I told you I couldn’t, once. You didn’t really believe me. But in moments like this, when we are so wholly together, I can’t imagine allowing you to be parted from me. You are the only one I cannot lose. If you were taken from me, there is no place in the Empire I would leave untouched, no metropolis or scrubby outpost I would not turn inside out, no world I would not rip apart, to find you.
And there is no sacrifice I would not make to keep you, the least of which is a pretty paramour. Why should I want more than this?
“So perfect,” I moan, as I always do, as I’ve never said to anyone but you. “So beautiful.”
“Mír,” you whisper again as you open yourself, submit to me, and give me my will.
If you enjoyed this short story, check out The Lily and the Crown by Roslyn Sinclair, the novel in which Mír and Ari met and fell in love.
All Wrapped Up
by G Benson
“I lost Toby.”
Not sure she’d actually heard right, Anna cocked her head at Lane, who was shifting from foot to foot.
“What?”
“Anna, I lost him.”
Finally, it all clicked. Leaning slightly to the left, Anna looked out from the living room where they stood and into the kitchen: Toby happily sat in his highchair, cheeks packed with food and blue eyes sparkling, giggling at his sister. Ella sat with her back to Anna, so she had no idea what Ella was doing to make her brother laugh, but she guessed it had something to do with an open mouth of food. Brows pressed together, Anna turned back to Lane. “Uh, he looks pretty not lost?”
As Lane shook her head, Anna felt a shiver trickle down her spine. Lane’s trembling lip did not help matters. Anna genuinely had no idea what was going on. Five minutes ago, she’d walked into what seemed like happy kids who’d survived going shopping when suddenly Lane had dragged her away.
Words tumbled out of Lane, uncontrolled.
“We were at the store, like I told you we were going to. I thought I had everything under control—my first time alone with him, and I was feeling kind of smug. I mean, you know, you’d been all unsure when I offered to look after them today, and there I was, all…all over it. I had to pick up some stupid gadget for my stupid dad, and I was standing at the counter, and Toby was right next to my leg. I had my hand on his head, and then I reached into my bag to get out my card. I handed it over in all of ten seconds and dropped my hand back down, and he was gone. Like, just gone.”
Normally, Lane was calm and relaxed, someone solid to turn to in a crisis. “And I looked around,” she said, “and I couldn’t see him—he’s so damn small. How does he move that quickly? And I felt like I was going to be sick, my heart was beating so fast. When I asked the lady if she saw where he went, she just blinked at me uselessly, and I couldn’t see him. I called out like four times, and then he giggled, Anna!”
Lane looked so indignant, Anna almost chuckled but then thought better of it. “He giggled like he hadn’t just scared the freaking hell out of me. I turned around, and there he was, standing behind a rack of blow dryers. I almost lost him, Anna, and you only just got them back a few months ago. I almost lost—”
There was only one thing she could think to do, and Anna wasn’t sure if it was going to get her hit. She kissed Lane, hard, and didn’t let go of her mouth until she felt Lane relax slightly.
“You didn’t lose him. He was right there.” She looked Lane straight in the eye.
“Yeah, but what if—”
“But nothing happened. He was right there.”
“Anna—”
“Lane. He did that to me a few weeks ago. He hid in a rack of coats, and it was only the damn giggle that let me find him.”
Visibly, Lane let out a breath. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. And his sister’s no better: When Ella was two, the shopping centre guards had to go find her, because she’d pulled a Houdini on Sally; she was missing ten minutes.”
“But, what if he…what if—”
This time, Anna simply pulled Lane against her and wrapped her in a hug.