Page 102 of Chaos Carnival

Chapter 48: Bittersweet Nightmare

Maverick

“Monstre?”Myvoicecaughtin my throat.

Her eyes snapped open, everything that mattered reflected in their depths. The raw power of her resurrection still glimmered in the air, making my skin prickle and my newfound hunger roar. I cradled her against my chest, hardly daring to breathe as she drew her first shuddering breath.

“Maverick?” Her fingers gripped my arms.

“I'm here, sweetheart.” I rested my forehead on hers, drinking in her presence. She was alive.

Different, changed, but alive.

Behind us, Addie made a sound between a gasp and a whimper. “What's happening to me?” The hunger in her voicemirrored the gnawing emptiness that clawed at my own insides. It resonated through all of us now, a shared appetite that went beyond physical need.

“What did you do?” Stone's voice crackled like a blazing fire as he rounded on Baphomet and Lilith. “What have you turned us into?”

I wanted to care about Stone's anger, about the price we'd apparently paid, but I couldn't look away from Tess.

“The chords crowned you in sorrows last week,” she murmured, her fingers leaving dark depressions as they gripped my arm. “Such lovely crimson patterns, all twisted up with mine. You promised me then. The circus must dance its terrible dance forever, no matter how much blood rains down.” Her eyes traced over me and she sighed. “The webs weave such perfect tragedy, don't they? All those moments bleeding into now, into this choice.” Her laugh tasted like bittersweet chocolate, perfect but too dark.

“The ritual required a secure base,” Lilith explained, her voice distant through the haze of my focus on Tess. “A closed system, feeding itself through-”

“Later,” I growled, cutting her off as Tess's body shuddered in my arms. She was trying to sit up, her movements jerky and uncoordinated as if she was still learning how.

“The hunger hurts,” Addie whispered. Lux moved to steady her as she swayed on her feet.

“The secrets,” Tess murmured, her attention drawn to something beyond our grasp. “Dancing with paper prophecies in my tent, waiting to whisper their truths to you. But not yet...” Her fingers tangled in my shirt.

The truth writhed beneath her cryptic words, the emptiness inside me growing with each heartbeat. Whatever we had become, understanding could wait.

“Can you walk?” I asked, even as I tightened my hold. Part of me never wanted to let her go again.

A smile like shattered mirrors crossed her face. “Oh, my handsome shadow, I dance with you again.” Her eyes shone as she gestured at the air around us. “This is the moment where darkness becomes our crown, where nightmares bow before us and call us king and queen.”

“Tess, I’m so sorry.” I pulled her closer against my chest, her heartbeat fluttering like trapped moths over my skin.

She pulled away and met my eyes, and for a moment I swam their infinite depths. “Fear tastes like rubies in the snow. But you'll keep your promise. Such pretty patterns we'll paint together...”

I tightened my arms around her, wanting to tie her to this moment. My brilliant tragic mate. Powerlessness crushed me like a vice as I watched her. Every fiber of my being screamed to phase us both far from here, but I knew better. There was no running from this.

She squirmed in my embrace, pushing against my chest with surprising strength. “The letters are weeping for you,” she insisted, her voice urgent. “All those paper birds, trapped in my tent, beating their wings in fate's cage. You have to free them. Before the threads tangle up all wrong.”

“I'm not leaving you,” I growled, but she was already twisting away, her movements disjointed and wrong.

“Such a stubborn shadow,” she chided, trailing her fingers across my cheek. They left paths of cold fire in their wake. “But the truth won't wait.” Her eyes unfocused, seeing something beyond.

“I’ll go,” Addie said, stepping forward.

“Addie,” Tess sang, her voice rippling like water over stones. “You glow like moonlight. Would you chase my paperprophecies? They'll sing so prettily for you now that darkness dances in your veins.”

Addie nodded, already moving despite the hunger that made her steps unsteady. “I'll find them.”

“The black envelope weeps,” Tess called after her. “It knows all our sins.”

As Addie disappeared into the umbra of the carnival grounds, Lilith stepped forward. Her ancient eyes rested on our intertwined forms.

“Spinning such ferocious wheels of hunger,” Tess said before Lilith could speak. “Round and round we'll dance, feasting on nightmares until the stars grow cold.” Her eyes met mine, suddenly sharp with an impossible clarity. “Too much broken, my love. Too many pieces sacrificed on the altar of forever.”

---