The True Saint

A True Saint

I am too much in shock to fight the Darkling as he slithers his arms around me in a restricting embrace. He rubs the glowing scar on my palm with his thumb while resting his chin in the curve of my neck. He murmurs, "well, it looks like I will not have to find the dormant amplifier for myself. You made it active on your own." Aleksander places a soft kiss on my neck.

I shake my head in disbelief. "No. No no no."

"Yes," he hums in enjoyment. He is enjoying this. "Now we will finally share the amplifiers. We will be the most powerful enemies and no one can stop us."

The shimmering light fades weakly from the room, submerging it to the natural light that it held before. However, the light did not fade from control or my wanting. It was out of grief and helplessness. This is my fault. I handed this destructive power over to him. I gave it to him without even putting up a fight.

"I... I didn't want—"

"Shhh." His consoling voice does not hide the greed in his eyes as he looks down at me. "You must be tired. Rest, Alina." I struggle against his iron clutch as he slides a hand to the nape of my neck.

"No! I don't want to..."

My eyelids become too heavy to lift and I feel shadows eat away at the last of my strength. I slip into the darkness, which was once a paradise without nightmares, but is now just a reminder of the Darkling's control over me. He claims that he wants us to be balanced, but he will always find a way to tip the scale in his favor. My only hope of him being redeemed is gone thanks to me. Mal's power will eat away at the last of his humanity.

***

"Wake her."

        I jolt up, but I am immediately slammed with a wave of pain. My heart slows and my lungs constrict. There is no choice but for me to fall back where I am caught by the weight of a chair beneath me.

        "Where am I?" I ask in a throaty, groggy voice.

        Things start to come in focus again as I feel my heart thump faster. I find myself sitting on a wooden chair in the middle of an empty room. I've never been here before, and if I have it is not familiar. It seems that everything was cleared out of the large room in a hurry.

        To my left, I see Ivan with his hand extended. He is making it so that I am too fatigued to stand up. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate him? If I wasn't so tired and out of breath, I would tell him again now.

        I look farther to the side and see a familiar face step into the light. David. The realization of what is happening crashes into me and I feel every ounce of dread course through my veins.

        "Leave us," I hear a cold voice say to my right. I do not need to look over to know who it is. This is reminding me significantly of when the Stag's collar was fused to me a little over a year ago. Except this time, I am not an ignorant girl in a tent that will be tricked into doing this. I know full well what his intentions are now.

        Ivan and David vacate the room, leaving me and the Darkling alone. I can finally breathe fully again as soon as Ivan shuts the door. I sit up straight and glare up at the Darkling. He approaches me and kneels before the chair.

        "Alina," he breathes.

       "No," I say before he can continue. "I don't need to hear more of your lies or excuses. You want to bind yourself to me yet again with the other amplifiers."

"Alina, please just listen."

"Let me guess," I retort. "You are going to tell me how I should let you do this because then we can finally rule as equals and it will complete your grandfather's lifelong work of joining the amplifiers."