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“Oh, but I don’t want them to go away!” Gwen exclaimed as she snagged a bottle of pain reliever from the kitchen counter. She quickly dry-swallowed two pills. “I … I’ve kind of gotten used to them.”
An unexpected realization, but she really did like the little blue backed spiders, and the idea of them disappearing didn’t sit well with her. She would needsomeoneto talk to once Ambrosius left.
“Well, we’ll see what we can do with that, hmm?” Ambrosius chuckled, shaking his head when Gwen offered him the bottle. “After you finish the doll.”
“Ah, right!”
Gwen pulled her boots off and hopped over the spiders, Ambrosius following. She dropped into her chair and turned on the desk lamp, revealing the doll right where she left it.
“She’s cute so far, isn’t she?” Gwen asked, lifting the doll for Ambrosius’ inspection. “All I have left is the face, which shouldn’t take me very long.”
“Charming, my bittersweet,” Ambrosius said, resting his hands on her shoulders. “May I watch you work?”
No one had ever asked that of her before. When Gwen had taken up doll collecting as a mere hobby, her roommate had found it cute at first. But the moment Gwen started pulling the dolls apart to study their creation, well, people found that weird. But there was one thing Gwen knew for certain, and it was the fact that she wasgoodat remaking dolls.
“I’d love that,” she murmured.
Despite taking something for it, Gwen’s hands still ached as she held the water color pencil. She traced the doll's mouth with red, delicately filling in the lip, all the whileAmbrosius’ hands never left her shoulders. He was a reminder, her reason for pushing, despite the limited movements of her hands. Nothing mattered more than finishing the doll. Gwen didn’t stop until there was no more space to fill with her pencil.
“She needs a couple coats of sealant,” Gwen murmured. “But she’s done.”
“May I see?” Ambrosius asked from over her shoulder.
Gwen nodded, allowing him to take the doll from her hands. Ambrosius held the doll the way Gwen had seen antique dealers do on TV. It was measured, evaluating as the demon ran his fingers along the delicate bead work that connected around the waist. Gwen had wrapped the doll entirely in bubblegum pink. From the tulle head wrap, silk business jacket, and thigh highs. She had embellished the simple outfit with white beads, giving the doll a choker. Several pearl chains hooked along the belt that cinched the jacket into a dress form.
“Do you like it?” Gwen finally asked.
“It’s perfect,” he said. “My only request is that you make this in your size, my bittersweet.”
“Then…” Gwen slowly stood. “Is it over? Did I do it?”
“Almost. There’s just one more thing.” Ambrosius placed the doll back on the desk.
The urge to make a smart ass remark was on the edge of her lips. Old habits died hard, but Gwen didn’t want to delay anymore.
“What do I need to do?” Gwen asked.
“Kiss me. Just like before,” Ambrosius said softly. “This time, with the knowledge of what I am. If you’re truly set on binding your soul to me, kiss me … but be certain this is what you want, Gwen. Once you do, there is no going ba—”
Gwen grabbed a hold of Ambrosius' jacket lapel, closing the short distance between them. She kissed him slowly, but more confidently than when their lips had first met in the Antiquarium. And unlike that first time, it was Gwen who pushed her smaller tongue into his mouth. It was Gwen who explored, who licked, and teased her tongue along serrated teeth.
Behind her eyelids, the darkness came to light. A vision of something great and terrible. It was large—so much larger than herself. A creature that loomed over her with its twisted frame, gray skin stretched tightly over sharp bones and lean muscles. It lay prone on the ground, tied down by chains—too many for Gwen to ever count. The creature’s limbs were bound to its side, save for the six arms thrashing against its back, claws pulling fruitlessly to weaken the chains. A long tail whipped back and forth along the ground, the tip a sharp point, stained teal.
Whatever the thing was, it was hard for Gwen to keep it in her mind. An omen that most humans were never meant to see, yet she couldn’t pull her eyes away. A head of matted black hair dwarfed by two sets of massive horns slowly lifted, revealing the creature’s face. A porcelain half mask covered the creature's face—no, it was the being’s face. It obscured the three eyes that were angled sharply toward her. Hot breath escaping a fanged mouth as its long, sticky tongue rested on the floor before it.
For a moment, the being held her gaze and Gwen couldn’t move, even if she wanted to. Then, the tongue shot out at her, like a serpent striking prey. Gwen tried toprepare for the impact, but the tongue connected with her face, slipping past the barrier of her mouth—
Ambrosius’ groan pulled Gwen from the vision. When the burning sensation hit her tongue, Gwen winced, but she didn’t pull away. She wasn’t entirely sure what it was, but her instinct was to welcome it. To let it inside the same way she had allowed Ambrosius in. The ache soon became dull and soothed by the brush of Ambrosius’ own tongue. With the worst of the pain behind her, Gwen continued to kiss Ambrosius until their mouths finally parted with a harsh breath between them.
Shakily, Gwen shifted on her heels, eyes blown wide as she stared into the face of the demon that held her heart. His own eyes had gone from dark to that lovely shade of glowing cyan once again.
“It’s done,” he whispered.
“Oh,” she whispered back. “I … I don’t feel anything.”
“I do,” Ambrosius replied. “I can feel you connected to me.”
The thought was romantic, making Gwen warmer than she was already. She felt tingly, like her heart might shake itself to death. They were connected now, even if Gwen couldn’t feel it the way Ambrosius did. No matter what happened next, she would be tied to him forever, and that made the selfish parts of her happiest of all.