Perilune

Chapter 12

Exhaustion granted Lyra a luxurious descent into slumber as she lay in Amaris's arms.  Amaris was far too alive to close her eyes for a moment.  She couldn't avert her gaze from Lyra, her elegant face at astonishing ease in Amaris's embrace.  As if she never knew what Amaris was.  Amaris tossed wildly between shock and awe, satisfaction and desire, bliss back to disbelief. 

More than anything, the guilt which had been brushed aside by Lyra's hands returned with vengeance.  Monsters do not fall in love with the precious maiden.  They do not deserve her; they merely have her until she is whisked happily away to the life she deserves.  They become the horrible recollection which sets such a bar for misery, the maiden cherishes her newfound joy more than anyone else can fathom.  Amaris knew deep down, if Lyra could be free tomorrow, this would simply become a nightmare survived long ago. 

Amaris's heart broke; she wanted nothing more than Lyra.  She wasn't stealing her away from anyone or anywhere; Lyra would be sleeping alone in another part of the cell if not here with her.  Yet she couldn't help but feel evil to claim such a wonder for herself, for a monster like her to dare touch her, call her beloved.  Every moment Amaris cherished was at the expense of Lyra's freedom.  It was a terrible thing for the monster to find a happier ending than the maiden.  Another terrible thing the world dealt to Lyra. 

"Amaris!"  Nyx's voice demanded of the cell, too far in the distance for human ears to perceive.  The urgency in their tone filled Amaris with unease.  She jerked upright, her heartbeat rising.

At the sudden movement from Amaris, Lyra partially woke.  "What's wrong?" she asked.

"I think I have to speak with your replacement— Nyx, I mean.  I hear them calling.  It sounds urgent," Amaris whispered with a soft kiss to her forehead.

"Do you really have to get out of bed?"  The soft moan was temptation to call this bed her new home, to forget about guilt or obligation as she explored ecstasy once again.  It took all Amaris had to resist.

"They may need assistance.  The humans may have threatened them," Amaris whispered.

Lyra sighed, but did not argue. The air of the cell was arctic compared to the warmth of her touch as Amaris climbed out from under the covers.  Once she was out of the room a frown crossed her face.  She moved quickly.

"Amaris, I need to talk to you!"  Nyx called as Amaris shifted and took flight, closing the distance between them.  The tone was that of one prepared for battle.

Amaris landed with enough distance to reduce the gale force of her landing upon the stone to a gentle breeze across Nyx.  A quiet fire smoldered in their eyes as they clenched their jaw, their face marked as if they had taken their notes upon it.  They carried a large canvas bag.  Two cantines clattered against their hips as they walked toward Amaris with determination.

"I've found a way to escape.  That woman you're keeping here, you have to let her go.  You can't just—"

"She can be set free?"  The way Amaris's eyes filled with wonder punctuated the arguments Nyx had prepared, "Do you require my aid?"

After a stunned pause, Nyx nodded. "I have the incantation for the spell which binds us here.  A friend got it for me... They said if I could translate it somehow, it could be undone."

Nyx was stunned into silence again at the reception of such news: Amaris gawked as if they had revealed the path to salvation. "I can alter the incantation's meaning..."

"That's it?"

Amaris smirked.  "Did you think spells are kept secret for nothing?  It is all channeled through words, words which can be stolen and twisted when shared.  Recite the incantation to me."