Chapter-58 The Truth Of Crystal

The Velvet Veil's music faded into the distance as Selora led Crystal down the darkened hallway, Frederique and Sylvan following closely behind. The rest of the patrons remained in the main lounge, leaving them alone in this quiet, sterile space, far from the whispers and the heat of the bar.

Sylvan's hooves clicked against the floor as he hesitated, not used to being in such a commanding presence, especially one as composed as Selora. But there was no choice. Selora was part of the Shadow Corp, and her words carried weight. He would follow... though his discontent was palpable, evident in his scowl.

Lira, true to her nature, had remained behind, still vigilant in guarding the Velvet Veil, her watchful eyes scanning the room for any disturbances. But this? This was business.

Once they arrived at the empty room, a space far removed from the prying eyes of the lounge, Selora gestured for Sylvan to stop.

"Sit, Sylvan," Selora's voice was steady, but there was an edge to it, sharp as a needle.

Sylvan bristled but obeyed. He wasn't in a position to argue with her. She knew more than he did about these matters, about them.

Selora's gaze turned to Crystal, her features softening... if only slightly.

"This is your chance to understand what awaits you, Crystal. If you follow Sylvan, if you give in to what he asks of you, then..."

Crystal's dark black eyes remained unblinking.

"You'll only be his toy," Selora continued, her words slicing through the tension in the room like a blade.

"He will take your emotions. He'll drain you, piece by piece, until there's nothing left. Your strength, your very essence, will belong to him, and you'll be left as nothing but a shell. Do you understand?"

Sylvan's lips tightened, but he didn't speak. The words were true, and he knew it. He wanted her potent emotions. But that wasn't the part he would admit aloud.

Crystal's eyes flickered, the first sign of emotion she had shown since they entered the room. Her fingers twitched, as though the very idea of such a fate unsettled her.

She just stared, her mind racing.

" Sex. That's all he wanted. Just... sex. Right?"

It was hard to reconcile what Selora was saying with what she had been told. After all, hadn't Sylvan been kind to her so far?

Promising safety? He'd found her when she was at her lowest, promised to teach her, to show her the ropes. How could it be so wrong?

But Selora's voice cut through her swirling thoughts.

"You think this is just about sex?" Selora's words seemed to echo, lingering in the air, her gaze sharp and focused.

"That's what Sylvan has led you to believe, isn't it? But it's more than that. Much more."

Frederique, standing a few steps behind, could see the confusion flickering in Crystal's eyes, the struggle to understand what was real.

"I didn't..." Crystal's voice faltered.

"I thought... I thought it was just sex. He... he promised he'd teach me. He said... he said he'd help me learn about my power. He said it would be like what I did to the man... but... " Her voice trailed off, her brows knitting.

Selora's lips curled into a cold smile.

"Sylvan, and others like him, would feed on your emotions, on the very core of your being. It's how they gain power. But he won't care about your survival. He'll care only about taking everything he can from you... until you're nothing. You might think it's just manipulation, but it's far worse."

Crystal's hands trembled as she ran them over her face. She had never realized that her feelings... her joy, her anger, her sorrow... could be taken, consumed.

"Why should I trust you?" Crystal snapped, the confusion turning to a defensive bite.

"Why shouldn't I just think you're the same? You're all just the same, aren't you? Pretending to care but in the end, it's just about taking what you want."

Her gaze darted between Selora, Frederique, and Sylvan, each of them a potential threat in her mind.

Frederique felt her stomach tighten. She stepped forward, her voice soft but firm.

"We have principles," she said, her voice cutting through the room like a balm.

"We aren't here to use you. You don't have to trust us. But I promise you, if you let us help you, we'll protect you."

Crystal looked at her, her eyes searching, trying to find some hint of deception, some trace of a lie. She didn't find it.

Selora nodded, sensing the shift.

"We don't want to hurt you, Crystal. We don't need to hurt you. We're here to help you understand who you are... what you are."

She glanced at Sylvan, her expression hardening.

"And we'll start by understanding what you are."

Crystal blinked again, confusion reigniting in her eyes.

"What do you mean? I don't know what I am."

Selora looked at Frederique for a moment, then focused on Crystal.

"Let's start by ruling out the obvious. You aren't a vampire, are you?"

Crystal shook her head.

"No... I'm not. What there are vampires?"

"They're... dangerous creatures. Predators. Their very presence is toxic to Changelings. But you're not one of them."

Selora studied her closely.

"No, you're something different."

She paced for a moment, considering, then turned back to Crystal.

" Care to tell your story? We need to know where you can and what you did today."

Crystal sat in silence for a long moment, her pale hands clutching her bruised wrists as she stared at the floor.

Then, in a voice barely louder than a whisper, she began to speak.

"I didn't always live like this... I had a home once. It wasn't perfect, but it was something. My mom... she used to care, or at least I thought she did. Until... I made a mistake. Her boyfriend... he was the one who started it. Touching me when she wasn't home. I was too scared to stop him, but when she found out, she didn't blame him. She blamed me. Called me a whore and threw me out. After that... I had nothing. No friends. No family. Just the streets."

Her voice trembled, but she forced herself to continue, meeting their gazes.

"I did what I had to do to survive. I sold myself... to eat, to stay warm. Some nights were worse than others, but tonight... it was different. He wasn't just rough. He wanted to hurt me. He... he was choking me, and I... I felt something inside me spark. I don't remember what happened next. When I woke up, he was... dead. Like a husk, all dried up. Then Sylvan found me. He said I was special. Said he could protect me. And I... I believed him."

Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears, though her expression remained hard, defiant, as though daring them to judge her.

"I'm not weak. I'm not some victim. I did what I had to. But... I don't understand what's happening to me. I don't know what I am."

After listen listening to Crystal, Selora continued to think aloud.

"Shifters? No, you're not a Shifter. They... change shape, become beasts. Their first change is brutal. I can tell you aren't one of them."

Crystal remained silent, her eyes focused on the ground. She wasn't sure what was happening, but the direction of this conversation seemed to be pushing her toward something important.

"Then what?" Crystal asked quietly.

"What am I?"

Selora's voice dropped lower, almost a whisper.

"You're not a demon either. You don't have the aura, the sense of wrongness about you that would come from one. You're something... else."

Frederique watched intently as Selora's mind worked through the possibilities, narrowing them down.

"You're either a Hunter..." she began, and then trailed off. "But no, Hunters aren't born. They are made, through their beliefs and their actions. That isn't you."

She paused, considering. "That leaves us with one final possibility."

"Which is?" Crystal whispered, fear creeping into her voice.

"Mage," Selora said.

"You're a Mage, Crystal. A human with magic, powerful enough to kill a man without even understanding what you did."

Crystal's heart pounded in her chest.

She felt a coldness sweep over her.

Magic.

It made sense now. That feeling, that force... when she had killed that man. The feeling of something snapping, something inside her that had been dormant, something... dangerous.

"I... I didn't know," Crystal muttered, her voice trembling.

"I didn't know."

Selora nodded.

"It's not your fault. But now we know. And we can help you."

Sylvan's voice broke in, low and unpleasant.

"This is all well and good, but she still belongs to me. She's mine to teach."

Frederique's gaze turned sharp.

"No, she doesn't. We'll help her. "

Selora shot a cold look at Sylvan.

"Crystal isn't your toy. Not anymore."

And Crystal, for the first time in a long time, felt a spark of something resembling hope.