Read an Excerpt:
“You’re here.” I wasn’t sure whether it
was for my comfort or his, but I was relieved nonetheless.
Yesss. I heard it directly in my ear. I
smelled fire on him. Leaves, earth, and flames. Alwaysss.
A breeze wafted through my hair,
tickling my shoulder. His presence calmed me, and I felt like for the first
time all day, I wasn’t holding my breath. I wasn’t waiting to hear or see him.
I wasn’t constantly anticipating when and in what way Six would appear because
he didn’t need to. He was with me as much as any other vital organ.
In the span of one summer, I had gone
from hearing his disembodied voice and believing I had lost my mind to
accepting that all of it was true. Now when I thought of us together, it made
no sense how we had ever been apart. Why I would try to push him away, defy
some ancient law of nature?
“Can you come closer?” I whispered,
staring straight ahead, out the window. “I won’t look.”
I sat on the edge of my bed and it
wasn’t long before I felt the mattress sink in on either side of me.
A soft breeze moved the curtain. A car
drove down the street.
I kept my promise and didn’t direct my
gaze anywhere but the sky outside my window. I could feel him parting my hair,
strands swaying on their own until I felt his mouth against the back of my neck
again. From the corner of my eye, I watched the shadows grow into lengths of
multiple arms that pulled me toward him, completely supporting my weight.
I am right here, my love.
Bands of scales wrapped around my
middle, draped themselves over each thigh. Little by little, my head inched
upward so all I could see was the pink canopy above my bed. I felt the trace of
claw marks just beneath my chin, the strong hand around my throat.
Are you pleased with your gifts, little
one?
I nodded against him, surprised even
now at how solid he felt behind me. “Thank you, Six.”
I have so much more to give you, he
cooed.
Before I could stop anything, I fell
backwards, into a stain shaped like him. Legs splayed open, my arms were also
restrained above my head, but he surrounded me at the same time. The darkness
was weighted, warm. I wasn’t afraid to let it creep across my field of vision and
obscure everything in sight.
So many ways I could please you, my
flower. My lace of light.
Warmth traveled up my back, throughout
my chest and down into my belly. His tone left no question as to what he might
mean, so I decided to feed into it.
“Show me, then.”
It came out more of a challenge than
I’d intended, but I liked how it sounded.
An echo of whispers met me and I realized it was laughter. Always demanding your proof.
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