Page 63 of The Doll and The Domination

“In the trees.”

There. A tall, lean woman. Glowing bronze skin, long coffee-colored hair, and white paint drawn in beautiful streaks across her face. She nearly blends in with the trees with her red leather attire, corset, gold buckles, and belted straps from her neck to her ankles.

“Are you—the voice in my head?” I ask between sobs.

She nods once.

I’m suddenly made aware that nothing here can hurt me as long as I know it isn’t real. A cool shower of respite coats my skin.

“You can pull Dessin and your friends out of this through the sound of your voice. Be their anchor. Find the light in this darkness.”

I exhale slowly. I think of the warm memories. The bright beacons of light that have guided me through hard times before.

I remember the day Kane took me to the Red Oaks on the hottest day of the year. We swam in the lagoon, ate fruit on the bank. I was nine and he was twelve. It was the first time he kissed my hand. I felt the thrill of freefalling into a pool of pure, uncorrupted happiness. After blushing and turning away, I brought the top of my hand back to my own lips and kissed the same spot.

His eyes widened.

And I said, “It’s like we actually kissed!”

Kane threw his head back and laughed. “When we finally have our first kiss, it won’t be through your hand, Skylittle!”

I thought about that moment every day until I lost my memory.

Through hazy clouds and slow motor functions, I have the sensation of my mouth back. Only now, instead of the beach, I’m sitting in the Red Oaks.

“Dessin? Can you hear me?” I call out to the soothing winds.

His arms still hold me in the oily pool. We tread the thick liquid together, blind and stuck in our own minds.

He doesn’t answer.

“Reach him with your light,” the woman says.

“Remember when we first met in the asylum? Everyone told me to be afraid of you. They warned me countlessly. Even Niles and Chekiss. But when I looked into your beautiful brown eyes, I was almost embarrassed at how far from fear I strayed. I felt lightning pass through me when I shook your hand.”

I hesitate before I continue. We’re swimming in oil. And Dessin is making no attempt to respond to my call. Is there a chance this is…Aquarus?

After a long pause, I say, “I’ve been waiting to see you again since our time in the bathtub. You saw me at my worst, Aquarus. I’m sorry for that. But do you remember how we drank, and you told me all about your time in the inner world?” I feel silly speaking to the empty forest of red oak trees. There’s a chance it’s not even

“Little siren?” His husky, deep voice seeps into the wind around me.

“I’m here. Follow my voice,” I say with a smile.

“I’m confused.”

“I know. But as I speak, I want you to feel me in your heart, okay?” I don’t wait for his confirmation to continue. “When we were in that tub, I flirted with you.”

“With your foot,” he drawls.

“Yes.” I grin. “I liked you.”

His presence seems to move closer somehow. “Do you still?”

“I do. You were there for me, comforted me, even though I’m only a human to you. Even though you hardly knew me.”

A large man steps out from behind a cluster of trees, pushing the red leaves away from his face. He’s over six foot seven, broader and more muscular than any man I’ve ever seen. His hair is long and golden, tied in a few braids down his back. Arms and chest covered in a beautiful art of blue tattoos.

“Aquarus?” I step forward.

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