a thousand teeth and yours among them; straia

[weed]

she is the lamb; he is the slaughter

They twist and turn around one another, knives at each other’s throats, and he knows as well as she that she may one day lean a little too far and slash his jugular—but isn’t that the thrill? They are not loyal to one another and do not whisper lies into each other’s ears; they see each other as they are. As the truly are. She knows him for his cruelty and his wandering eye, and he knows her for her unsung ambitions. He knows that underneath the honeyed, practiced smile of a Queen that she is a dictator. Oh, she may play the part, but she would as soon give a command as request it and her heart sings for the same chaos as his.

Of course, there are many who say as much. There are many who come crawling to the Chamber and make their whispers of wanting destruction—but how many would bleed for it? How many would actually cut off their limb to see it happen? Not many. That much he knows. They were committed until they had to actually give something for the cause and then they are reduced to sniveling cowards.

Not Weed. Not Straia.

He leans into the curled talons of the bird, its claws missing the vines and digging into the flesh. He looks back and then at Straia. “That hurt,” he says simply, vines tightening around her legs briefly before he loosens them. One more scar was ultimately not the worst thing to happen to him. His beautiful body was already riddled with them—mostly self-inflicted—but still. He preferred to be the only one making scars.

The pain though is forgotten in the wickedness of her smile, and he lets it slide, biting her back. “Of course you missed this, but I want to hear you say it.” He leans forward, breath rolling over her ears, the distance between them closing every second. “Say that you missed me, Straia.” Weed draws his head back just a little, enough to catch her gaze and hold it, the obsidian of his eyes flashing dangerously with want.

“Say it and I will tell you my next idea.”

WEED

© oscar keys