And yes, I know the time frame's screwed up. It was years between when Roiben and Nephamael got traded and when the Tithe occurred. But at this point, I really don't care. XP
Ethine wasn't sure what to feel. It seemed as if her emotions had always been a little off, as if she always felt wrong about things. And now...when she may lose Roiben...she felt...nothing. She did care for him, it was just...she was numb. Inside.
Perhaps that was why she'd gone to the Unseelie Court. To feel. To die. She hadn't quite understood that at first. Why she'd said that to him. Why she'd been able to say that to him. But later it all made sense.
She still wasn't sure whether she'd gone to find herself or lose herself. Maybe both. She'd gone to burn away everything that made her who she was. To consume herself through darkness and fire. To die, in a way. And ultimately, it had saved her.
When she thought of Nephamael, the way he'd looked at her...a heavy dread settled upon her, a dread that was laced with a strange thrill. Fear, but...something else. He was the perfect embodiment of what she wanted.
She wasn't attracted to him, not really, she told herself. She was attracted to what he represented, what he offered. Pain and pleasure. To entertain her darkest desires.
She saw him now, speaking to the Queen. So he'd been the one traded with Roiben? She wanted to talk to him, but...Fear twisted within her, choking her. She saw his catlike eyes turn to her. He smiled, looked at the Queen for a moment, said something to her, then headed over in Ethine's direction.
The closer he came, the more air left her lungs. He took her breath away, literally. Part of her wanted to turn and run, and part of her wanted to stay and let him do or say whatever he wanted to her.
"Wh-what do you want?" was all she managed to choke out, a little too quickly.
"I think you know what I want," he replied, "and I know you want it as much as I do."
He was dangerously close. So close that she could feel the warmth coming from his body. It was enough to send chills down her spine, to make the fine hair on the back of her neck stand on end.
She forced herself to step back, but he caught her by the wrist and pulled her closer. "I don't think you want to walk away from me."
She didn't.
She forced her tongue to move again, her mouth to form words. "When you...go back...ask him...my brother...to send some word. I want to hear from him. I haven't for so long..."
Her heart was pounding now; she wanted to say something, do something, but she was frozen, paralyzed with fear, and...whatever that other thing was.
He looked at her for a long moment, as if expecting her to say something else. Waiting. She laughed softly as she thought about what Roiben would do if he saw them like this. Kill Nephamael, certainly.
"What?" This had obviously confused him.
"I don't know..."
There was a moment of powerful tension.
He kissed her hard, his teeth cutting her lower lip. She gasped, clinging to him, letting her hands slide through his long black hair, sleek and fine, daring to kiss back herself. She crushed herself up against his body, loving the feel of the firm muscle and hard bone underneath it.
This wasn't like before at the revel; this had more power, more desire--from her. This shocked and delighted her; when his tongue brushed against hers, she felt another jolt of hunger constrict in her veins, this time accompanied by a soft moan.
He was the fire, and she was burning.
When she'd had enough of that, she began to bite him, and that was when he pulled away. She found herself panting softly, and after a second of silence he said quietly,
"I will be sure to tell him that."
Yes, Ethine thought as Nephamael walked away, Roiben will definitely be dealing out some death if word of this gets out.