Nocticadia

by Keri Lake

I watched in awe as she let the sea seduce her, tickle her into a giggling young girl, dancing, hopping, and tumbling in the waves. It was there that my failures and her worries were swept away, cleansed by the salt and air and the sounds of calm that reverberated off the surrounding rock walls. It was there that I began to wonder if what I felt for Lilia was something more than I cared to admit. I dared not slip into those thoughts, though, because I knew fate and the world didn’t give so freely. It lured us on a siren’s call and pulled us to the inevitable depths of pain that followed. Lilia was a liability. A weakness. The one crack in my armor that threatened to crumble my defenses. I couldn’t afford that. Not when The Rooks were watching so closely, waiting for the news of my latest variant. Yet, the radiance she gave off was fucking addicting. A warmth that reminded me how cold death could be sometimes.