Chapter 171: Fragments
**Donn**
I can’t erase my worry for Avery. She can’t keep gifting her essence. I look at Vincent, who nods, and I know that he is thinking the same thing. If she keeps fracturing herself, she risks losing herself and us. It would then give the darkness enough power to overtake Altima and all of the realms it connects to through the In-Between. We walk with Avery to an unknown destination. I stand amidst the shadows, my black leather creaking softly as I move. The others are scattered, each lost in their thoughts, their fears. Avery, the heart of our group, is the calm eye of the storm, her eyes piercing through the darkness as if she can see what’s coming. But I know better. The darkness is coming for her, and it’s wearing her face. Avery, my sweet Avery, I am sorry that you have been dragged into all of this. I only wish for you to have a chance to grow up, not be forced to make decisions and sacrifices to save the world…at least so soon.
A whisper brushes against my mind, a seductive lure that feels like Avery’s voice, but it’s not her. It’s a fragment of her, a piece of her essence that’s been torn away, now manifesting as an ethereal apparition. She’s everywhere and nowhere, a ghostly temptress that calls to each of us, testing our loyalty, our desire, our very souls.
I feel her presence before I see her. A chill runs down my spine, and I turn to find her standing there, a mirror image of Avery, but not quite. Her hair is the same striking red and blonde, but it moves unnaturally, like smoke caught in a breeze. Her eyes, usually warm and inviting, are now cold and calculating, yet they burn with a hunger that’s impossible to ignore.
“Donn,” she purrs, her voice a siren’s call. “Why resist what you truly want? Come to me, and I’ll give you everything you desire.”
My heart pounds in my chest, a battle between my loyalty to Avery and the raw, primal urge to take what’s being offered. I clench my fists, my eyes narrowing as I stare her down. “You’re not her,” I growl, my voice steady despite the turmoil within me. “You’re just a shadow, a trick of the darkness.”
She smiles, a wicked curve of her lips that sends a shiver down my spine. “Am I? Or am I the part of her that you’ve always wanted but never had? The part that’s wild, untamed, and completely yours?”
I take a step forward, my body betraying my resolve. “Avery would never—”
“Avery would never what?” she interrupts, her voice dripping with mock innocence. “Deny you? Reject you? Or perhaps she’s holding back, afraid of what you might do if she lets you in completely.”
My fists clench tighter, my nails digging into my palms. I can feel the rage building inside me, a dark, primal force that threatens to consume me. But I also feel something else—a twisted desire that coils in my gut, a hunger for the very thing she’s offering. “You don’t know what I want,” I snarl, my voice low and dangerous.
She laughs, a soft, melodic sound that sends a jolt of heat through me. “Don’t I? I know you crave power, Donn. I know you crave control. And I know you crave her. So why not take what’s being offered? Why not take me?”
She steps closer, her body moving with a fluid grace that’s both mesmerizing and terrifying. I can feel her presence enveloping me, a suffocating embrace that’s both intoxicating and repulsive. My mind is a battleground, my loyalty to Avery warring with the dark desires that she’s awakening within me. “You’re not real,” I whisper, more to myself than to her. “You’re just a trick, a test.”
She leans in, her breath ghosting over my ear, her lips brushing against my skin. “Am I? Or am I the truth you’ve been too afraid to face? The truth is that you want more than just her love. You want her submission. You want her complete and utter surrender. You want her for yourself. Now you can have it all and not have to ever share.”
My body reacts before my mind can catch up, my hands reaching out to grasp her shoulders, my fingers digging into her flesh. But she’s not solid, not quite. She’s like smoke, slipping through my fingers, taunting me, tempting me. “Stop,” I growl, my voice hoarse with need. “Stop playing with me.”
She pulls back, her eyes locking onto mine, her smile widening as she sees the conflict raging within me. “I’m not playing, Donn. I’m offering. Take me, and you’ll have everything you’ve ever wanted. Take me, and you’ll finally be in control.”
I stare at her, my mind a whirlwind of emotions. I want to resist, to push her away, to reaffirm my loyalty to Avery. But I also want to give in, to surrender to the darkness that’s calling to me, to take what’s being offered and damn the consequences.
And then, just as suddenly as she appeared, she’s gone, leaving me standing alone in the forest, my heart pounding, my body trembling with unfulfilled desire.
I take a deep breath, trying to steady myself, trying to push the darkness back into the recesses of my mind. But I can still feel her presence, a lingering echo that whispers in my ear, tempting me, taunting me. I pull Avery aside. Her soft hand cups my face, “Donn, I know the darkness calls you as the shadows did me. I am light and dark, but I am also me…just me. Am I enough?”
Her questioning her worth is my breaking point. Instead of her surrendering to me, I surrender to her. My hands hold her face. “You are my everything. You are my eternal flame.” Then I kiss her with complete abandon. I don’t care if the others are watching. In this moment, the only one who matters is Avery, the gift I never expected to receive.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
