A Ship of Bones & Teeth

by Karina Halle

First we stand up, then we fall down We have to move forward, before we drown DEPECHE MODE

I descend from grace in arms of undertow I will take my place in the great below NINE INCH NAILS

Or perhaps it wasn’t the spell or my charm that won him over, but the fact that I was beautiful, nude, and silent. Something he could both show off to the world and manipulate to suit his whims.

I expect her to scream for help or try to swim away. Instead, the princess punches me right in the face.

I don’t know what it is about a woman that wants me dead, but I swear nothing gets me harder.

“Darling, your body would bring any man to their knees where they would be in the right position to worship you. It’s a body carved by god yet meant for sin, and it would become anyone’s salvation.”

“My little monster has come out to play again,” I say, grinning up at her. “Don’t you know this only excites me?”

“Then perhaps the both of us are mad, if madness and monsters are one of the same,” I murmur. “But we can be mad together. We can drown in our madness together.”

“Like you’re the moon and I’m the tides, and every thought, every need, every want, is drawn to you, Maren.” I laugh to myself. “You’re right, this is madness and I’m drowning and I don’t give a damn.”