DARLINGTON
The fountain was quiet when I found her.
Water splashed softly against the stone. White flowers floated on the surface, glowing in the moonlight. And Samantha sat on the edge, her shoulders hunched, her face buried in her hands.
She was crying.
Not loud sobs. Quiet tears. The kind that came from deep inside. The kind that hurt the most.
I stood at the entrance of the clearing and watched her for a moment. Finnian was beside her. His silver wings were half-spread. His hand was in her hair. His lips were close to her ear.
"Should I stop?" he murmured. His voice was low. Teasing. "Or do you want me to go harder?"
She shook her head. "No."
"No, do not stop? Or no, do not go harder?"
She did not answer. More tears slid down her cheeks.
Finnian kissed her neck. Soft. Slow. She shivered.
"Tell me what you want, bunny."
She said nothing.
I stepped forward. My boots made soft sounds on the stone path. Finnian looked up. His silver eyes met mine. He did not stop touching her. His hand stayed in her hair. His lips stayed on her neck.
I walked to the fountain and stood close to her. Close enough to touch. But I did not.
"Are you hurt?" I asked.
She shook her head. Her face was still wet. Her eyes were red.
"Are you scared?"
She nodded.
I sighed. "I am sorry. For all of this. For them. For me."
Finnian pulled back just enough to look at her face. "Do not apologize for me."
"I am apologizing for everyone."
"She does not need apologies. She needs—"
"She needs someone to be gentle." My voice came out harder than I intended. "She needs someone to ask before they touch her."
Finnian's eyes narrowed. But he pulled his hand from her hair. He took a step back.
I knelt in front of Samantha.
Her knees were pressed together. Her hands were folded in her lap. Her dress was torn at the shoulder. Her hair was messy. Her lips were swollen.
She looked broken.
She looked beautiful.
"There is something about you," I said. "Something I cannot explain."
She looked at me with wet eyes.
"I have never been one to crave what my brothers have," I continued. "Jayce gets everything he wants. Finnian watches everyone from a distance. And I... I stay in the background. I keep the peace. I do not ask for much."
I paused.
"But you... you are different. You are special."
Her lip trembled.
"I see the way everybody looks at you. The slaves. The guards. My father." I reached out and brushed a tear from her cheek. "They see a body. They see a breeder. They see a prize."
I shook my head.
"I see a flower. Delicate. Soft. Sweet. Something that needs to be protected. Something that needs to be treated with care."
She stared at me.
"I feel maternal about you," I admitted. "The way a mother treats her beloved daughter. I want to keep you safe. I want to hold you when you cry. I want to be the one you come to when the world is too heavy."
Finnian stepped closer. His hand found her shoulder. His fingers traced her collarbone.
"I will be her tormentor," he said. His voice was soft. Cold. "I will be her devil. I will chase her. I will tease her. I will drive her crazy."
He looked at me.
"And you can be her angel. If you want."
I ignored him. I kept my eyes on Samantha.
"I do not want to be your tormentor," I said. "I want to be your safe place."
She looked at me with wet eyes. "Then why are you here?"
I took her hand.
"Because I cannot stay away."
Her fingers curled around mine.
I leaned in and kissed her.
Not like Jayce. Not like Finnian. Like a man who had been starving for years and had just found food. Like a man who had been wandering in the desert and had just found water.
My hands cupped her face. My thumbs wiped away her tears. I kissed her until she forgot to breathe.
She moaned against my lips.
I kissed her deeper.
Finnian's hands were on her shoulders. His lips were on her neck. We took turns. Him kissing her throat. Me kissing her mouth. Her hands grabbed at both of us. Her fingers tangled in our shirts.
"Too much," she gasped. "It is too much."
I pulled back. Finnian did not.
"Should I stop?" Finnian murmured against her skin.
"No," she whispered.
"Then what?"
She looked at me with dazed eyes. "Darlington..."
"Yes?"
"Your lips... your hands... I cannot..."
I kissed her again. Slower this time. Gentler. Her body relaxed against mine.
Finnian trailed kisses down her arm. Her wrist. Her palm. He kissed each finger.
Then he moved lower.
He knelt beside me. His lips found her leg. Just above her knee. He kissed her there. Soft. Slow.
She shivered.
"Finnian," she breathed.
He kissed higher. Her thigh. The edge of her dress.
She grabbed my shirt. "Darlington, please..."
"Please what?"
"I do not know. I cannot think."
Finnian smiled against her skin. "Good. That is what we want."
He kissed her leg again. Then again. Each kiss moved higher. Her breathing got faster.
My hands stayed on her face. My thumbs traced her cheekbones.
"You are so beautiful," I said. "So soft. So sweet."
She whimpered.
"I want to keep you," I said. "I want to hide you away where no one can hurt you."
"Then do it," she whispered. "Hide me. Keep me. Please."
Finnian laughed. It was a soft sound. Almost warm.
"Careful, bunny. He might take you seriously."
"I want him to take me seriously."
I kissed her forehead. "I do. I take you very seriously."
Finnian kissed her leg one more time. Then he sat back on his heels.
"She is going to pass out," he said.
I looked at her face. Her eyes were half-closed. Her lips were parted. Her cheeks were flushed.
"Samantha," I said.
She blinked slowly. "Yes?"
"Are you okay?"
She nodded. Then shook her head. Then nodded again.
"I do not know," she said. "I feel... strange."
"Strange how?"
"Like I am floating. Like I am not in my body anymore."
Finnian smiled. "That is pleasure, bunny. You are not used to it."
She looked at him. "Is this what it feels like?"
"Yes. Does it hurt?"
"No."
"Then enjoy it."
She turned back to me. Her eyes searched my face.
"Darlington?"
"Yes?"
"If you keep kissing me... I think I might actually pass out."
I almost smiled. "Then I will catch you."
"And if I die?"
Finnian answered before I could. "Then I will resurrect you. I will find a witch. I will beg. I will bargain. I will bring you back from the dead if I have to."
She stared at him. "You would do that?"
He tilted his head. His silver eyes were cold. But his voice was soft.
"I would burn down the world for you, bunny. Resurrection is nothing."
She looked back at me.
"And you?" she asked. "What would you do?"
I took her hand and pressed it against my chest. My heart was pounding beneath her palm.
"I would hold you," I said. "Until your heart started beating again. And if it did not... I would keep holding you anyway."
Her eyes filled with fresh tears.
"Do not cry," I whispered.
"I cannot help it."
"Then cry. I will wipe your tears."
I did.
And Finnian watched.
And the moon moved across the sky.
And none of us moved from that fountain for a very long time.