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Brilliant pops of color trick my eye into believing I see flowers. On second glance, however, I realize they are gemstones.
Barbie and the diamond castle????
princess and the popstar???
Only this time, that joining would be so much fuller, so much richer. Because this time, I would know it was Faraine I kissed. Faraine. Faraine.
Stepping out of Faraine’s presence is like leaving behind both light and air. My chest feels oddly tight and uncomfortable, and I struggle to draw a full breath.
Lady Rath screams at the sight of me and faints into someone’s arms. I ignore her, I ignore all of them.
Me lol
Gods above and below, what came over me? One moment, I was standing there, talking to the man, and the next . . . I don’t remember. “Unhand me!” I cry. “At once, you fools!”
POSSESSED AHHH
Gods above, who knew I possessed such wellsprings of defiance? I’ve always been the demure, shrinking, people-pleasing, disappointing princess. Perhaps this is what multiple near-death experiences in quick succession will bring out in a person.
Let him realize the foolishness of what he’s just said. Of comparing my deceit—a deceit forced on me by outside powers against which I had no sway—to his murderous rage. They are not the same. We are not the same.
ok conan
I am king. But she made me her fool.
I’ll make her pay for what she did to me. I’ll make her beg forgiveness. I’ll make her beg for mercy. I’ll make her beg for more.
“Beg,” he says. “Beg my forgiveness. For what you have done.” My lips quiver. “Forgive me, Vor,” I whimper. “No.”
“I’m waiting,” he says. “I might yet hear you. If you weep.” He bends in closer, nuzzling my cheek, his breath against my ear. “I like tears, Faraine.”
cool it, rhysand
“Beg for mercy, Faraine. Your king commands it.” “Vor,” I breathe. “You don’t want to do this.” “Don’t I?”
Soon there will be nothing else. I am the darkness. I am the burning. I am the rage. I am . . . I am .
Its giving "I am vengeance"
which sparks from the tips of his fingers as he slowly brushes a strand of hair off my cheek: longing. He cannot hide it. Not anymore. I’ve been inside his head now.
“What if we are each other’s only hope?” He looks at me like I truly am his lifeline, his salvation.
The warmth in his touch is not the heat of destruction but the fire of life itself.
And yet I’ve always known that with Vor, I was never second. He would have chosen me first had the choice been his all along.
“My gods!” he says, the words thick on his tongue. “I never realized just how beautiful you are, Captain. You’re such a formidable specimen, it’s easy to overlook. But really, you’re like a warrior angel come up from the deep heavens to avenge us poor souls above.” Hael shoots me a look over her shoulder. “He’s delirious.”
Sul grunts. “Very likely. I was just dreaming I was being kissed by an angel. Would you care to kiss me? Purely as a matter of study, of course. I’d like to see if it’s the same.”
Not once does he stop touching her, his good hand moving from her shoulder to her arm to her back. Interesting. Very interesting.
He ships so hard
How could I have doubted her? How could I have pushed her away all this time?
Finally some sense and sensibility
“You were sent to serve me, not him.”
“If you so much as look at Faraine again, I will end you.”
She’s so light. It’s like carrying a dream.
Avoiding her was no use. Avoidance only made my heart long for her more. The simple knowledge that she was here, within the walls of my home, breathing the same air I breathed was exquisite torture.
If I open my mouth, it won’t be any of the questions burning on my tongue that pour forth. No, it will be confessions. Declarations. Words I have no business articulating.
Now, she tucks her head under my chin and simply holds onto me. Like she trusts me. Like I can help her, comfort her. It’s the most beautiful sensation I’ve ever experienced.
Before I can stop and think twice about what I’m doing, I kneel before her.
I should have known even then, looking at her for the first time, that all my definitions of beauty were suddenly changed. Since that moment no woman has compared to her in my mind.
The mothcat has flipped over in her arms and now lies belly-up, fat and comfortable. Its forepaws lazily knead the air. I find myself suddenly jealous of the little beast, to be held so gently in her lovely arms, pressed close to her breast.
And even as I speak, I cannot help thinking how strong she is. How determined, how brave. To take on this pain, like a series of blows, without once turning aside.
She sits perched on that stone. So vulnerable. So lovely. So everything I crave. But this craving is an enemy I must face and fight and conquer.
Is this no longer what you believe? Do you intend to strip me of my rights? Of the equality of my voice? Will you deprive me of a choice that is mine to make?”
I know what I want. But that doesn’t mean I’m not afraid.
Ar steps back and uses her horn to bop Sul lightly on the top of his head. “Enough fussing. You’ll make yourself sick,” she tuts before turning to me.
“Just my luck,” Sul mutters. He closes his eyes and nestles a little deeper into his pillow. “I swear, sometimes I think the gods must hate me. It’s my pretty face, you know. They resent it.”
“How soon until he’s on his feet?” “No more than a few days. Trolde bones mend faster than trolde minds, I always say. His mind I cannot vouch for, but then, no one ever could.” “Truer words were never spoken,” Sul acknowledges with a yawn.
I wish I could break all the cage bars for Faraine. Let her fly free, let her soar as high into that terrifying sky as her spirit will carry her. Away from all the darkness which haunts both my kingdom and hers. Instead, I must send her from one cage to another.
Gods, on high! Does she realize what she does to me simply by existing?
I’m certainly game.”
Is this ancient, royal talk🧐
After a short, awkward stillness, Vor complies. He perches stiffly on the edge of his chair.
This whole thing is awkward
Thoughts of duty, crown, kingdom, and chaos can no longer fit inside my head. There’s no room for anything but her.
She is a miracle. My miracle. And I won’t waste whatever time we have.
What I do know is that I want whatever time we have to belong to her.
A kiss that tells the world to stand back and wait for us.
“No!” he growls.
His favorite word
“Speak plainly, Vor,” I demand. “Say what you mean or say nothing at all.”
“I would never stand in your position. I would never do what you have done.” “No.” I meet his gaze, refusing to be cowed. “Because you had the good fortune to be born a man. I did not. I am forced to make the best of a situation over which I have no control, and to try to manage it with my honor still intact.”
She is everywhere, in everything, every thought, every breath. Because I let her into my heart. And it’s the worst mistake I’ve ever made.
Everyone warned me. But they didn’t have to. I’ve known all along how dangerous her mere presence is to my self-control. Like dancing on the edge of a knife. Fool that I am, I’d danced anyway.
