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I decided I was going to make my decision final the first chance I got. I'd tell Bael and Theodore that I was staying. Forever. That I'd chosen them and this half-life, because even a half-life in this magical realm was more real and vivid than I'd ever experienced in the waking world.
Theodore
She was exquisite when she slept. Her beauty was a unique mixture of innocence and wickedness, and from the moment our eyes connected, I wanted her. I'd taken a few lovers here and there over the centuries, but they were fleeting, nameless, faceless encounters.
One touch of Moria's skin and I was lost. It took nearly all of my strength not to take her that first night. But she'd been afraid of me, and that wouldn't do. I wanted her to come to me willingly, or not at all.
So I took my time with her—gave her the chance to find her way in my realm before taking her for my own. I wanted it to be her choice—no, Ineededit to be her choice.
It hadn't taken long for Moria's body language and small gestures of affection towards me in particular, as opposed to Bael, to make it more than clear she'd chosen us both. When we touched, I could feel something pass between our souls that went beyond mere lust and desire into something much deeper—something intimate and primal.
Siting in one of Bael's many eclectic chairs next to the bed he'd placed Moria on, I stared at her, sipping the drink the others called Euphoria. The concoction didn't do much for me, but it was admittedly delicious.
"You didn't have to put her into a coma, brother. She's already dead." I smirked at my blond-headed friend as he leaned against the headboard of his bed, keeping a close watch over our girl.
Bael's lips twisted into a smirk of his own, "Ah, but I did. She was delicious. You should have seen it for yourself the way she rode my cock." He ran his fingers lovingly through Moria's curly, chestnut-colored hair and sighed in satisfaction as he continued to watch over her slumbering form.
He was as lost to this woman as I was, and I knew without a shadow of a doubt that he would follow her into the waking world if she were to leave. I could see it in his eyes—the possessiveness setting in.
Bael wasn't one to create attachments. In life, he was flighty and traveled with his uncle as an entertainer. He bedded women on the road, leaving them in tears when he inevitably moved on, leaving them with their grimy, boring husbands. After his death, he'd thrown his entire soul into being my usher. As a magic user in life, he had an affinity for the strange and unusual.
“This was selfish of me,” Bael said quietly, flipping a coin between his fingers absently.
I shook my head and looked him straight in the eye. “That wasn’t selfishness—it was love.”
His expression changed abruptly, a look of shock spreading over his face. “Love? That’s ridiculous,” he scoffed.
My lips thinned. “You may not understand what it’s like to be in love, but that doesn’t mean you can dismiss it so easily.” I sat forward in the chair, placing my elbows on my knees as I held his stare. "In three hundred years, I've never seen you look twice at a woman, but the moment she entered my realm, you were lost to her. There's no use in denying it."
He gave me a long, hard look before finally dropping his gaze. He was in denial about his own emotions, but I knew better—the way he looked at her spoke volumes. Finally, nodding slowly, Bael muttered something under his breath that sounded like agreement.
"And you?" he asked.
I expected his question and welcomed it. I ran my eyes over her sleeping form slowly, taking in every inch of that light brown skin, chestnut hair, and freckles. She was unlike any woman I'd ever known.
"I've loved her since the moment I saw her." I didn't bother mincing my words. There was no reason to. I was the ruler of this purgatory, and this realm bent to my will. If I wanted to love her, then I would, and the darkness would part wherever she walked. I only had to convince her of that.
He blinked at me in clear shock. I didn't blame him. Then a slow smile stretched his lips, my trickster friend's wickedness returning to his eyes. I grinned back, because we both knew what this meant.
"So we share her then," he said. There wasn't a hint of trepidation in his voice.
I nodded. "We share her, if that's what she wants. She still thinks like a mortal. Her perception of love is skewed and tainted. There's always a chance she might reject this, even if it's what her heart truly craves."
"This is hardly what I expected from you, my friend," Bael said, tossing the coin into the air and waving his hand in front of it, only for it to disappear into thin air.
I chuckled. "I'm tired of denying myself. PerhapsIwas waiting forher." The pull of her soul was like a magnet, drawing me closer every second she remained at the carnival.
What many didn't know about me, was that this place was a part of my own soul. An extension of myself in many ways. I knew everything that happened within this realm. I could feel souls as they entered, and I mourned them when they left.
There were many gods in this world, and some of them shared my fate. Purgatory was endless, and I'd been tasked with the unique pleasure of watching over a piece of it.
When Moria Laveau entered my realm, it'd been as if my phantom heart started beating for the very first time. I felt a kindred spirit in her, and I planned on keeping her for as long as she'd will it. He grandmother prayed for theLwato keep her safe, and I answered. I don't think Annette realized what she was asking for. The deal was sealed, and I was going to keep her granddaughter safe by my side and in my bed for eternity.
Iwoke up to an annoying licking sound. My cheek felt wet and as I blinked my eyes open, I realized why. Lafayette stood over my face, licking away at my cheek, purring heavily. I chuckled, reaching up to stroke his fur, and at my touch, he nuzzled against my face as if saying good morning, even if there was technically no such thing as morning here.
I was still in Bael's lavish bed, and the room was still dim with flickering shadows. The candles around here seemed like time couldn't touch them since they never seemed to burn down.
I sat up, letting Lafayette leap off of me as I pushed my curls out of my face. I was dressed again, this time in yet another flimsy dress, this time the color of a terracotta pot that sort of matched my hair. It had to be Bael's doing.
