Page 199 of The Doll and The Domination

“Nothing scares you,” he responds bitterly.

“There is something that terrifies me, actually.” I look up at him. “Being separated from you knowing how you feel about me. How you’re plagued with revulsion at the sight of me. That scares me.”

“I don’t believe you.”

But again, something behind his eyes shifts, a glimmer of doubt.

“Soon, when I’m strong enough, I’ll be able to give you every last moment they stole from your mind. But right now, all I can do is find something they might have missed. Something that will show you the truth of my words.” Insecurely, I clasp my hands together and twist.

“I won’t fall for your tricks.” He blinks slowly, like this conversation has already lost his interest. A lie I can spot immediately.

I use all of my strength to call upon the void, but it answers with a long rope that ties me to Dessin. A bridge I need to cross in order to access its vast range of space.

And thinking back on the conversation I had with Dessin recently, I know exactly what I need to do.

Dessin’s eyes widen in alarm as he sees me actively make the decision to do this, knowing it might end poorly for me. But it’s the only option I have. The only way out.

Like I once did in that abandoned Demechnef building, I throw my arms around Dessin’s neck, pulling my body flush to his in the fiercest hug I can muster. His large hands catch my waist up high, close to my ribcage, in an attempt to stop me or push me away. His form goes rigid, unyielding like a wooden board against my soft curves.

But I don’t let go.

I hug him like it’s the first time all over again.

And with the surge of emotions attached to the two of us, the void slams into me like a bolt of lightning, flooding my senses as I tumble into his subconscious. We float into a clear blue sky like a bird soaring over a magical village, the kind you would see in the pages of a mystical storybook.

The inner world.

But the void doesn’t allow me to explore. It doesn’t give me the chance to meet his alters, see their real faces. We travel over an ocean, through the clouds of a hurricane. It must be hundreds of miles as the rain drenches us in the sky. And this place isn’t like our initial impression of the inner world. It’s stormy and cold, waves crashing over each other in a gray ocean that moves violently like it’s in the middle of war. And among the fog and sea mist, there’s a tower.

It’s a tall fortress made of granite, onyx, and ashlar, with the sides covered by thick layers of algae. It’s a prison. I can feel the forbidden energy hanging in the air around it, shaming us for coming so close. But the void throws us at the foot of its entrance.

“I’m not supposed to be here,” Dessin gasps, backing away from the sheltered doorway and into the pounding wall of rain and mist.

“What is this place?” I ask.

Dessin’s eyes dart over the exterior of the tower. “This is where the deeper alters stay. I can’t go near them. They’re never supposed to have any contact with any other alters.”

I remember the conversation he told me about them. It was one of our earlier nights in the prison, and he opened up about the inner world.

“The trauma they hold could bleed into other alters,” I state in exasperation.

“Yeah.”

I’d respect this boundary if the void wasn’t drawing me into this prison like a fishing hook reeling me out of the water.

“Dessin, I think there is an alter in here that can help.”

He shakes his head, sprinkling water across my face with the action.

“He doesn’t have to come in.”

Dessin and I turn our heads back to the entrance, refocusing our eyes on a woman I wouldn’t have guessed resided in his hopeless place.

Sophia takes a step into the windy atmosphere.

Dessin stumbles back across the rocky terrain, mouth gaping open as he watches her.

Sophia’s dress flaps in the hazy storm, rising and falling around her like a pink puff of smoke. She smiles at us sadly. “I had to keep something safe before they did their damage.”

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