Epilogue
Darlia
Cold. It’s so cold.
It’s the type of cold that seeps into your bones and lingers. My skin is covered in goosebumps, and the hairs on my arms are standing up from the fresh round of electric shocks flowing through my body.
“Again.” A voice above me orders. I don’t manage to open my eyes. My teeth clench around something in my mouth, as my silent screams of agony go unnoticed. A fresh round of electricity flows through my body and I feel myself tensing, or at least I think I am.
I don’t remember where I am or how I got here. I couldn’t even tell you my name, I think it started with a D? Or maybe a C… that seems familiar…
“Who are you?” The voice talks again, it’s not a safe voice or a comforting one. It’s a chilling voice that sends a shiver down my spine, yet I don’t feel it. My body is numb.
I open my mouth to respond as the shock stops, but no words come out. My throat closes almost instantly with a searing pain that makes me want to scream, but I just can’t.
“Who is Cayden Ashford?”
Cayden. Cayden is… I try to piece together the memories, but with every shock, they feel further and further away.
I remember screaming, was I screaming? Why?
The memory is faded, like every time I reach out to it, it slips from my fingertips further into my mind. Somewhere behind a lock and key I can’t touch.
“Darlia NO!” A familiar scream echoes in my mind, but I can’t place it; it’s too far away.
“You look beautiful in red.”
“Do you trust me, love?” The voice feels warm, safe, mine. But as soon as it’s there, it’s gone.
“I will not lose you, do you understand me?” I try to hold on to the memory, to keep it close but the more I try to hold on, the more it starts to slip. I feel the warmth leaving, like a string falling through my fingers. One moment it’s there, the next it’s gone.
Everything is gone.