The Forgotten Light

38. Darksen

Darksen stood alone in the semidarkness of his chamber, staring at the trashed closet. The events of the past day were beyond his comprehension.

As well as what he had become.

First, in the room below the courtyard, when she showed her power once again, he was afraid that one of the guards or his father would do something to her. And it wasn't at all out of fear that something would happen to the girl. He was getting handsy, because he wanted to finish her off himself.

And she was so calm, as if the hoop on her shoulder had also taken away her ability to sense danger.

She must have been up to something. Her back was tense, and if she could, she probably would have clenched her hands into fists. What stopped her from annihilating them all?

With every passing second, the tension in the room grew, the smile disappeared from his father's lips, and the guards were close to letting off arrows.

But then her eyes flashed blue, and he couldn't take his eyes off her.

He looked down at his hands. Did he really want to strangle her with his bare hands? What had gotten into him?

He reached for the two halves of the shelf, wincing slightly as he felt the scabs on his back string.

Anger is a fatal leader. If one gives oneself up to it, they can regret many decisions.

He joined the two halves of the board together, but would at least need glue to stick them together. Or preferably a new shelf.

He threw the boards deep into the closet, piled the scattered clothes and other pieces with his foot into its corner and slid the door shut, making the mess disappear. Fortunately, when the girl landed there, the closet was open, otherwise its sliding door would now also lie in pieces.

He recalled how he blew out the candle quietly, startling the unsuspecting girl. Because of that diabolical bracelet, her senses were dulled, not to mention her power.

He stood two meters in front of her, then a meter and a half, a meter, finally so close that he could feel her breath on his skin. And she was wandering with her eyes in the darkness, looking ahead and not seeing him.

So frightened. So vulnerable.

At the time, he thought, these were just appearances. The only thing he cared about was to prove that she was an Aeternal, and do so in the brutal way. Once it was over, all he would have to do would be to wait for the girl to raise from the dead.

But then she looked him straight in the eyes, and he made the mistake of looking into hers - so terribly tired, sparkling from tears, they were like a mirror in which he saw something that made him momentarily let her go.

The terrifying reflection of a terrifying monster.

His furious face, at the sight of which his heart froze within him.

He changed his mind, though curiosity about who she was still fueled him.

Other than killing her, there was one more way to find out if she was an Aeternal.

Fire.

He reached for the lighter that he had grabbed from the desk and lit the flame right in front of her, staring intently into her eyes, watching for her reaction.

Aeternals were deathly afraid of fire. They feared it to the point that the dread of it dilated their pupils.

Yes, she was terrified. However, she seemed more afraid of him than of the flame.