Page 20 of Cursed Lifeline

Relieved. Happy. Content.

“I have to leave for a while,” he says, and my heart plummets. “When I return, may I see you?”

Swallowing hard, I worry my bottom lip between my teeth. It’s one thing to dream of him, but to open myself up to more when he’s… and we’ll I’m…

“Please,” he begs softly. “It took more courage than you know to ask.”

Shaking my head, Felix gently grips my chin and says, “I know I said stay away, and I know what’s at stake. I’ve weighed the risks, and I’ve concluded that there is nothinggood or bad, but thinking makes it so.”

“Felix, I…”

“Do you think about me?”

I startle and debate not answering. But if I never get the chance to tell him so again, I want to be truthful, and so I say, “always.”

Leaning forward, he smiles and places a tender kiss on my cheek. It’s a kiss that has my toes curling from just the simple brush of his cool lips against my flushed skin.

“So then that’s a yes?” he whispers.

I nod my head and his grin grows.

Pulling back and looking in my eyes, desperate longing clings to his voice as he whispers, “The way I feel for you, it’s…” he trails off. I close my eyes and cling to him, hopeful this moment never ends. Just when I think he won’t say another word, he says, “though this be madness,perhapsthere is method in ‘t.”

Before I can wrap my brain around what he said, before I can catch my next breath, before I can open my eyes and respond, he’s gone.

His absence is felt in my heart before the warmth of his skin ever leaves mine.

Bracing myself against the wall behind me, I open my eyes and attempt to force my breathing to return to normal. A small tear runs down my right cheek. I brush it away sorrowfully. After a moment, when I think I can walk without my knees giving out, I step around the dark corner and start walking towards my room. I don’t get more than two steps down the hallway before someone catches my eye down the vast expanse of the corridor.

Alfred.

He studies me with pity. With shame. As if I’ve committed a sin.

As I twist the knob to my chambers, hurry inside, lock the door, and slump to the floor, I can’t help but hope maybe Felix is right.

The way we feel for each other is crazy.

Impossible.

Madness.

But, perchance, by some miracle set into course before our time, hopefully there is method to it.

Eight

Felix

SONG: DIRTY LITTLE SECRET | X V I & NOCTURN

The coolnessin the air usually doesn't bother me, but tonight, it slithers up my spine like a portent destiny I'll never have the chance to escape. Every step that takes me further down the concrete corridor has my breath hitches. My palms sweat. My heart beats faster as I approach a conversation I've been avoiding for weeks now.

"She's been waiting for you," Arik says as I pass.

I regard him with an annoyed, irritated glance before shoving my hands in my pockets and entering the throne room. The concrete walls reach almost sky high as they arch into vaulted ceilings. Six-foot-tall candelabras line the aisle every five feet, guiding, warning, and cautioning me to beware. I take a deep breath and glance up at an ominous red shadow cast over the uninviting space. Large black chandeliers hang from the ceiling. Lit by candles, their wax threatens to drip to the floor. But the large cream tapers never dwindle and are held in place by magic.

Her magic.

"It's nice for you to grace us with your presence," she sighs heavily.

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