Very slowly, the young woman straightened, a triumphant smile lifting her bruised and torn lips.

This was, in fact, the first time she had used this power in such a dark and twisted manner. But since it was also the last, she cared not.

Her body was completely worn out, her blood mixing and mingling lazily with the filth on the floor. She had no energy to stand or try to move, and she could barely see out of her left eye. Every breath she inhaled made a rib feel as if it was going to cut into a lung and her right hand couldn't move correctly.

But it didn't matter!

Not one single bit of this anguish and pain she was feeling throughout her entire body mattered!

She knew this feeling, this energy that coiled around her skin much like a phantom pair of arms pulling her into an embrace.

Honestly, she'd lost count of how many times she had experienced this bizarre and overwhelming presence. But, no matter how uncomfortable or tense it made her feel, her heart welcomed it wholeheartedly.

'Beloved of the Goddess'.

Such was the name, the title, she had been granted at a young age. According to a prophecy by the High Bishop, she had been granted the right to sometimes have her prayers answered.

Everyone else in the kingdom, including the royal family and her own family, believed that was the gift she had been granted.

But she knew...she knew the full truth.

At the age of ten, the High Bishop had summoned her to a private chat. Disguising the visit as one of her normal biannual visits to the Cathedral for the sake of political gain, the High Bishop explained the girl's true gift.

As long as she prayed with all her heart and offered up some part of herself, physical or not, the Goddess would answer her prayer.

This...the energy and presence surrounding her, nearly suffocating her as it pressed down on her back from behind, was the Goddess.

Licking her cracked and swollen lips, she tried to speak out loud, to thank the Goddess as she always did after a prayer.

But a devilish chuckle running down her spine made what little moisture the young woman had accumulated in her mouth dry up. Blinking rapidly, she desperately tried to force her messed up eyesight and tired brain to take in her surroundings.

She was still inside the horrid cell, nothing had changed that greatly. But, despite how much her mind wanted to tell her it wasn't true, a pair of black-skinned, bare feet were right in front of her.

It took her a few seconds to notice them, considering they blended in with the shadows that were too thick to be illuminated by the one torch resting on the wall thirty feet away, outside the cell door.

That rich, velvety chuckle rolled over her senses once again, causing a shiver to run through her, while gooseflesh broke out along her arms.

"Wh...who's t, the...re?" she whispered weakly, though she wanted desperately to shout. But, unfortunately, her throat hurt too much from her screams of pain when she'd been beaten earlier in the night.

"Dear, precious...No. No, you are not but pitiful and foolish. Why have you gone so far for people like this? You were doing so well! Truly, I have to applaud you. But now…" the voice trailed off with a thread of helplessness.

A deep sigh filled the air, taking over all of the young woman's senses as she stared at the shadow that was richer and darker than all the others.

"Well, now you've become nothing less than the physical representation of how pride and ambition can be both poisonous and insanity-inducing. Really, sweet child? You fell head-first into my trap so easily that I feel…. I have to confess that I feel a bit cheated. I had hoped you would take longer, fight harder, and struggle needlessly for a while more. But you really went there! You truly dived straight off the deep end and plunged right into my waiting arms!"

The man's mocking snicker made the young woman feel dread cut across her heart. Struggling to rise, despite the fact she knew her legs could not support her weight, she still tried. In the face of some unknown threat, she instinctively felt as if she needed to appear as strong and brave as she could muster, even with her current circumstances.

"I know not who you are, sir, nor how you have managed to sneak your way in here. But, nonetheless, you are being horribly rude speaking to me in such a familiar manner! I am the only daughter of the Chancellor—!"

The moment the young woman tried to speak her name, the only sound that could come out of her mouth was a rush of air.

Gasping, she raised her hands to her lips, realizing in mild surprise. Right. I offered my name to the Goddess.

"Incorrect," the intruder spoke quietly. "I am the one who owns all of you but your heart and mind."

Her breath caught in the back of her throat as the intruder slowly stepped forward, out of the shadows.

He was tall, six' five" at the very least, as well as black!

No wonder he blended so well into the shadows!

The young woman had never seen, let alone ever heard of someone with completely black skin.

His appearance was both mesmerizing and terrifying all at once, making her heart rate rise rapidly in fear.