Chapter 210: CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED AND TEN

ARIA'S POV

The sunlight streaming through the curtains left a warm feeling on my eyelids and for a few seconds, I worried for nothing, completely at peace.

But then reality crashed in and I had to open my eyes.

“Where am I?” I wondered out loud, looking around the room I found myself in.

It held a familiarity that I couldn't pinpoint but something told me I'd been here before.

I got up from the soft, king-size bed and put my feet in fuzzy slippers that I found by the bedside.

I would hate to be dreaming again, but the ambiance of the room made it feel like I was back in Paris with my new boss, to who I had the most insane attraction.

That thought sent a panic through me as I remembered an injured Alaric and Octavio and me losing consciousness somewhere in the middle of New York.

I looked around the room and noticed two doors next to each other.

I opened the smaller one first, but it led to a grand bathroom with a bath and shower with enough space to fit in a big jacuzzi if one wanted to.

I closed it and opened the other one and was met with a long passage. I followed it out, looking around at the house I was in; all the while, something tickled at the back of my brain, reminding me that it was familiar.

When I finally found a staircase, it hit me.

Memories of me running away from my captors hit me, and with it, a massive wave of fear.

My mind flowed with the realization that I was finally kidnapped by the Fallen while I was out of it.

Although their usual style of keeping me locked up was missing and the big question of where Alaric and Octavio were stayed on my mind.

I held the railings of the staircase and began heading down the stairs but the frost I left behind jolted my memory, taking away the fear factor.

I wasn't the weakling they held captive before, and this time around, I was not going to stay around and take whatever they threw at me.

The mansion seemed eerily quiet for a stronghold that held so many people so I went in the direction of the house I knew would definitely have people: the dining area

But when I got there, it was empty.

“Hm. I must have missed breakfast by a long shot,” I whispered to myself and headed further down, not wanting to use the elevator.

I realized I'd gotten a phobia for tiny spaces since this power came into me. Somewhere at the back of my mind is the fear that I'd pour too much ice into a closed space and die from my own power.

This era of my life had so many contradictions.

I command cold but I craved the warmth Alaric had. I was granted immortality, but if someone was desperate enough to find a way to kill me, they'd take Alaric's life as well, which made me his weakness.

I hated that.

I was used to being his power vessel, and this new situation made me uneasy.

I really wanted to find someone who could explain this situation to me right now so I could figure out where he was so I could go help him out, I felt really energetic and he was probably somewhere out there, weak and at the mercy of Lucifer's cruelty.

I finally heard a sound as I got closer to the first sitting room after the lobby and hurried toward it, hopeful.

I opened the large doors that led outside, I was shocked to see so many Fallen, gathered around the building, holding hands and closing their eyes.

Their heads were bowed and they were saying some words.

It wasn't like when Kora had done her thing the night before and I didn't feel the power surge in the environment.

I did feel like I was intruding on a private moment though, so I stepped back and watched them, standing next to the door while they did their thing.

After a while, I saw Kiara in a long, purple robe with a young boy next to her, holding a big bowl of oil she dipped her finger into and touched the heads of the Fallen one after the other.

‘Oh, that's why she was called the priestess before becoming an Anchor,’ I thought as I watched the proceedings.

I remembered my history with her but I realized I wasn't as livid anymore. They all looked sunken and weak, like the life had nearly been completely sucked out of them and I could hazard a guess that it was because of me. Maybe this ritual kept them strong enough to be able to stay here without getting attacked and killed or something but I felt like they'd been punished enough for what they did to me. Although I wasn't sure the people before me would be satisfied with this amount of revenge.

I watched her as she did her thing all the way to the last guy in shorts and a snake tattoo on his right eye, and she anointed his forehead, the shimmer obvious on all of them.

After that, she took a towel draped around the boy's neck and cleaned her hands before coming to stand before the door where I stood watching them.

I felt weird standing there. Maybe I should have gone back inside, but I was rooted to the spot, the ceremony or ritual holding me hostage in its own way.

I didn't know how long this was going to hold, and I should be on my way out of here to go find Alaric and be sure he was fine, but I was rooted to the spot watching them.

She walked towards me from there, her eyes staring straight at me with an expressionless face.

When she got to the door, she surprised me by kneeling down.

And everyone else followed suit behind her, making me gasp.

“Over the centuries, we've hurt your lineage, turning our saviors into our servants and forcing you into a state of hatred towards your own people. But today, before the creator and the created, we're begging for you to take back your power and position over us and in exchange, give us the strength to live and protect ourselves against the forces of the earth,” she said, her tone steady and strong.

I was in turmoil and confusion.

I stepped out of the house completely, getting closer to her. I felt a bit uneasy with the whole situation, and I didn't know what exactly I was supposed to do here.

They could have at least given me some sort of manual or something.

“How do I do that?” I finally asked, looking around the large compound at the male and female Fallen who had hurt me in the past but now wanted to worship me.

I didn't like that one bit and was going to tell them to get up but I didn't know if it was all a part of their ritual.

“Everyone you touch will get a drop of power from you and that's enough. But for now, we need enough power to fortify our stronghold against demons. We've had more than five attacks in the last week,” someone from the front answered me.

“Alright. Let's do that,” I answered them and they all let out cheers of excitement and happiness.

That somehow gave me strength and a feeling of contentment.

I had already taken a life so it was imperative for me to try and make things right whenever I had the chance to as I wasn't better than anyone out here.