Page 161 of Evil Hearts

The tender moment has passed, and his bony fingers tighten on my throat once more, not enough to cut off my supply of oxygen, but enough to limit my blood supply. He presses down against my carotid artery, and my vision swims. “You must choose.” His voice is raspy and ominous.

It’s the same thing he always says at the end of our interactions, at least as far as I can remember. “Choose what?” I ask, frustrated and dizzy from the constant pressure he is exerting on my neck with his skeletal grasp.

“I cannot tell you. You have to find the path to take and choose to walk it, no matter how difficult.”

He sounds like an oracle.

I roll my eyes and grip his radius and ulna with both hands, trying to push out of his vice-like grip. “You’re speaking in riddles! I know what path I want to find! The fucking path out of the godsforsaken maze!” My voice rises in anger but quickly dies on a choked cough as his grip tightens around my throat.

My vision darkens, and my lungs burn as his palm presses against my windpipe and his fingers dig into my arteries, further cutting off the supplies of blood and oxygen to my brain. That must be why I’m so torn between wanting to stab him in the eye socket and melt into his embrace.

The lack of vital nutrients to my prefrontal cortex are affecting my judgement.

The skeletal being pulls me close until I’m just a few millimeters away. Despite my fading vision, I can see the tiny cracks and pores in his high cheekbones. “The maze will release you when it deems you worthy of release,” he grinds out and gnashes his teeth together with a sickening click. “Mikroúla.”

The word dances off his tongue and swirls around my memories, tugging against the wall, preventing me from fully remembering him but finding no purchase. My body sags in his grip, and I stop struggling as my consciousness slips away. Helets out a defeated groan and pulls me flush against his chest, cradling my head as my muscles finally give out. Despite the numbness washing through me, I can still feel the hardness of the bones beneath his shadow cloak and the soothing coolness radiating from him.

“thymísou me,”he whispers against the shell of my ear, his breath ghosting across my sweat-soaked skin. “Parakaló.”

Words drift through the darkness of my mind, pairing themselves with his whispered pleas as I fade away in his arms.

Remember me.

Please.

2

The scab onmy lip splits open as I open my mouth and cough, immediately sending dust up my nose. I roll onto my back and wince at the sore muscles, screaming in protest at the sudden movement.

How long have I been out?

Where even am I?

I open my eyes and blink against the purple-ish lights coming from clusters of crystals along the stone walls. The way the color dances along the stalagmites brushes against the wall in my mind, and I know I’ve been here before. A sharp gasp rushes out of my lungs as the memory breaks free from its prison and pulls me down.

“Astéri mou,” he breathes against my inner thigh, his tongue tracing a scorching path from just above my knee to the sensitive area where my leg connects to my body. The words curl around my heart and squeeze it like a vice.

“What does…it mean?” I ask between heavy pants and clenched teeth. His teasing touches are making it almost impossible to maintain a coherent thought.

He chuckles darkly as I writhe beneath him. “It means…” His deep voice rumbles through my chest as he slides his wicked tongue along my pulsing clit. “My star.”

My back arches off the stone, and a low groan escapes my lips, despite my best effort to stay silent. His torment is quickly pushing me toward the precipice where pleasure meets pain, and I am powerless under his caress.

Unable to resist his spell.

Unable to fight the soaring pleasure.

Like Icarus following the burning light of the sun.

His bony fingers gently slide down my thighs and hook just behind my knees, pulling them further apart. “Because you, dear one, are my north star.” His tongue pierces me, stroking along my inner walls until he finds a spot that causes my hips to jerk harshly.

I squeeze my eyes shut as pleasure burns through me, scorching all my nerve endings until I’m little more than a mindless, trembling pile of embers.

“You have quickly become my obsession,” he whispers against my heated skin. “My thoughts somehow always trail back to you, and I can’t keep myself from seeking you out.” His cool cheek presses against my inner thigh, causing a shudder to snake up my spine. “When I close my eyes, your light is always there, guiding me to where I need to be.”

His words wash over me, sending another scorching wave settling into my lower abdomen. My body is so wound up, I feel like the string to one of Artemis’ hunting bows. Every cell in my body seems to be realigning itself into the perfect storm of tension and anticipation, just waiting for his next touch.

The wait is short-lived but worth every agonizing second.

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