The Forbidden Heiress At The All Male Alpha Academy

Chapter 238: The Girl in the Spotlight

Theo missed her already.

The lady in white.

She found herself standing in a dark void next, which honestly, felt way darker and more dangerous than the white Void she’d been in a while ago.

And she was becoming increasingly transparent. She wasn’t at her final destination yet.

Looking around, there was absolutely nothing and every step she took caused a ripple beneath her feet as though she was walking on water.

Then, a sight caught her eye.

There was a spotlight in the middle of the void, and a small child was crouched down there, her head buried between her legs.

Theo curiously approached her. The girl had beautiful red hair, but it looked very dirty and tangled. Her arms bore numerous scratches, and her clothes were torn and tattered.

She looked like she hadn’t bathed for weeks.

Theo stopped in front of her, but avoided stepping into the spotlight. The sight made her heart ache, and she could hear the little girl sniffing between her legs.

She was scared and injured.

Instinctively, Theo reached out to touch the little girl’s arm but pulled back almost instantly. Theo didn’t remember herself that much and didn’t think she was in a position to offer someone else a helping hand.

She sucked in a deep breath, recalling what the woman in white had said. That she was brave.

Moreover, she shouldn’t have any reason before lending a hand.

This time, she reached into a small light and touched the girl’s shoulder. The moment she touched her, a jolt of electricity slammed into whatever remained of her body and memories flooded her eyes.

Armor. Battlefield. Blood.

Dead wolves.

A house on fire.

Burning bodies.

Skewered bodies.

The sound of her voice crying and screaming into the night.

The raw feeling of despair and hopelessness.

A sharp outtake of breath shot out of her mouth as she came back to the present. The little girl was now looking up at her, and Theo found herself staring at the younger version of herself.

Her eyes were swollen with tears, and she had a black eye. She looked horrified.

"You really are persistent, you know," The little girl spoke, but her voice sounded mature.

So mature.

"Who are you?!" Theo asked.

"The other side of the mirror," She replied after a short while, "The side no one ever looks at,"

Theo didn’t understand much of that, but she couldn’t deny that she felt more of it than she could understand.

"Were those your memories?"

"You had it easier in this life," She continued, her voice steady, but her fists were clenched tightly, "Back then, I was born in a lowly family. Every day was a different kind of hell. But I was as enthusiastic as you were even now, and I tried to convince myself that it would get better if I made a difference. And just like you, my best friend was special. Just that back then, she was human too. But everything changed the night my village was burnt down, and everyone I loved was slaughtered before my very eyes. I regretted being the one who survived,"

"The other side of the mirror," Theo muttered under her breath, "What about the reflective side of you? Where is she?"

"She’s set loose. She’s the embodiment of all the rage that I have. Of everything Werewolves did to me,"

"But you were once a werewolf yourself, right?"

She looked away, "I had a weak wolf," She replied, "I was a woman, and I was almost wolfless. And I lived in the very era where everything started. It was the worst,"

Theo didn’t know what to say.

"And Alcaeus was there. He was there to hold me. He was my mate and helped me realise my true potential. As an archdemon, I wouldn’t have to suffer anymore. I can trample on those who walked on me, and together, we can rule as we wish,"

Theo stared at her.

"You think ruling stopped the suffering?" She asked quietly.

The girl’s chin lifted and she looked at Theo angrily, "It stopped mine!"

"But not theirs."

A deeper look of irritation crossed her bruised face, "Why should I care about theirs? Did anyone care about mine?"

Theo opened her mouth, then closed it.

She did not remember her own past clearly. Faces were blurred, and names were echoes. But she remembered the woman in white pressing her forehead to hers. She remembered being told that disappearing was not the same as resting.

And she remembered being told she was fire.

"I don’t think caring makes you weak," Theo said softly.

The girl laughed, but there was no humour in it, "That’s because you haven’t watched your entire world burn."

Images flashed again without warning.

Flames swallowing rooftops.

The metallic scent of blood.

A young woman screaming with her hands tied, and her knees buried in dirt.

The laughter that echoed in the background was not kind.

Theo staggered but forced herself to stay upright, "I saw it," She whispered, "When I touched you. I felt it."

The girl’s expression faltered for half a second, then the anger was back again, "You felt a fraction," she said coldly.

"That was enough."

The little girl scoffed, "You have no idea,"

Theo looked down at her own hands once again. She was so close to becoming transparent.

"I’m running out of time," She admitted.

The girl’s eyes sharpened immediately, "Then go. You don’t belong here anymore,"

Theo shook her head fervently, "I think I do."

After her conversation with the woman in white, giving up was no longer an option.

"You said the other side of you is set loose," Theo Continued, "The rage. The embodiment of everything that was done to you."

"Yes."

"And she’s out there now."

The girl did not answer.

"She’s fighting," Theo said, and her voice grew softer, "She’s killing, isn’t she? "

Theo stepped fully into the spotlight now, and the light seared against her fading form, but she ignored it.

"You were young, just like me," Theo said, "You were grieving. You were angry, and you were alone,"

"I was powerful. I saved people. Despite my weakness, I fought and I saved!" The girl corrected.

"You were hurt."

The girl’s breathing became uneven, "You think I don’t know what I became?"

Theo hesitated, "Do you?"

The child’s eyes glistened, "I know what I did after I let the rage out. I burned villages the way mine was burned," She whispered. "I know I became the nightmare I once feared." Her voice wavered, "But at least I was never helpless again."

Theo’s throat tightened and she touched the girl’s shoulders again, "Helplessness is not the worst thing in the world," She said gently.

The girl stared at her in disbelief and began shaking her head in denial.

"It feels like it," Theo Continued, "But it means you still have something to lose. Something to love,"

"And what did loving get me?" The girl snapped

"It made you human."

The words hung between them for a short while.

"I don’t want to be human," She said, but it sounded more like a plea than defiance.

Theo scooted even closer to her, "You don’t have to be helpless to be human," She said. "You don’t have to choose between power and compassion."

The girl shook her head, "That’s a lie."

"No," Theo whispered. "It’s just harder."

Her body flickered violently, and the void pulsed in response.

Far away, something roared.

The girl stiffened almost instantly, her eyes widening slightly.

"She can feel this," Theo realised out loud, "The one outside."

The girl’s expression darkened, "She doesn’t need your pity. We don’t need your pity!"

"It’s not pity. It’s understanding."

The girl did not pull away this time when Theo cupped her bruised cheek, "You survived something terrible," Theo said, her voice trembling but steady, "You were not wrong to be angry. You were not wrong to want justice. You were not wrong to want power."

Tears slid silently down the girl’s face, and her folded, dried lips quivered as she fought to hold back those tears.

"You were wrong to think you had to lose yourself to have it."

The spotlight flickered violently, and the darkness around them rippled.

"If I let go of the rage, there will be nothing left." She admitted softly.

Theo smiled faintly, even as parts of her shoulder dissolved into light, "There was a girl before the rage," She said, "A girl with a best friend. A girl who believed things could get better,"

"She died," The child whispered.

"No," Theo said firmly, "She was buried. Just like I tried to bury myself, because of whatever pain I went through too,"