I gasp as I wake up, sitting up sharply and blinking my eyes at the bright white light in the room. I have to close my eyes and re-open them a few times to get used to how bright the room is. I remember everything in a rush and place my hand on my neck, feeling a metal collar strapped to my neck. It is quite thick, and I try to pull it away only to hear a quiet voice from the other side of the room.
“Don’t pull it,” the woman warns me, and I turn on the small bed to see a woman sat in the corner of the room, dressed in white trousers and a white shirt. She has red hair a similar colour to mine, but her roots have gone grey and her hair is cut very short. I glance around at the white painted walls, the white tiles on the floor, and there is a massive glass mirror on the one wall. I don’t know what this place is, but I bet it is in the hunter base. I swallow the ball of fear in my throat that Nath isn’t here with me.
“Why?” I ask her. Who is she and why am I with her?
“It will burn your neck, and if you don’t stop pulling, it would kill you,” she tells me, her voice cracking a little, and as I look closer, I see her metal collar, with clear burn marks all around her neck.
“Who are you?” I ask her. I spot flower tattoos crawling up the side of her neck, but her shirt hides the design from me. They look red though, so perhaps roses.
“Asteria,” she replies, turning her head to the side, and staring at me. “What is your name?”
“Adelaide,” I reply, and her eyes widen, before she harshly starts shaking her head.
“No. No, you can’t be. Adelaide is safe. Adelaide is not here. This is just a game!” the woman shouts, pressing herself against the wall, closing her eyes as she continues to shake her head muttering the word “no”.
“I don’t know who you think I am, but it doesn’t matter. Are we in the hunter’s base?” I ask her, but she ignores me, sinking to the floor to sit down and shaking her head continuously like she has lost her mind. I stare at the messy haired woman and wonder why they would put me in a room with her and why she cares what my name is. I walk to the door, feeling around the wall for any kind of handle or way to pull it, finding none. My wolf itches to get out when I step back and start to panic that I am trapped. When I put my hand to the collar, I know I can’t shift. This thing would strangle me. I step back and pace around the room, walking past the woman who freezes and reaches out, grabbing my hand. I try to pull away, but she holds on tight as she uses her other hand to touch the crystals.
“You’re really her. Only one of his children could wear this and live,” she whispers, touching the crystals. “My Adelaide.”
“Yours?” I ask her in surprise. What the heck is she going on about? I look down at her as she stares up at me with her bright green eyes that look awfully familiar. She goes to speak as the door opens, and I jump back as her hand falls away, watching as Mr. Graves walks in the room with two guards. The woman quickly stands up and places herself in front of me as one of the guards shuts the door.
“Protecting your daughter. How sweet,” Mr. Graves taunts, and I place my hand on Asteria’s shoulder, walking to her side and looking at her.
“Daughter?” I ask, hearing my heart pound in my ears as I look over her features and finally to her eyes. My eyes. We have the same colour eyes, the same colour hair, and I know Graves isn’t lying as I stare at her. She is my mother. The one who is meant to be dead. I don’t know how to process any of it as I stare at her in pure shock. Only the sound of my heart beating, my heavy breathing and the feeling of my sweat collecting on my forehead is all I can process. I shake my head after a while, knowing he might be lying as the woman doesn’t say anything. She could just be someone that looks like her.
“Oh, did your mother not tell you who she is?” Mr. Graves laughs. “Maybe I should be kind and fill you in on the past.”
“My mum died, and my biological parents are dead. I don’t want to hear your lies,” I snap, sticking with denial.
“Adelaide,” Asteria whispers, turning to face me and placing her hand on my cheek. “I am your mother. I left you with Reni, your mum, all those years ago and closed the last portal to Frayan. I thought it would kill me before the poison in my body did, but this monster found me. He locked me away here, testing on me and trying to use my powers for his own use.” I stare in shock, the denial I was sticking to fading away because she couldn’t know all of that unless she was telling me the truth.
“Until little Adelaide answered the door, I had almost given up on torturing Asteria to use her magic,” Mr. Graves says, but I feel frozen in place as I stare at the woman claiming to be my mother.
“It can’t be true,” I croak out, shaking my head and feeling powerless as I start to realise she is telling me the truth.
“It is, and you know why I brought her to you, Asteria. Get on with it or I will kill her, slowly, in front of you until you do it,” Graves demands.
“I can’t. Adelaide is too young for that kind of power! I was over a hundred years old when I accepted my powers!” Asteria shouts, moving her hand away and protectively pushing me behind her. I just catch the subtle nod of Mr. Graves’s head to the guard on his right before the guard steps forward. He slams my mother out of the way, and she screams as she hits the floor. I step back until my back hits the wall and the brown haired guard steps right in front of me. He leers as he grabs me by my hair and pushes me to my knees in front of him, turning my head to face my mother. She frantically looks around for something, anything to help me as I bite my lip from the pain of the guard pulling my hair. Graves straightens his suit before walking over to Asteria’s side, picking out a remote from his pocket.
“Right, you have five chances. I will press this five times, and on the fifth time, she will die from the burns as her throat splits open. Don’t make me keep pressing this, Asteria. Give her the power,” he warns and holds the remote towards me, pressing a button. I scream as the collar burns my throat, the smell of my flesh burning is the only thing I can recognise outside of the incredible pain. I cough as the burn stops, and I shout in more pain as the guard lifts my head by my hair.
“Fine,” Asteria gives in, tears pouring down her face as she crawls to me. The guard drops my hair and lets me go, stepping around us, but I keep my eyes on Asteria.
“The power of the royal Fray is passed from generation to generation. I hoped our family’s power would die with me, and I am so sorry for the burden you receive now. This human wants you to use the gift for his benefit, but fate will decide who it is meant for,” Asteria gently tells me, placing her hands on my shoulders.
“Get it over with!” Mr. Graves growls, making Asteria jump. She moves closer, grabbing my hands and placing them together before covering them with her own.
“When you get this gift, you will get all your powers. That includes the storm magic and your father’s powers,” she tells me, as our hands start to glow a deep red colour. “Make sure you kill them all, including me, then run.” Our hands begin to glow red, then a blinding light blasts out. I scream as a burning feeling like electricity travels all up my arms, spreading across my body as the light gets brighter and brighter until the world goes black once more; this time I welcome it.