Whispers at Witching Hour

Chapter 58

"Why was my mark throbbing earlier today? If it hadn't, Faus... he... would be dead now..."

"Strong emotions, Zelda. Either that or someone tried to seduce me, which did not happen, obviously."

"So, we'll always know when the other is overwhelmed?"

"Yes, but it's not only about negative emotions."

Zelda let that sink in for a moment. The whole partner-marking-thing was not a foreign concept to her, though it was not a typical practice these days, but she had not looked much into it until now. Thinking about it, it had been a rather impulsive decision, but with that slaying woman in front of her, she did not regret it for a second.

Lilith handed her the drink, they clinked glasses and took a long sip, drowning in each other's eyes.

"So, how am I going to kill my Queen?"

It warmed her heart that Zelda still called her "Queen" even though she did not own the title anymore. The witch knew how important it was to her and how it must have affected her when Sabrina had claimed the throne.

"In medias res, I see", Lilith chuckled but she tensed thinking about the upcoming topic, "Well, as it turns out, there are nine clearly defined steps it takes for you to kill me. Nine like the number of circles in hell."

"And what are they? If we know them, we can stop it, right?"

"Unfortunately, I don't think we can do that. Not that it's impossible, but... you'll see when you hear them."

"Then come on, spill the tea. You've got me all worried already."

Another sigh escaped Lilith's throat, looking down to her glass and she decided to take another sip first.

"The text is in Armenian, so I'll translate roughly. The first was 'uncontrollable lust'-"

"Um... Lily, I think we already had that", Zelda mentioned half amused, half concerned, "How many steps have we already fulfilled?"

"That's the thing: Quite a few. And I don't think we'll be able to stop. At least I don't want to", she swirled the glass and continued, "Second is 'transformation'. Remember how we used to physically hurt each other while having sex in the beginning and then we changed it?"

Zelda nodded, eyes widening in fear about how much was already lost.

"Third: 'Nurture'. I lose my hunger for human flesh whenever I spend time with you..."

"Please tell me there isn't more we've already done...." A tear rolled down Zelda's cheek, lonely but heavy with sorrow.

Lilith shook her head hopelessly. "Fourth: 'Projection'. Demons are usually quite indifferent, don't feel a lot, and if we do, it's rarely positive. Now look at me, in awe of you, lost in love, getting revenge for you... I think I feel through and with you..."

Zelda threw her free hand in the air and then rested her cheek on it, shaking her head. "That's four already! Lilith! No! This can't be happening!" She put her glass on the table without caution, starting to weep into herself.

Lilith scooted closer to her girlfriend, wrapped her arms around her and brought her head to rest against her collarbone.

"You're literally loving me to death, can you believe that?", Lilith whispered into the air, "But I don't mind. If I go down feeling like this, you with me, then I'm fine with it."

"But I don't want that!", Zelda sobbed, warm tears landing on Lilith's skin. In response, the demoness rested her chin on Zelda's head, rocking her softly.

"Uh-uh, my love. We still've got five more steps to go. Now's not the time to grieve."

"How can you be so positive with all this?", Zelda's voice was so thin some syllables just disappeared, "There's no way out of this and you... You're just relaxed?"

"No, that's not true", Lilith moved on from her chin to press her cheek on Zelda's head, "I guess... I just want to seize the time we have together and make something worthwhile out of it. Something for you to remember when I'm gone, something for me to... Go in peace, knowing you'll always have that."

Lilith pulled her closer into her embrace, knowing how much Zelda needed to be held and how she hated herself for it.

"But that's not right! You should want to stop it! You should want to stay away from me. Do everything you can to not fulfill the blessed prophecy!", she whined.

"See... And that's the tricky part of it all. You said it yourself: There's no way out of this. So, why should I run? Give you up?"

Some tears formed in the corners of her eyes as well, evident in her voice through a layer of hoarseness.

"For an outsider, these steps seem harmless, easy to avoid. But the cruelty lies within the key factor: We love each other. And that makes it torture."

Zelda nuzzled against her more tightly as if it would all go away if she would just cling to her hard enough.

"Because these steps are essentially all we want from and for each other. I want to make love to you all night long. I want to change."

She buried her nose in Zelda's hair for a moment, inhaling her sweet scent deeply.

"And I want to feel", she paused and swallowed before adding to and finishing her sentence, "Happy."