I extricate myself from his embrace, thankfully without waking him. He is mine now, my lover, mine alone. I watch his sleeping face for a moment, and reflect that waiting a few more years for this to be legal would have been a more ethical decision, but my patience was stolen from me when puberty made him quite suddenly irresistible. I must return to my own bed, for my own lack of patience means discovery would ruin all. There would be no prosecution: too public for the heir to a family with the Fowl profile, but dismissal would make it difficult to see him again, and if the Fowl patriarch retains the required underworld connections, I can see fatal revenge being taken for the 'despoiling' of his little boy.
I stretch,
dress, and compose a note before I leave. I know what emotional power
I have over him, and with that power, I will not have him wake bereft
without explanation. I tuck the note into his hand, marvelling
briefly at the shrinking size difference, and drop one final kiss on
his cheek.
"Goodnight,
Domovoi, my love."
Author notes (at end to avoid spoiling, added to clarify after two confused sounding reviews): Artemis/Butler, intentionally misleading Artemis POV. Set post-TOD, but not by much. Though not textually obvious, author intent is dubious consent on Butler's part.
