NESTA

The Being stood in front of the stone doors of The Prison.

She could feel the cold air coming through the cracks, feeling the raw power that the imprisoned creatures contained. She craved to see them, to have them bow at her feet.

Behind her, the High Lord of the Night Court was being held up by Callista and Aiko. He was already too weak after the harpoons pierced his wings. But now that he didn't know the whereabouts of his son, Rhysand was filled with grief.

Nesta knew that he blamed himself. His thoughts were raging cold, the darkness inside of him rumbling, but his body was wracked with exhaustion. She stared down at the vulnerable High Lord, seeing him drained of the power he once had.

He was considered to be the most powerful High Lord in all of Prythian's history.

But now, the only thing that Nesta saw was a man who belonged to the dirt.

Beside him, Talia carried Auriella, who was unconscious in her arms. The girl was barely breathing, her entire body wet from the rain, and her mind wasted from the energy opening the portal had taken from her.

Nesta still could not believe what she had done. She had let the real Children of Day and Night escape from her grasp. She knew it was because her love for both her sister and nephew surpassed all the rest, wanting to protect them from what was to come.

And that had cost her everything.

The Cauldron had not told her the truth - mainly because it wanted her to realize it for herself. But when she did, it was already too late. The deed had been done.

Nesta didn't know how much time she had before the Children of Day and Night returned, but she knew that she could not waste anymore.

"Bring the High Lord here." She says.

Callista and Aiko drag Rhysand to her feet, letting him go. The High Lord stays on his knees, staring down at the mud beneath him.

"How could you do this?" He breathed.

Nesta scoffed, "I didn't do anything, Rhysand. Before any of this, I was just a woman living poorly in a shack in the human lands. No, my family didn't have much, but we had peace. Then, once again, we had everything. We were wealthy and living comfortably. But then, once again, it was taken from us. We had no choice. We were forced to be something that we didn't want to be. Well..." she says, "what I didn't want to be."

"If you want someone to blame, Rhysand, blame the High Lord of the Spring Court. He is the one who is at fault for all of this. Hybern may have forced me into the Cauldron, but Tamlin... is the one who had a choice, and he chose wrong. Now, look what has happened. Look at what I have become because of his reckless actions." She tells him.

Rhysand slowly looks up at her, "You betrayed Feyre, Elain, and everyone else around you. What do you expect to gain? Is power all you want?" He asked her.

She shook her head, "Power does come into play in all of this. The main thing I want is control. Order. The High Lords are too vulnerable, too blind to even see what is happening around them. Even you, who is named the most powerful, are now on your knees before me. I don't need power, Rhysand. I already have it." She says.

Nesta uses her magic to raise him from the ground. The High Lord of Night groans as the pain shocks through him.

She brings him towards her, "You, and every other High Lord, will be at my mercy. You won't see your precious mate again, and you won't see your son either. I have the finest prison for you, Rhysand," She flicks her wrist, "Your mind."

The High Lord of the Night Court struggles to resist her power, feeling the dark magic rising higher and higher in his body. He feels himself become warm, become tempted to obey the mightiness that was in front of him.

"Nesta! Stop!" A familiar voice echoed through the air.

The Being turned, seeing the Third Commander in the distance.

Suddenly, all of her magic faded, resting once more as her eyes settled on those brown ones. It was as if this woman had cast a spell on her, one that not even she could break. She hated it, remembering that she had priorities to accomplish before she could rest.

Nesta let go of Rhysand, making him fall to the ground once more.

"Mor, get out of here! You don't need to get hurt!" He yells at her. He tries to move from his spot, but Aiko and Ismene keep him where he is.

Nesta steps towards Morrigan, keeping herself at bay, "You should turn away before things become messy for you, Third Commander. I don't want to hurt you, but I will if you force my hand." She warns.

Mor shakes her head, "What happened to you? Why would you do this? After everything we've gone through, how could you let yourself become this?" She asked her.

The Being scoffed, "Ah, I've seen that you've let your feelings for me get the best of you. I warned you in the beginning that you should keep yourself away from me and you didn't listen. Now, you also have to face the consequences." She says.

"Nes, I know who you are. And I know that this isn't you. You wouldn't do this to your family if Dathomir wasn't inside of you. You have to fight him. You cannot let him take over your body or else you will be lost forever." She tells her.

Nesta chuckles, "This is who I am, Morrigan. I am not your friend, ally, or partner. I never was. All these years, I have been under your nose, and you were too blind to see it. You were actually the one person I thought would figure out who I really was. But it seemed I was wrong. You are just like them, weak and despicable." She sneers.

Mor takes one step forward, "You're right. I was never your friend, ally, or partner. I was more than that. This was the reason why you left me that day. I was too close, not to the truth, but to you. Every night we spent together, every moment we shared, it was too much for you to handle. You started to fall for me, even with the possession inside of you." She says.

Another step forward, "I knew everything you said to me that night was a lie. It was a lie when you said that we meant nothing. It was a lie when you said you hated me. It was a lie when you said that you regret everything we had done. And it was a lie when you said that..." Mor trails off for a moment, tears filling her eyes.

"It was a lie when you said that you didn't love me." She breathes.

Nesta felt her heart pounding in her chest. She felt herself grow cold, the memories of her and Mor flashing in her mind. Her emotions were mixed inside of her, messing with her mind in ways that she couldn't explain. There was a part of her that wanted it to stop, but there was another that wanted it to stay, to remind her of those beautiful moments that made her feel alive.

"Nesta," Mor said once again, inches away from her, "I know you. You revealed every secret to me, told me every burden that weighed down your heart and made me realize that we both had gone through hell. In different ways, but we did. You brought happiness into my life that I never thought I would ever feel." She tells her.

Morrigan puts her hands on her cheeks. They were cold from the cool rain, but to Nesta, it was nothing short of perfect. She felt herself become vulnerable, become how she was whenever she was with Mor. Even if it was in her bed, next to her, or from afar, she felt herself melting, wanting to be wrapped in that familiar warmth.

Nesta's eyes gleam, "You know it's too late. What I've done is unforgivable, even in my sister's eyes. I cannot let myself love you, no matter how much I want to. You and I are on different sides. You are a distraction to me and I cannot let you take away everything I've worked so hard for." She says.

Morrigan sobs, pressing her forehead to hers.

"I love you, Nesta. Is that not enough for you? Am I not enough?" She asks.

Nesta raises her hand, wiping the tears away, "No, Mor. That isn't enough." She says, putting her forehead onto hers.

After a few moments of silence between them, Nesta finally lets herself say, "I wish it was you, lovebug. I wish that you were my mate. Maybe then, just then... you might have been enough." She admits to her.

Nesta pulls away from her, never taking her eyes off of those beautiful brown, "Delphine, Frida, detain her." She says to them.

Once Nesta turns away, Morrigan says, "I hope, Nes, that you will realize what you are doing is wrong. And I hope that your sisters have mercy on you when this is all over." She says to her.

Suddenly, Morrigan takes out her sword, quickly landing a blow onto Talia's shoulder, making her cry out and let go of Auriella. Mor immediately grabs her.

Before the rest of the sisterhood could react, Mor winnowed away with the Daughter of Dawn, leaving Rhysand behind.

Nesta turned to the High Lord of Night, who stared at the concrete doors, "I assume it was you who led her to me? Why rescue the Daughter of Dawn and not yourself?" She asks him.

Rhysand doesn't say anything.

The Being chuckles, "Oh, High Lord, you know better than to cross me." She says to him, burning his right arm with her silver flames, making him cry out.

"Prythian is mine. No matter where they run or where they hide, I will always find them. And now that you have let the Third Commander take away the Daughter of Dawn, you have damned all of the other High Lords. I will hunt them down and they shall suffer as you will." She sneers, strengthening the flames.

And once Nesta opened the doors to The Prison, she turned to the sisterhood.

"Winter. Summer. Spring. Autumn. Day. And Dawn. I want them all. Bring Rhysand, and the rest of the High Lords, to the Arena of Nightmares. There, they shall suffer far greater pain than they have ever felt." She tells the women.

Nesta throws Rhysand to the ground, "No! Nesta, leave them alone! It's me you want!" He screams at her.

The Being ignores him, turning away, and heading into the darkness of The Prison.