Page 93 of The Devil In Blue
“It’s far too loud in this theatre for anyone to hear your cries,” I said, nipping at the silver earring in her ear.
I slid out of my seat and knelt before her, pulling her to the edge of her chair and tossing her stockinged legs over my shoulders. When I brought my mouth down between her thighs, she shivered, her breaths coming in short, uneven whimpers. I licked over her swollen bud and then devoured her. My fingers worked in and out, steady at first and then desperate and hard. Her hands came down on my head, her fingers spearing through my hair to press me against her.
She was as hungry as I was.
I sucked and licked and moaned against her sex, eventually adding a third finger. The stretch made her legs shake and she dug her nails into my scalp, causing a delicious jolt of pain. The orchestra bellowed its tune, filling the theatre with the same level of passion. And I kept taking and taking until Briar shattered against me. I felt her clench around my fingers, her legs squeezing my head as she came. And no one could hear her cries of pleasure but me.
You have shown me more of the world than I could have ever hoped to see. You have been kind and gentle, and you did what no one else could ever do. You made me free. You gave me wings. You gave me everything. I thought that what I wanted in my new life was to be with you… but then I saw this world. This wonderful world full of wonderful things. There is something beautiful in mortality. In knowing you will die soon. And I want to know that excitement. I want to breathe the air, soak in the sun, and experience all that life did not let me experience the first time. Maybe this time will be different. Maybe, if I enter your Labyrinth again, you’ll find me again and we can go on the way we left off.
But until that day comes, I need to be where I belong. Among humans. With all that you’ve given me, I can be queen here. Me, queen of the sun, and you, king of the moon.
I will miss your Glyn. Your touch. But if you truly wanted me to be free, you’d let me soar. You’d let me live.
I believe I loved you, Rune. I truly believe I did. And I believe I’ll find you through that love again, but not yet. I know you kept me because I made you feel, but I cannot always make you feel. I cannot always be the cane on which you lean because your immortality has taken all of your empathy away. This world is simply a place to you. To me, it is everything and I wish to stay. But I know you cannot.
I pray you let me go. I pray you don’t come looking for me. Let me spread my wings. We were never truly meant to be and you know it. We were meant to always be apart. Like darkness and light, we can never be one.
Your little bird,
Briar
I stood in front of the hearth where the flames had become pulsing red embers. I’d read the note a hundred times and each time, the pain lessened, replaced by emptiness. Numbness. I had wanted to show Briar everything. To revel in her excitement. I gave her a part of me. My love. My life. My very essence. And she dared to say she wished to live among humans again, only now she was not a mortal. I’d given my heart to her. It would make her live longer. It made her different and she knew it.
She could be a queen among humans. She could live out her long life indulging and experiencing all the world had to offer… without me. And it was what she wanted. The handwriting was clear enough.
Elanor was right. But my flame had not only gone out. It had betrayed me. It had set me on fire and I was burning.
I knew better than to get attached to things and people. And yet a little bird landed at my feet and I forgot everything. I disregarded my own rules. I broke down my walls and let a snake into my heart. She likely didn’t even know the severity of her betrayal. She was so innocent. So caged behind her own inexperience.
But now she’d set herself free.
And part of me wished she’d break her lovely wings. The wings I gave her in blood. A part of me. My life. My soul. I’d given her a piece of all of it.
And she left me, taking it all with her.
“My king,” a voice said, gentle and whispery.
I knew the voice, but it didn’t quite register at first. I wasn’t thinking straight. When I finally turned, I saw Elanor standing in my room at the inn. I wasn’t surprised to see her. She must have picked up on the things I was feeling.
“What are you doing here?” I said flatly.
“There is a herd of kelpher ripping at the hedges of your labyrinth. But… I also sensed you were unwell.”
My hand shook, the letter crumpling between my tight fingers before I let out a low snarl and closed my fist around the parchment.
I was the King of the Glyn. Rune Merikoth. I was all those things and more and I’d been distracted by some childish infatuation. Love. I’d let it infect me and that infection grew until I was weak and wounded. Useless.
Sever the rotting limb.
My lip twitched and I stood, dropping Briar’s shallow, traitorous letter to the floor at my feet.
“I’ll have to go hunting,” I growled.
Elanor’s eyes wandered around the room.
“Where is Briar?” she asked.
I hardly emoted at the sound of her name. For now, it was just a name and I couldn’t let it strip me of who I was. I was the king. I had a whole world of souls to look after and perhaps she’d been too much of a distraction.
