[ little rivulets of blood trickle like streams dripping down her wrists where his jagged talons shred through her skin. another mark that will scar, that will taunt her with the haunting memory of the monstrosity she has become. another blemish he has made on her, ensuring he will never fade.
but there is more than just the darkling's possessiveness tearing through her flesh. each burrowing jab stings with nikolai's pleas, the gut-wrenching begging of a broken boy seeking mercy, lost and afraid. for him, alina urges him closer, a mockery of an embrace that cradles his head against her stomach. and if it hides the sight of his eyes from her as their humanity shifts like a mirage, the glint of tears and the accusation of a betrayal that makes her recoil in revulsion of herself —
all the better to keep herself from faltering. like a shield, she curls herself around him — and her light with it, emanating from her skin like a nova burning itself from the inside out — until there is nowhere to flee from her. her grip hardens like a vice, fingers digging into his cheeks until the flesh whitens from the iron-pressure. when her mouth finds its ear, it's a low serpent's hiss, a venomous threat. ]
Why would I want your submission when I could have your destruction?
[ she does not grant him the pleasure of knowing that she would sooner suffer nikolai's hatred than endure an eternity alone. he must know it, whether she willingly grants him that confession or not. even if she wins the fight for nikolai's soul, the darkling has already won, has alienated her from one of the few sources of solace she has found.
when she leans back to pin him with a hateful, searing stare, the abyss in nikolai's eyes turns her blood to sludge in her veins. a chill ripples through her, despite the scorching heat pouring off of her. still, she does not turn away, even as the discordant, inhuman echo — like two voices, merging together in a discordant, hollow melody — of his words forces the hairs on her arms to stand at attention. ]
Nikolai Lantsov is my creature. [ and this beast — he is little more than that, lashing out in his last, desperate attempt to use nikolai as his vessel. she pushes past the dread that has formed a pit inside of her stomach, her own pupils swallowed by a white, blindingly incandescent glow. ] I won't let you have him.
i know what my brand is and it's this. all of this.
but there is more than just the darkling's possessiveness tearing through her flesh. each burrowing jab stings with nikolai's pleas, the gut-wrenching begging of a broken boy seeking mercy, lost and afraid. for him, alina urges him closer, a mockery of an embrace that cradles his head against her stomach. and if it hides the sight of his eyes from her as their humanity shifts like a mirage, the glint of tears and the accusation of a betrayal that makes her recoil in revulsion of herself —
all the better to keep herself from faltering. like a shield, she curls herself around him — and her light with it, emanating from her skin like a nova burning itself from the inside out — until there is nowhere to flee from her. her grip hardens like a vice, fingers digging into his cheeks until the flesh whitens from the iron-pressure. when her mouth finds its ear, it's a low serpent's hiss, a venomous threat. ]
Why would I want your submission when I could have your destruction?
[ she does not grant him the pleasure of knowing that she would sooner suffer nikolai's hatred than endure an eternity alone. he must know it, whether she willingly grants him that confession or not. even if she wins the fight for nikolai's soul, the darkling has already won, has alienated her from one of the few sources of solace she has found.
when she leans back to pin him with a hateful, searing stare, the abyss in nikolai's eyes turns her blood to sludge in her veins. a chill ripples through her, despite the scorching heat pouring off of her. still, she does not turn away, even as the discordant, inhuman echo — like two voices, merging together in a discordant, hollow melody — of his words forces the hairs on her arms to stand at attention. ]
Nikolai Lantsov is my creature. [ and this beast — he is little more than that, lashing out in his last, desperate attempt to use nikolai as his vessel. she pushes past the dread that has formed a pit inside of her stomach, her own pupils swallowed by a white, blindingly incandescent glow. ] I won't let you have him.