of her throat and moves back to sit on the sofa, “Every single creature in the immortal community know who you belong to, and no one will help you, you are alone.”
Elika laughs bitterly. “I have always been alone, that isn’t news to me.”
She knows that no one will help her, she isn’t stupid, she knows that anyone who tries will be destroyed by Darkous. He wouldn’t let anyone close enough to her for them to help.
But she liked being alone sometimes, sometimes it was better than being around other people, especially immortals and their backwardness.
Women mean nothing to them, they are objects to use and abuse. But not her, not anymore. She had her own mind now, and she won’t be treated that way again, she’d much rather fight and die than be owned.
Darkous says that she belongs to him, and whilst families often marry each other to keep the lines pure, she will never bow down to him and give him what he wants. Elika might help him take down her father to save the realms, but she will not become his to own. She will belong to no one but herself.
“So confident.” Darkous chuckles, “and yet, you are still foolish enough to believe that I will actually let you leave once the war is over.” He raises an eyebrow and leans his chin on his hands, “it’s rather amusing, little pup, but you’ll learn, I have no doubt about that.”
Elika stares at him, so angry that her entire body was shaking and trembling, she wanted to hurt him, just as he always hurt her. But she knew that she couldn’t. She didn’t want to go back to how things were. She didn’t want to be chained and collard like an animal.
If doing as he said kept her away from all of that, then she would listen, at least, for now. Even if she wasn’t sure how much longer she could cope with his attitude.
Darkous, her uncle, was as vile of a person as he could possibly be, and for some reason, he was proud of it.
He was sick, twisted, and more than a little bit insane. But so was her father, so maybe in ran in the bloodline.
A phone chimes and Darkous frowns, pulling it out of his picket answering the call, “What?” He bellows into the device.
Elika tries hard to listen, but she couldn’t make out what the other person was saying, much to her own annoyance.
“Fine.” He snaps, shaking his head, “give me a few hours and I’ll be there.” There is a pause, “Yes with the girl.”
Her uncle hangs up the phone and turns to stare at her, his eyes dark with rage. “Looks like we are going back to hell sooner than I had planned.” He says with a shrug.
“What do you mean?” Asks the girl, her voice low, afraid.
Darkous stared at her, seeing straight through her mask at her fear, he was good at that, he could sense when someone was afraid, and she was terrified.
“Hades found out that I caught you and he wants to see you, today, in his lab.” He says, rising to his feet, “come on, I have to get Michael and I ain’t leaving you alone.”
Elika stands and follows him, “What do you mean by lab?” She asks, a thousand possibilities running through her mind.
“Hades likes to play around with people and experiment on them, especially when they have an interesting power.” He turns to her, smirking, “You, little pup, just became his new toy.”
Elika’s eyes widened, her heart sinking into her stomach, she couldn’t Believe what she was hearing, but then again, her family was completely insane, so she should have expected it.