Nocticadia

by Keri Lake

“Keep your eyes on me, Lilia.”

“You are sublime,” he whispered against my lips and slipped off the spent condom.

“I won’t fuck you again tonight. But I will fuck you again.”

“I’ve never felt something so intense before. Every moment with you is something new for me.” “This is all new for me, too.”

“Jealousy is a callow schoolboy’s emotion that ends in hard feelings and bloody noses. What I feel for you, Miss Vespertine, would destroy lives.”

“Jesus, a Maserati?”

“And black. How did I know Doctor Death would drive a black car with black leather interior?”

“I think Gilchrist has those files.” Frowning, I turned toward her. “How do you know?” “Because she offered to hand them over if I stopped seeing you and left Dracadia.” “These files have information about your mother?” “Supposedly.”

“The decision was made the moment I met you, though. To stay here. I choose you.” Damn her. Damn this. What the hell was I doing to this girl? What the hell was she doing to me?

“I choose you,” I said, and pulled her in for a kiss, feeling the smile against my lips. “And believe me when I say, you’re hard to forget, Miss Vespertine.”

It was there that I began to wonder if what I felt for Lilia was something more than I cared to admit.

Fucking figured that just as I’d begin to feel something through this numb existence, fate would tear it away from me like a jealous lover.

“You can’t leave. I won’t let you. You hear me? I won’t let you fucking die. You are my most important thing, and I swear, if you don’t come out of this, I will fucking hunt you down in the afterlife.”

“If you don’t come out of this, I’m burning all of your expensive coats.” “You’re not … burning … my coats,” he mumbled, and a wheeze of elation shook my muscles. “Devryck? Open your eyes. I need to see that you’re okay.”

“Fuck. You’re going to … hold this over me. Aren’t you?” “For as long as necessary. Now, drink.”

“I have to test it. To make sure it doesn’t degrade the toxin, at all. But you might’ve just figured out a brilliant complement.” “Well, technically, I didn’t–” Before I could finish, he dragged my face to his, crushing my lips with a kiss.

He looked at me as though he were fantasizing his baby in me, then quickly blinked out of it.

“You’re the fever in my veins,”

“An incurable madness I can’t shake. Fucking you is the only thing that keeps me sane, Lilia.”

“This pussy is all I think about. All I crave. You’ve infected every part of me, and I can’t stop. I can’t stop this obsession.”

“No. No quiet sounds from you. I want to hear you fucking scream. You’re in the throes of fire now, Little Moth. Show me how much it burns.”

“I want to feel you come all over my cock.” he rasped.

“Eyes on me. I want to watch you come.”

“You are a merciless vision of perfection.”

“Devryck,” I said breathlessly, every muscle spent and liquefied. “I’m scared.” “Of what?” “This is beginning to feel like more than just sex for me.” “So, why does this scare you?” “Because I can’t see past the void, and it feels like this is when things fall apart.”

“If you ditch me now, if you cast me aside–”

“You don’t have to be scared. I will never hurt you, Lilia. In fact, I’ll rain hell on anyone who ever hurts you again.”

I loved him. Every cell, every fiber of my being couldn’t hide that truth. Even if I wasn’t bold enough to say it or brave enough to risk the universe stealing it away from me, the words were as real as my fears.

“Perhaps Daddy didn’t like getting called out.” “What do you mean?” “Lilia Lippincott. Has a catchy ring to it.”

That fucking bitch

Provost’s alleged daughter fucking Doctor Death.”

Ugh

The sound of her snorted laugh as I passed grated on my nerves, and something inside of me snapped. On a capricious twist, I dropped my bag and suitcase and slammed my fist into her cheek. A scream tore out of her, as she stumbled backward into the wall.

“I didn’t want this. Just so you know, Miss Vespertine. I am incredibly sorry.” Tears spilled down my cheeks. I didn’t want this, either. But wasn’t that the way of happiness? Perhaps the reason there was always a black void on the horizon. Because I was doomed for loneliness.

Dracadia was my comfort. My home. Not this. Not here.

“I’m willing to go wherever you want, baby. For that much? You can do whatever the fuck you want.” Surely, that wouldn’t have included infecting her with parasites.

I did. But only when a certain redheaded pain in my ass was giving it to me.

To some extent, killing had become natural to me. Biological. Maybe even genetic and, dared I say, fascinating to observe. Except for the fact that, unlike the others, she hadn’t done anything to deserve my cruelty. She was innocent, and because of that, I took no joy in the thought of killing her.

I couldn’t fucking do it, because all I could think about, all that mattered to me, was the girl. The beautiful girl with her autumn hair, and eyes that reminded me of both the sea and the sky. And she was everything. The earth, the sun, the moon. The air I breathed, and the tenacious beat that kept my eroded heart pumping.

What I felt for Lilia wasn’t healthy. Beyond simple obsession, it was a sickening possession. Savage and rapacious, bordering on violence.

“Lilia Vespertine was expelled. I don’t entirely know the reason behind it, but I received an order from Lippincott to have her leave the premises immediately. And seeing as you were quite adamant about her remaining enrolled in your class, I thought I should make you aware.”

Angelo stood in the dark hallway, his form illuminated by the small bit of light from the kitchen.

Oh nooo

“You know what a bullet feels like? It burns. And when it shatters a bone? There’s nothing like that pain. So, I’ll give you to the count of ten, and then I’m just going to empty this fucking gun into that body. If I gotta fuck you dead, so be it. Wouldn’t be the worst thing I’ve done.”

This fucking psycho

“Professor, huh?” he said quietly. “You fucking a teacher, slut?” His hand snaked down to my panties, and he curled his fingers to a tight fist around my flesh, squeezing.

Physically gagging

A prickling weakness shot through my arms, as I struck him again, bashing him square in the forehead. Blood seeped from his crown and over his temples, as he rolled his head back and forth with heavily-hooded eyes that made him look drunk.

“Lilia,” he said, his voice like a dark angel’s. My avenging angel. Was I dead? I had to be.

“I loved my mom,” I said on a choked sob. “She wouldn’t stop, though. I begged her to stop, and she wouldn’t.” “She wasn’t your mother. Something else had commandeered her mind that night, and your sister got in the way of it.”

The fact was, the world didn’t always play fairly, and sometimes we were placed in shitty positions we didn’t want to be in. Forced into decisions we didn’t want to have to make.

“You were brave to fight him. My brave Little Moth.”

“I don’t feel safe anywhere anymore.” “You’re safe with me, Lilia.”

I pushed forward, wrapping my arms around him. He held me against him, shifting my body so my legs wrapped around him. Strong arms enveloped me in warmth. Safety.

“Before I excised his tongue, I had Angelo make a very convincing call to his contact.”