Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 109477 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 547(@200wpm)___ 438(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109477 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 547(@200wpm)___ 438(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
I find this feeling thrilling, don’t you? he said. It has a way of taking over my thoughts. My body. Everything. It’s so consuming, and when I’m lost to the throes, I can’t find my way out. Don’t want to, maybe.
That’s not thrilling. It’s a nightmare. It’s a struggle to hang on to control. It puts us in danger.
His wide smile was dazzling. So incredibly handsome. He made the Celestials’ flawlessness look plain.
Losing control is what is so thrilling about it, little dove. I’ve never let myself free-fall. Have you? I’ve never let myself get submerged in desire so completely that I didn’t care to crest the surface for a mouthful of air. The rush is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. I like it.
She didn’t. She hated it, actually. It felt as though she would be swept away. It hazed her mind and made her do asinine things, like give away her kiss or get tangled up in all of this.
I heard your thoughts when fighting for our lives a heartbeat ago, he said as he inched them into the left tunnel. He analyzed the walls and the ceiling. I saw your smile when the Celestial was presenting you with certain death. When you charged him. I honestly wondered if I was hallucinating. No fear, fine. But a smile?
Her brows knitted together. Normal people would have given her a side-eye in unease. Not even Zorn smiled when he was in that situation. It made her seem utterly unhinged. And maybe she was. She’d never really worried about it. But Tarian’s light, breezy tone said he wasn’t done having fun with her.
Like when the guys teased her, she waited for the punch line.
I felt your elation at beating your foe. Your desire to quench the thirst for a battle win. The bioluminescent plants started to spread out, dimming the glow by which Daisy and Tarian could navigate. So far, the tunnel was nothing new, with its packed dirt ground and the rough-hewn sides. I find your viciousness adorable. Your passion in battle endearing. When you do finally give in to that free fall, I will have a wild ride in store for me. We will battle, but we won’t be fighting to get away from each other. We’ll be fighting to get closer. You will give yourself to me completely like you give yourself to your knife. To the fight.
She sighed softly. She should’ve known that was where it would land. Teasing. Always teasing. Or maybe he thought it was training. It all amounted to the same annoyance. And I assume I’ll then be tied to you with my body, as well? A sexual relationship with anyone else would be forfeit. Or it won’t matter because you’ll break me by then? she thought sarcastically.
The illumination dimmed even more, and the tunnel sloped downward. He slowed. His fingers tightened around her hand.
You touching another is at an end, yes. In the courts, that must be so. Even his voice in her mind was hushed. He pulled his knife from its sheath. She took out her own, her eyes straining in the growing darkness. But if you are to kill me in the end, as you claim, you might as well get an incredible night out of it, yes?
Very full of ourselves, aren’t we?
Very. Rightfully so.
The slope of the decline increased. The darkness encroached until she could barely see the ground in front of her feet. The walls turned into black blotches. He stopped moving entirely and tugged her closer. Her side bumped against his.
As quiet as you can. His mental voice wasn’t much more than a murmur. If you are right, the Celestials drew inspiration from the other caverns within the fringe’s catacombs. If they did, and if the light completely cuts out in another handful of paces, we can expect a very large serpent to be stalking our every move. They can feel the vibration from our feet as we walk. No amount of light stepping will prevent that. But noise makes it hasten, and so if we are very quiet, we won’t have to deal with it for as long.
How do we kill it?
We don’t. I’ll blind it with light and we will run. It’ll thrash. Avoid its striking tail. The spikes on the end will punch right through you. Do whatever you can to get to the other side of it. Once one of us passes a certain threshold, it won’t be able to hear us anymore. That’s safety.
Avoidance. She could do that.
Ready? He waited for her affirmation, and then he stepped forward.
Are we holding hands for this? His was starting to get slick with sweat. He knew what was coming.
Yes, until…we aren’t.
Fair enough.
Their steps were slow and shallow. The light leached away from their surroundings until it was pitch black. She closed her eyes. They weren’t any good now, anyway. Shutting them instead of straining them in the darkness would allow her other senses to become more dominant. Another step. Two. Nice and slow. Tarian was waiting for what he knew would come.