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Her power was a thousand suns trapped inside her, and when it encountered my own, it flared to life.
She was no dragon, no fire-breathing monster. She was a phoenix, as graceful as the dawn, as soft as she was clever, as gentle as she was determined.
I had waited two thousand years for that touch.
We sat there in silence for several long moments. Mourning a mother, a daughter. A life ended with tragedy; a legacy stained with wickedness.
“Wretched demon waited two thousand years for that woman and couldn’t even keep it in his pants for forty-eight hours. Typical.”
“I could not own you any more than one can own the ocean, or a storm, or a forest fire. Those are not things one owns; their beauty and power cannot be claimed in such a way. But they can be chased. And they can be worshiped.”
She sputtered when I picked up one of the paperbacks, opening it to her marked page. “W-wait, um, that’s, uh —” “Literary pornography.” I smirked as I read the first passage on her marked page.
She was my hope. My faith. She was everything.
“You are far more powerful than you have ever been allowed to believe.”
For you, I would burn this world and the next.”
and his eyes made me think of the sky just before dawn. Those deep depths kissed with light and warmth.
“I swore to take care of you, Everly. In every single way you need caring for.”
You’re going to use that clever brain of yours and when you’ve mastered it, I promise there’s nothing in the world that can stop you.”
Like a ship in the aftermath of an ocean’s brutal storm, I drifted, quiet but tired, full of relief.
“There’s my good girl,” he whispered.
“I can protect you from harm, but I can’t protect you from what you feel. But I can give you shelter to experience the emotions you need to. If you need to speak, I want to listen. I want to understand.”
He opened his eyes, and they reminded me of the calm quiet depths of the deepest oceans.
“Thank you,” he said. I was quite certain I should have been the one thanking him for going to all this trouble. Looking at him curiously, I said, “For what?” With a heavy sigh, he closed his eyes again and leaned back. The sun kissed his skin, turning that pale flesh faintly golden. With the soft, airy tone of someone on the verge of sleep, he said, “For giving me peace.”
“You look beautiful in my ropes.”
“Scream for me, darling,” he said,
Holding her was like cradling a spark, shocking and deceivingly delicate. She could disappear in an instant or flare to life like wildfire.
“Come for me, darling,” I groaned.
Everly had to prove herself. Prove she was immoveable, a force of nature as great as the waves, the rumbling Earth, the churning fire at its core.
“I love you,” I said. “I love you more than life itself, more than my own freedom. For you and you alone, I’ve stayed alive, Everly. For you, I would face everything I ever feared. I’ve lived a thousand lifetimes and I swear I’ve loved you in every one of them.”
That was the greatest gift he’d given me. A fearless existence.
I adore you endlessly.”
I wanted to drown in his darkness forever.
“I’ll love you endlessly, darling.”
Happiness was sheltered in those memories, buried within them like seeds waiting for winter’s frost to thaw.
The memories of those I’d loved and lost were as soft and warm as the rising sun.
I feared emptiness. I feared the lonely expanse of a future without the one I loved.
“With you by my side, I’m ready for anything.”
I waited for you, before I even knew it was you I was waiting for.”
“To my last breath, I’ll fight for you. Beyond this life, beyond death, I’ll love you always.” “I love you. My guardian. My demon. My warrior. We’ll find our way out of the dark. Your war will end. You’ll lay down your weapons. We’ll have peace.”
“I’m going to fuck you in every single place on your list. Worship you. Pleasure you. I’ll make the world your temple.”
