THE HEIRESS VOW - Chapter 222

Chapter 222: The Abyss’s Temptation
Ava’s hand hovered in the air, inches from the sorceress’s, her chest heaving with each ragged breath. The Abyss surged around her, its dark tendrils coiling like serpents at her feet, pulling her closer to the precipice. Her fingers trembled, torn between the cold pull of power and the fading warmth of love that Lucas had offered her. His voice, faint but desperate, echoed across the void. “Ava!” The sound reached her, but the distance between them felt insurmountable, distorted by the dark twisting of the Abyss.

The sorceress’s voice was like velvet, smooth and poisonous. “He cannot save you, Ava. He never could. The moment you entered the Abyss, you were already lost. But I can offer you salvation. I can make you strong.”

Ava’s mind reeled, caught in the storm of her own doubts. The sorceress leaned in, her lips curling into a sinister smile, “Look at what you could be.” She waved her hand, conjuring another vision.

Ava saw herself, a queen reigning over the Abyss, her enemies broken and bleeding at her feet. Zephyr groveling, his power crushed beneath her boot, his once-taunting eyes now filled with terror. Even Lucas, the man who had once promised her everything, knelt before her in chains. Yet, in this vision of conquest, a hollow emptiness consumed her. She was alone, a queen without a heart. The throne beneath her was cold, like the Abyss itself.

Ava’s throat tightened, and she gasped, pulling back slightly. “Alone,” she whispered, the word carrying more weight than she wanted to admit. The vision faded, but the doubt lingered. Was this what she truly wanted? A life of power, but one devoid of love? Or was it already too late to choose differently?

The sorceress chuckled softly, reading Ava’s hesitation. “Love only binds you. It weakens you. But power—power sets you free.” She stretched out her hand again, palm up, inviting. “Take it, Ava. Take what you deserve. Be free of the chains.”

Lucas’s voice came again, fainter this time, laced with raw emotion. “Ava, don’t! Please! I’m here—don’t listen to her!” His figure flickered in and out, like a mirage in the distance, the Abyss warping reality around him.

Ava’s heart clenched painfully at the sound of his voice. His presence, his love—it had once been the only thing that made her feel safe. But now, even that felt tainted, shadowed by the revelations, by the secrets he had kept. The Abyss had shown her visions of Lucas conspiring with Zephyr, their hands clasped in unity, plotting her downfall. She didn’t want to believe it, but the seed of doubt had taken root.

“Lies,” she muttered, trying to push the images away. Yet, deep down, she wondered if it was true. If Lucas had betrayed her. If his love had been nothing more than a clever façade.

The sorceress’s laughter echoed around her. “You feel it, don’t you? The betrayal. The lies. He was never going to save you, Ava. He was always going to leave you in the darkness, just like before. Only I can offer you the truth. Only I can give you what you need.”

Ava clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms. The pain grounded her, but the pull of the Abyss was relentless, gnawing at her resolve. She could feel herself slipping, her will cracking under the weight of everything she had seen. The power, the freedom—it was so tempting. So easy to give in.

The sorceress’s voice dropped to a whisper, soft and intimate. “You don’t need him. You don’t need anyone. With me, you will never feel pain again. No more betrayal, no more suffering. Only power.”

Ava’s breath hitched, her chest tight with emotion. Power—yes, it was what she craved. What she had always sought. But at what cost? The Abyss promised freedom, but she could already feel it leeching away her humanity, stripping her down to something cold, empty. Could she bear that? Could she lose herself entirely, just to be free?

“Come to me, Ava,” the sorceress coaxed, her hand outstretched. “Take what is yours. Embrace your destiny.”

Ava’s hand trembled, her fingers twitching toward the sorceress’s. But then, from the shadows, a figure stepped forward—Zephyr. His expression was unreadable, his dark eyes locked on hers with an intensity that made her blood run cold.

“You think you have a choice, Ava?” Zephyr’s voice was sharp, cutting through the haze. “You think love will save you?” He sneered, his gaze flicking to Lucas’s fading figure. “Love is weakness. It is the very thing that destroyed you. The very thing that brought you here.”

Ava’s breath quickened, her heart hammering in her chest. “What are you talking about?” she demanded, her voice shaking with fury and confusion.

Zephyr smirked, his lips twisting into a cruel grin. “He kept secrets from you, Ava. He lied to you. He’s the reason the Abyss came for you. All of this,” he gestured around, “is because of him.”

Ava’s world tilted. The ground beneath her seemed to shift as his words sank in. “No…” she breathed, the word barely a whisper. She turned, her gaze locking on Lucas, his face stricken with pain. “Tell me he’s lying, Lucas. Tell me it’s not true.”

But Lucas said nothing. His silence was deafening, more damning than any confession.

Ava’s knees buckled as the weight of Zephyr’s revelation crashed over her. Lucas had lied. He had kept secrets. He had known, and he hadn’t told her. She felt the icy grip of betrayal tighten around her heart, squeezing the breath from her lungs.

“You see now,” Zephyr continued, his voice dripping with satisfaction. “He was never going to save you. He used you, just like everyone else. You were nothing more than a pawn to him, a means to an end.”

Ava’s vision blurred with tears. The Abyss surged around her, feeding off her pain, her anger. The darkness was closing in, wrapping tighter and tighter, suffocating her. She gasped for breath, her mind spinning wildly, unable to find solid ground.

“Ava, please!” Lucas’s voice broke through the fog, his tone desperate, pleading. “I love you. I never wanted this for you. I was trying to protect you.”

“Protect me?” Ava spat, her voice shaking with fury. “You lied to me! You kept me in the dark while you made deals with the Abyss, while you sacrificed everything behind my back!” Her chest heaved with sobs, her heart shattering all over again. “You never trusted me!”

Lucas’s face crumpled with anguish, his hand outstretched, reaching for her. “I did it to save you! I would have given anything—everything—to keep you safe!”

Ava’s vision flickered between him and the sorceress, who watched with a knowing smirk. The temptation of power, of freedom, gnawed at her. The weight of betrayal pressed on her, suffocating her, pulling her deeper into the Abyss’s clutches.

The sorceress whispered, “He will always lie to you. He will always betray you. But I— I will make you whole.”

Tears streamed down Ava’s face, her breath coming in shallow gasps. The Abyss swirled around her, tightening its grip. Lucas stood just beyond reach, his eyes filled with regret, with pain, but the chasm between them felt wider than ever. Her hand wavered in the air, caught between reaching for him or falling into the darkness.

And then the sorceress spoke again, her voice taking on a new edge, one that sent chills down Ava’s spine. “I was once like you, Ava. I stood where you are now. I made the choice to take the power, to let go of everything else. And now… look at what I’ve become.”

Ava’s eyes widened in horror as the sorceress’s form shifted, revealing her true face. It was Ava. Her own future, twisted and cruel, the embodiment of everything she feared she could become.

“You… you’re me,” Ava whispered, her voice trembling.

The sorceress—her future self—smiled coldly. “Yes. And if you don’t choose now, you will end up just like me. Alone. Powerful, yes, but empty. The Abyss will take everything from you.”

Ava recoiled, her mind spinning. This was her future. This was what awaited her if she embraced the Abyss. The power she had craved, but at the cost of her soul.

Lucas’s voice, strained and hoarse, reached her once more. “Ava, please… don’t do this. I need you.”

Her heart wrenched at the sound of his voice, but the vision of her future loomed before her, terrifying and real. She was at the precipice, her hand hovering between the sorceress’s and Lucas’s. The Abyss beckoned, offering power, offering freedom. But at what cost?

Tears blurred her vision as her trembling hand reached out—toward her future, toward her fate.

And in that moment, Ava made her choice.