“I can’t help it. I want to be a competent partner, and I want to support you. The learning curve is steeper than anticipated.” She knew he meant to absolve her of her beginner’s mistakes, but she could not accept his grace so easily. “It’s humbling, to be so new to magic again.”
His body stretched against her felt like victory, the warmth of him detectable through her bloodstained dress. This was surreal. Her relief at his nearness didn’t quiet the building sensation just beneath her skin. She’d felt it below in his laboratory, when her magic activated, and the world shattered for her briefly. She couldn’t explain the remaining traces of magic, couldn’t comprehend what was making it uncomfortable to be in her skin. Her body felt tight, as if there wasn’t enough space for Themis, blood, and magic. It pulled at her, the feeling of a tide in her veins returning. “Why can I still feel the magic? Not the same and not everything, but I feel it.” And how can I possibly feel anymore? She may have been right; they were both going mad.
She closed her eyes and tried to rest, but it was a mistake. With her eyes closed, she could better focus on the other ways she experienced him. It didn’t calm her; her heart rate was climbing as she tried to remain still. She could smell him, could taste him along with the metals in her blood and the salt from dried tears. He was burrowed into her neck and hair, his breath tickling her skin. His arms around her were nearing too tight, but she would let him crush her without complaint. This was what her body demanded as she lay on the floor of the cavern. Even as she worked to repair herself, every available messenger was calling out for touch, for him. Whatever was happening to her was all too much: blood magic, loss, affection, and longing. It was all made for a perfect storm in the bed he’d abandoned, in a life he tried to leave behind. But they were here and alive, something she no longer felt certain. She’d come too close to the edge tonight; she didn’t ask and did not want to be told. She could feel it under the chaos of magic and sensation. She’d come close to the limits of her mortality, nearly putting Samuel in an unthinkable position. Nothing was certain and she gambled too easily today. She owed him more than this, more than she could offer him.
She turned her head to see him over her shoulder, needing to see his eyes when she said, “I don’t want you to leave me alone."
His body stretched against her felt like victory, the warmth of him detectable through her bloodstained dress. This was surreal. Her relief at his nearness didn’t quiet the building sensation just beneath her skin. She’d felt it below in his laboratory, when her magic activated, and the world shattered for her briefly. She couldn’t explain the remaining traces of magic, couldn’t comprehend what was making it uncomfortable to be in her skin. Her body felt tight, as if there wasn’t enough space for Themis, blood, and magic. It pulled at her, the feeling of a tide in her veins returning. “Why can I still feel the magic? Not the same and not everything, but I feel it.” And how can I possibly feel anymore? She may have been right; they were both going mad.
She closed her eyes and tried to rest, but it was a mistake. With her eyes closed, she could better focus on the other ways she experienced him. It didn’t calm her; her heart rate was climbing as she tried to remain still. She could smell him, could taste him along with the metals in her blood and the salt from dried tears. He was burrowed into her neck and hair, his breath tickling her skin. His arms around her were nearing too tight, but she would let him crush her without complaint. This was what her body demanded as she lay on the floor of the cavern. Even as she worked to repair herself, every available messenger was calling out for touch, for him. Whatever was happening to her was all too much: blood magic, loss, affection, and longing. It was all made for a perfect storm in the bed he’d abandoned, in a life he tried to leave behind. But they were here and alive, something she no longer felt certain. She’d come too close to the edge tonight; she didn’t ask and did not want to be told. She could feel it under the chaos of magic and sensation. She’d come close to the limits of her mortality, nearly putting Samuel in an unthinkable position. Nothing was certain and she gambled too easily today. She owed him more than this, more than she could offer him.
She turned her head to see him over her shoulder, needing to see his eyes when she said, “I don’t want you to leave me alone."
![[Image: Bka0H0x.jpeg]](https://i.imgur.com/Bka0H0x.jpeg)