Kell's Legend

own. He held her gently, but there was no illusion there for Anukis; she knew damn well how brutal he could be. His gentility was an affectation. His humbleness a façade.
    “If you had asked me our futures three months ago, I would have been so sure, so adamant, that we would be wed, and living a life of rich royalty. We were the perfect match, Anukis.”
    “You abused me,” she hissed, looking at him then, her eyes flashing dark. “In front of the Engineers and Priests! You took my blood, you humiliated me, you beat me. You are a canker, Vashell; maybe not visibly so, not in the open flesh, but deep in your heart your clockwork has deformed and twisted, and even now has eaten that part of you which was human.”
    Vashell stood, stunned by the insult. To call a vachine a canker was…unthinkable.
    He took a deep breath, and Anukis watched him master his anger; his fury.
    “I can make this right,” he said.
    “An utter impossibility.”
    “I still love you.”
    Anukis stood, and turned back to face the Silva Valley. Still, Vashell held her hands and she felt his grip grow tight, holding her, refusing to allow her a simple freedom.
    “The only person you love is yourself,” said Anukis.
    “Listen to me.” There was urgency in his voice. “You were caught red-handed with the Blacklipper king himself. You were witnessed drinking Karakan Red. We had been staking out the lair for months, tracing Preyshan’s suppliers—and then you stumbled in screaming out your impure status. It was all I could do to stop the Engineers slaughtering you where you stood…and believe me, I put my own life on the line in those few moments out there under the Brass Docks. Since then, I have been observed, closely watched by the Watchmakers to see how I’d react, to see how I treated you. Don’t you understand, Anukis? If I had not behaved the way I did, both our lives would have been forfeit! We would never have escaped the claws of Silva Valley! But now…now I have a plan. ”
    “Explain to me your plan.” Her voice was low. Still she did not face Vashell. Her anger went beyond speech.
    “Since the humiliation inside the Engineer’s Palace, it is believed I have broken you, and brought you here as my sexual plaything, until Igrow tired, until I murder you and send your corpse back to the Engineer’s Palace for dissection. Now, their watch has grown lax. I feel the trails of blood-oil magick weaken with every passing second, every heartbeat. Within a few days we will be free, and can leave this place. Together. If you so wish.”
    “What of Shabis?”
    “She will come with us! You must believe me, Anukis. It has all been an act! I love you dearly; more than life itself. I have been working to secure our freedom, to sneak us from under the vachine net.”
    Anukis turned, and looked into his eyes, and chewed her lip.
    “You mean this?”
    “Yes,” he said. “Kiss me.”
    “What?”
    “Kiss me. Show me what I am missing.”
    Anukis frowned, and it felt wrong, Vashell’s words felt wrong and they came crashing down inside her brain. Why would a High Born Royal, an Engineer Priest with all the makings of earning a future rank of Watchmaker give up everything for her? Her own lack of self-esteem bit her, and bit her hard.
    “I don’t know whether to trust you,” she said, her voice low, trembling. “You did terrible things to me, Vashell. You tore out my heart, you humiliated me; you took away what vestiges of pride still remained!”
    “No.” He shook his head. “Your pride was already gone. I saved your life. It’s that simple. You know I speak the truth. You know how we are watched. And now, I can save both you, and your sister, if you only trust me. You took that physical beating from me; andI was observed. It was an evil necessity. Now I have only love for you.” He moved close, shushing her, lips tickling her ear, and slowly his mouth moved around and he kissed her and his kiss was gentle, loving, his hands running through her hair, gently, over her body and she squirmed under his grip, a mixture of lust, and love, and confusion, and hatred, all running and combining with her fear and uncertainty and he kissed her, and she kissed him back, and she fell into him, fell into his world and he hugged her, his face over her shoulder, and his fangs eased free of brass jaw sheaths and Vashell closed his eyes, face a rapture of love and contentment.
    He came to her that night, and in the darkness and the glow