Darkness or light...?

13.

The atmosphere was suffocating, thick with tension and fear. My mother's piercing screams cut through the air, each word a dagger aimed at my heart. "How could you... how could you do that to your own father!?" Her voice reverberated off the walls, filled with anguish and disbelief, shattering the fragile peace of our home.

I couldn't tear my eyes away from my father's prone figure, cradled in my mother's trembling arms. His face was deathly pale, eyes closed, a stark contrast to the crimson pool spreading beneath him. Bloodstained everything, including my trembling hands, a damning testament to the horrors of the moment. The metallic scent hung heavy in the air, mingling with the acrid tang of regret.

The shaking in my hands mirrored the turmoil within me, a silent testament to the chaos raging in my mind. I never meant for any of this to happen. I never intended to cause harm.

But as I looked up, met with my mother's gaze, I found only condemnation in her eyes. They bore into me, dark and accusatory, igniting a primal fear within me. Her words were like a relentless barrage, each syllable another blow to my already shattered spirit.

"You... you little... you little monster!" The epithets hurled at me cut deep, slicing through whatever remnants of self-assurance I clung to. I wanted to protest, to explain, to beg for forgiveness. But her anger was a tidal wave, sweeping away any hope of redemption.

Suddenly, a force slammed into me, sending me careening backward. The world blurred into a dizzying whirlwind as I collided with the unforgiving wall. Pain erupted, sharp and searing, radiating through every fiber of my being. I gasped for breath, the air stolen from my lungs by the sheer force of impact.

Before I could even begin to comprehend what was happening, my mother was upon me. Her weight pressed down on me like a crushing weight, squeezing the life out of me with every passing second. Panic clawed at my throat, threatening to engulf me in its suffocating embrace.

I tried to plead, to beg for mercy, but her hands were a vice around my throat, choking off any semblance of speech. Darkness encroached from the edges of my vision, a relentless tide threatening to drag me under

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zaria's pov:- 

As I emerged from the clutches of my nightmare, the oppressive weight of fear still clung to me like a second skin, leaving my chest heaving with each desperate breath. Tears streaked down my cheeks, leaving salty trails in their wake, a testament to the raw emotions that had gripped me in the darkness of my dreams.

Before I could fully grasp the reality of my surroundings, a searing pain exploded across my cheek, jolting me back to consciousness. My mother loomed over me, her features contorted with rage, her hand still lingering from the force of her slap. The sting on my skin mirrored the ache in my heart, a tangible reminder of the wounds inflicted by her anger.

"Why did you even bother to come here, you monster?" Her words cut through the air like a sharpened blade, each syllable dripping with venomous disdain. I recoiled, the weight of her accusation crushing me beneath its relentless weight.

But before she could unleash any further onslaught, Thornwick, ever the silent sentinel, entered the room, bowing deferentially to my mother. "The queen is calling you, mistress," he announced, his voice a stark contrast to the charged atmosphere that crackled between us.

"I'll deal with you once I'm back," my mother spat, her gaze icy and unforgiving as she turned her attention back to me. "I'll finish what I started so long ago. After all, it's worthless for a monster like you to live."

With a flick of her wrist, she muttered a spell, and a shimmering bracelet materialized around my wrists, restraining my magic. Panic surged within me as the realization of my vulnerability sank in. She had stripped away my only means of defense, leaving me exposed and defenseless against her cruelty.