Demon Moon

placed her palm against a small study of her hands, measuring the likeness.
    “Was I so judgmental—disdainful?” she asked suddenly, coming to a halt in front of another.
    The tension holding him frozen on the bed dissolved, and he crossed instantly to her side. “I believe I’d just said something to the effect that there were few things I enjoyed so much as women who walk alone at night—”
    “—but finding two eager to bend over a park bench after they’ve had a glimpse of your face is better. You deserved it, then.”
    “Yes. For its banality, if nothing else. You always ran so quickly; I found myself saying the most ridiculous things to make you stop for a moment and look at me.”
    He heard the effort it took her to swallow before she whispered, “Is it just an obsession?”
    “I thought it was,” he said quietly.
    Her eyes glistened; she averted her face and dragged in a trembling breath. “The one from Caelum is wrong,” she said, her voice hoarse.
    “No.” He didn’t need to glance at the painting to confirm it. “I perfectly remember your appearance; do not be modest and protest you could never be that beautiful.”
    “Not me; I wouldn’t know what I looked like, only what I see. It’s the water—you’ve depicted it reflecting me, the obelisk, and a few of the spires surrounding the courtyard.”
    “The angles are correct,” he said, turning to scrutinize it. He’d not sketched the water, but he’d been certain of the perspective.
    “Yes, but I was the only thing that reflected—the sky did, I guess, because the surface of the water was so incredibly blue. Nothing else. It should be as you’ve painted, but it wasn’t.”
    “Bloody marvelous,” he said, though the familiar, giddy wonder rushed up within him. “Caelum is cursed.”
    “You would choose the most melodramatic interpretation. More likely, the curse is made of the same magic that holds Caelum together,” Savi said, leaning back against his chest. His arms circled her waist, and she tilted her head to look up at him. “ Or Chaos and Caelum are made of similar stuff. Or it’s impossible to see what it truly is.”
    Surely it was equally impossible—and melodramatic—to love a woman this much. “What would you choose?”
    Her brow lifted and she glanced over at the painting. “Lacking evidence, I’d play the odds and choose ‘All of the above.’”

    Hypothesizing that the curse might be more of Heaven than Hell did not make it easier to experience—or to watch its effect.
    In the dimly lit observation room, Savi’s heart lodged in her throat as Colin slid one foot slowly in front of the other, inching along the mirrored floor. The effort whitened his lips; his face was set in a rigid mask.
    “When you said you wanted to conduct an experiment, I didn’t think you meant this .” She forced the words out; if he heard screams, even inanity must be a welcome respite.
    A smile flickered over his mouth, quickly erased. He closed his eyes and swayed, then braced his hands on his knees as his body heaved violently.
    Her eyes burned. Could he smell it, as well? Taste it? She turned to Hugh, who met her panicked gaze with a reassuring nod.
    “He’s doing well this time, Savi,” he said.
    This was well in comparison to other times?
    Colin lifted his head and looked in their direction. “Yes, sweet, I’m quite alright. Smashing time to be had in here.”
    His ragged breathing, his sudden recoil from an invisible threat told her better than his flippancy how much the words were a lie.
    She felt like breaking the glass in frustration, but settled for clenching her teeth. He was doing this for her, and she didn’t know whether to be angry with him for torturing himself, humbled by it, or sickened by the realization of what he’d gone through so many times before.
    She only knew she wanted him out. “Do you see the pack yet?”
    “No.” He shuddered and retched.
    Lilith drummed her fingers on the glass. “You know, Colin, when we said you should accept some responsibility, we didn’t think you’d embrace the concept so wholeheartedly. It’s disgusting. Somewhat plebian, as well.”
    “Sod off, Lilith,” Colin said harshly, but his eyes opened again. How many times must have Lilith drawn the focus away from Chaos for him in that manner? “It’s philanthropy, which is a privilege of the upper classes.”
    Savi added, “And entirely for self-serving reasons, not out of any moral obligation.”