3. Caspian

CHAPTER 3

Caspian

O h, how she torments me. My damned fae.

Damn her for waking me from that mental prison. Damn her for making me remember…

What food smells like; fresh milk on the verge of spoiling. Eggs rotting in their fragile shells. The hiss of warmth creeping in through rusted vents.

Worst of all, she commands my senses and makes me see everything Cassius blinded me to. Beauty. Smiles. Laughter.

I could content myself with watching her for eternity--yet she yearns for more than me. Other things. Other thoughts. Other beings.

In Cassius's enclosed, false world, any other desire was snuffed out. Crushed out. He never tolerated straying thoughts and longing whispers.

It's why he hates her so.

It's why he craves me so.

To me, he extended a choice. Choose him. Want him.

Never. Never.

So, he hunts me still.

I could do the same to her. Mold her and manipulate. Give her an ultimatum and enforce it. Slip into her thoughts and make me the only thing she will ever want to see.

But even in her skull, she evades me. There are parts of her coiled like a snake—a rarer breed of viper than Cassius. Her anger is a slow-acting poison. Should I harm her, she will come to hate me. Those others in her life—the stupid elder fae, and the ones who ignored her—she hates them all. Just doesn't know it.

Her hate doesn't fester in her soul like mine does. Those she hates are reduced to dust in her mind. They cease to matter.

If I bend her to my will I will cease to matter.

So, I will coddle her. I will feed her and dress her and wipe her clean. I will swat away those who seek to harm her.

As a result, I will be the only one she can see.

Caring for a mortal, however, requires more skill than I thought. I must store her food before it rots. Unfurl the clothing sent for her. Set aside the ugly bits.

The building itself has more to it than the bottom level. There is an upstairs with a rickety floor and narrow, empty rooms. One has a dusty mattress and dirty, old sheets.

I make her sleep downstairs instead. I sit on the floor with my back to the wall. Pull her toward me. Marvel at how naturally she fits, coiled into my side. A puzzle piece that went missing.

A strange thought. Silly thought. It's something that Cassius would have sorted away through his sieve of filth, never letting anything too sentimental in.

I hate it.

I…

I sigh and lean into her. She smells nice. Feels nicer. A warmth emanates from her that goes beyond that little mortal heart. One touch, and she sets even this dank, dark place ablaze.

If I'm not careful, she'll set the world alight.

They'll all want her then.

And she will have no need for me.