Good Morning, Little Ones!
Thank you to Mel, Jill, and Dani!
.: 35 :.
I don't know how I resurface. I don't remember what Edward says when he sees me. I remember his face, ashen and panicked, as he pulls me out of the water and onto a rocky shore. I remember his breath, hot against my icy skin.
I don't know what sort of magic he casts upon me, urging my body back to life.
I just sleep.
…
When I wake, I'm in a soft bed, buried in thick quilts. My body aches, every muscle in me quivering and protesting as I shift. Everything hurts, and the pain is so complete, it becomes almost natural to start disassociating from my own body.
"Oh no you don't, Little One. Come back here."
Edward's voice is like an anchor, pulling me back. The pain cuts anew, and I gasp, tears burning my eyes.
He's beside me in a moment, crouched down so that his eyes can look into mine. "It hurts," I croak.
Edward's eyes are heavy. "I know, Little One. Rest up. You're safe."
His words bring comfort and he reaches out, stroking my hair back from my face. The motion is soothing and lulls me back to sleep in moments.
…
When I wake again, I'm shaking, my body spasming out of my control. I hear Edward swear, and then he is there, on top of me, holding me down and anchoring me once again. My body continues to fight, continues to tremble, but he's so much stronger than me, and eventually, my muscles begin to tire and relax. Tears are streaming down my face, and I feel Edward kiss them away, his mouth soft and tender as he brushes over my skin.
"Oh, Little One." He moans, his words sending tiny tingles through my eyes and into my blood. "Forgive me, Little One. It should not have been you."
I'm falling asleep again before I can ask him what he means.
…
"You were as ripe as the sweetest berry when you stumbled across my path." His lips are brushing against my skin, and despite the ache in me down to my very soul, the movement brings me comfort. "Bright and shining and red as all the most delicious things this world has to offer. You were every inch a temptation, and that innocent smile on your wicked lips nearly brought me to my knees." His lips press into the back of my neck. "Did you know that when we first touched, your magic pulled at me? It demanded my attention, forced me to submit to your seduction. No force on earth could have pulled me from you in that moment." He chuckles softly, his face nuzzling into my hair. "Though you had no idea the power you suddenly wielded." He presses another kiss to the back of my neck, and I want to twist in his arms, to pull him to me, but my body aches and the weight of fatigue is crushing me. "Little One, you think I've captured you, but it's you who is capturing me."
His words are burning through me, and I want to sink into him. I want to tell him that I have stopped fighting him, that I'm not here because I have to be. I want to be… I want him…
"Oh, Little One." He moans, his lips brushing my skin. "What have you done to me?"
I want to tell him I understand, that I'm afraid of the force between us too, because there is something there, more than hunger or lust—something deep and powerful is brewing between us, and it's as terrifying as it is thrilling.
In my head I say all these things to him, but my body is pulled back to sleep before I can even open my mouth.
…
Edward is asleep when I wake again, his head curled on the pillow beside me, his arms wrapped tight around my body. I've never had the opportunity to watch him sleep, and even though I desperately need to pee and find some water, I lie and watch him, mesmerized.
His unearthly beauty doesn't get easier to take in or adjust to. I think of the Hazel King and the Viper Queen and their great and terrible beauty and it's just different.
Edward is in a class all alone.
For some reason, it makes me unfathomably sad.
I slip out of bed, pulling myself from Edward's grasp. As I do, I take in the room. It looks like a little beach cottage, probably a rental based on the generic decor. I leave the bedroom and hunt down a bathroom, nearly crying when I find indoor plumbing.
I take my time, allowing myself the opportunity to revel in the comforts of the familiar. I look at myself in the mirror and almost immediately regret it. I look sick: my cheeks taut and hollow due to extreme fatigue and lack of proper nutrition.
There is a massive, red mark on my neck, and I take a minute to prod at it. It stings, but not with infection.
The memory of those flashing teeth, the scent of blood as it pooled in the water around me, spindly fingers gripping my arms and pinning me down…
I shudder and drop my hand from my neck. The bite has scabbed over, but I think it will be a long time before it heals. I don't know that the mark it's made on me will ever disappear either.
I let my hands fall to my side, and I take a deep breath. I need a shower, desperately.
I turn to the tub, fiddling with the faucets to get the hot water going. I strip out of clothes that are covered in salt and grime and blood and step under the spray. The water is hot, and slowly, it starts to leak into my soul, soothing me.
When I'm scrubbed clean, I put the stopper in the tub, letting it fill with hot water so I can just sit in it for a while.
I hear the bathroom door open, and I glance up at the curtain. I can feel him hesitating, feel his concern, and I'm too tired to hold back, so I pull the curtain open, just a little. His eyes meet mine, shimmering light blue as they reflect the beachy colors of the cottage. "May I enter?"
I motion him in and he slips into the bathroom. He looks uncomfortable and unsure of himself. It's such a contradiction that it almost makes me smile.
"How are you feeling?"
I lick my lips. "A little like I've been chewed up and spit back out." I shoot him a look. "And not in any good way."
His lips barely lift into a smile.
"I thought you'd died."
I stare at him. "I did too."
There is a heaviness in the air, and Edward lets out a harsh breath, coming to sit on the closed toilet lid. I gaze at him past the slightly parted curtain, torn between wanting to walk away from this wicked creature, never to set eyes upon him again, and inviting him in to destroy me completely.
"Will you tell me the truth?" I ask after a moment.
Edward looks at me. "I can't lie."
I frown. "What do you mean?"
He swallows and shakes his head slightly. "It's the curse of all Fae. We can't lie."
I ponder that for a moment, staring at him. "Maybe not," I say slowly. "But you've a way of not being truthful."
His smile is shallow.
"Who has sent you on this quest?"
Edward's eyes snap to mine.
"What?"
I sit up in the tub, shoving the curtain open more. It exposes my breasts to him, but I don't care. I'm not ashamed of my body, not anymore. "Who sent you on this quest? Which monarch do you serve?"
Edward's eyes meet mine, and despite the distraction of my naked body, I know I have his complete attention.
He's quiet as he struggles with what to say, and the longer he doesn't answer me, the further my hopes drop. I'm about to climb out of this tub and walk out of his life when he lets out a long breath.
"Both the Hazel King and the Viper Queen have my fealty," he says after a moment. "I am a pawn moved between them in a never-ending power struggle."
I lean back in the tub and nod for him to continue. He lets out a deep exhale.
"It starts," he says softly. "When the Viper Queen brought me to her bed."