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7 years ago
“Stay quiet,” my mother ordered. “I don’t want to hear you say another word. Understand?”
I nodded through the pain that pierced my back and my neck. It didn’t matter if I had said anything or not. It never did. This punishment wasmine.
She tightened the chains around my arms, making sure I would hardly be able to move. “If you can’t be a good daughter and do as you’re told, I’ll have to ensure you stay here by chaining you up. This is your fault, Lyra. You did this to yourself. Remember that.”
This time, I stayed quiet. I obeyed. My thin wrists ached from the iron shackles; the scabs beneath hadn’t had time to fully heal since the last time I had been chained up. I tried not to think about my raw skin underneath or the cold cement floor I had been unable to get away from.
I tried not to think about any of it.
“When I can trust you to do as you’re told,” she hissed in my face, “I’ll let you go. This world is depending on you. You don’tgetto live a normal life like the other girls. I don’t know how long it’s going to take you to understand that.”
I looked anywhere but her makeup-covered face.Stay quiet, Lyra. Stay quiet and she’ll leave you alone.
She always did. She would leave me here while she returned to her seemingly perfect, pristine life.
“Now, tell me again,” she pushed. She knelt before me, gripping my chin with her long, perfectly manicured fingernails as she forced me to look into her golden eyes. “Tell me why you’re here.”
“I am the secret,” I repeated through gritted teeth. “My blood is the key, and my life has one purpose.” The words ignited a deep numbness in my chest.
“You forget so quickly,” my mother sighed. Her eyes softened, just like they always did every time she pretended to feel sorry for me. Her ice-blonde hair fell over her shoulder as she cocked her head sideways. “You are fulfilling a great destiny, child. Stay quiet, stay hidden away, and when your time comes,save the world.” The same estranged edge in her voice sent a chill of disgust down my spine.
She let go of my chin and walked out of the basement, clicking her designer high heels on the cement floor and closing the heavy door behind her.
One singular trail of light came through the tiny basement window. Nobody would come for me. Nobody ever had before. Nobody would even miss me.
My life’s purpose was to stay hidden. To stay quiet.
I closed my eyes and tried to picture myself anywhere else but the freezing, empty room I was trapped in. I imagined a warm beach with sand under my feet. A forest with the crisp smell of grass. I missed the real world, but pretending to be elsewhere was the only way I could survive these days, imprisoned in an underground room shrouded in darkness.
This was my life. Stay hidden. Stay quiet. I was my mother’s weapon to the world. My mother, the Goddess of Light, had a very dark secret.
Her own daughter.
ChapterOne
Inever expected to graduate college. I never even expected toattendcollege, but since online programs were becoming more and more available, my mother—Theia-–had eventually broken down and let me attend simply to keep me occupied.
Over the last four years, I didn’t mention that I would neverneeda degree. I already knew exactly what my life had in store. But in some ways, those online classes had been my only portal to the real world.
That, and Netflix.
Shelteredwas an understatement. Theia had lightened up over the past four years, but I was still hardly allowed to leave my camera-monitored studio apartment. I took a long, calming breath and settled my rising heart rate.I should be grateful, I reminded myself. Grateful that I even had this apartment. Grateful that I wasn’t locked in Theia’s basement with chains holding me inside.
Good behavior had earned me this freedom, and I needed to appreciate that.
I kicked my feet up on the white couch and closed my eyes. Theia was out of town until next week, which meant I could relax for once. I wouldn’t have to worry about her dropping by unannounced just to make sure I was still behaving.
With my last final exam behind me, I had nothing left. Nothing to look forward to. I could get another degree, I supposed, if Theia agreed to pay for it. Or I could start some sort of hobby. Knitting, maybe. Or yoga.
I shook my head and rubbed my temples. The dark, looming shadows of doubt began creeping closer and closer to my sanity. I hastily shoved them away.
Losing my mind wouldn’t help me survive.
Staying quiet would. Staying obedient would.
A rapid knock on my window made me jump from the couch. I quickly crossed my small living room and peeked out of the glass into the darkness of night.
