Page 121 of Better in Black
“I’ve never met a mortal with a soul so much like my own,” she said, with wonder. “His heart is ice, his mind a blade of fire. Can you imagine it, after all these centuries? Something new.”
The Queen stripped off her silk dressing gown then, as if she were alone. And compared to the Queen, I was nobody, so indeed, she was. She could be naked in my presence because I did not matter. And she was splendid in her beauty. Like a princess in a legend, determined to die with her lover, she lay down upon the bed of flowers, beside Sebastian, and curled her body around his.
“You will stay with us, until he wakes,” she said, then closed her eyes before I could answer.
And of course, it was not a question.
And of course, I obeyed.
—
I woke to the sound of Sebastian moaning. My first sensation was relief. If he’d lived through the night, even if he was still in pain, it meant my tincture had had its intended effect, and we would both survive.
Then came the realization, as Sebastian’s moans mingled with those of the Queen, thatthose are not moans of pain, but of pleasure.
In the corner of the forest that was the Queen’s bedchamber was a ladder that led up to a small aerie, perched in branches that poked through the ceiling. This was where I had curled up for the night, feeling like a very small bird in a predator’s nest. Hiding in plain sight.
Not hiding, exactly, as the Queen knew I was there. Sebastian, I suspected, did not.
I stayed very quiet and still, and tried not to listen. I put my hands over my eyes, but I had already caught a glimpse of them, their limbs tangled together, her hair a red flame as she moved upon him. His back arched, his hands on her hips.
“My beautiful one,” he murmured to her.
“My Morning Star,” she said.
Then, for a time, there was only the sound of gasps and bodies in motion. Then the inevitable cries, and I heard the Queen laugh breathlessly. “Are you certain you’re well enough for such things, darling? You did almost die, after all.”
Now, laughter from Sebastian. Mirthless. “I told you, I cannot be killed. My mother, Lilith, has protected me.”
“I must remember to thank her,” the Queen said.
“The gratitude is entirely mine, my lady in red.”
“Well, one of your ladies in red, certainly,” the Queen said.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” His voice took on an edge.
“Only that you seem to have a fondness for women with hair the color of fire.”
I could tell she was wielding the words as a weapon, though I couldn’t understand why or how.
A small gasp, from my Queen. “You forget yourself, Jonathan. Pain is to come only at my invitation.”
“And speaking of Clarissa is to come only at mine,” he said. They were the first words I had heard him speak with honest emotion. The emotion was fury. “And my name is Sebastian.”
“If you’re to rule the world, my love, you’ll have to learn not to let a name have power over you. Yours or your sister’s.”
“That’s somewhat rich, coming from a faerie. I don’t suppose you’d like to tell meyourname.”
There was a pause, and my heart nearly stopped beating. If she spoke her true name, knowing I was listening, it would only mean she intended me to die.
“My true name wields power over me whether I like it or not. Were I mortal, I would not invent weakness where none exists.”
Another silence.
“Oh, don’t sulk, my love. MySebastian.If your sister refuses to rule by your side, I’m sure you can find another consort.”
“She will join me,” Sebastian said. “I just need to disabuse her of this delusion that she’s in love with Jace.”
