Chapter 401: The Diamond Link
Chapter 401: The Diamond Link
Two weeks passed and Tayme realized that her belly was huge.
The creature then abandoned its habit of taking her at all times and walked away.
A few days later, he appeared with other women and took them to his room.
Tayme listened to their moans and rolled her eyes. Although she felt an overwhelming need to hand those women over to the Firecolds to eat their flesh, she held back to leave her pride intact.
Another week passed and she gave birth.
...
One morning, a few months later, Tayme woke up and vomited. She thought she had a fever, and the creature moved away. It didn't want to touch her anymore. Every time they indulged in the lust of their bodies, she became pregnant.
Tayme got up and opened the window. The creature was in the street, talking to a human. She caught its eye. The human said goodbye.
...
“How long are you going to avoid me? You haven't touched me for two weeks. That's not what you promised me.”
“I didn't promise you anything about your condition.”
“What conditions, Creature?”
“Why didn't you tell me you wanted a child of my own?”
“I don't.” She said with disgust.
He looked at her belly.
“I thought you didn't want to and that we'd have more time, but...”
Tayme put his hand to his belly.
“I didn't want...” She felt a kick and looked at her own belly. It was huge. How could she not have realized that before?”
...
Tayme woke up sweaty and scared and put her hand to her belly, afraid of what she would find, but she breathed a sigh of relief. It was just a bad dream. She got up and picked up the portrait. She looked at it for a few minutes before making up her mind and removing the pillowcase from one of the pillows, she threw the portrait inside it, as well as some clothes, and going downstairs, she left the house and by instinct, after a few hours, she arrived at the house where she had lived all that time with Baron.
She passed the scattered Firecolds, not wanting to look into their debauched eyes, and locked herself in her room. That day, she stayed in there without wanting to get out of bed. She cried. The Firecolds listened to her with complicit smiles, until the creature knocked on her door. She got up and opened it without stopping crying.
“What happened?”
“What does it matter? What have you come here for? I don't want you to touch me anymore!”
“If that's what's going to make you happy...”
“I can't be happy, Baron. I can't!”
“What's stopping you?”
“Ryan! I can't lie with you and not see him, do you understand? I love you, I want to look into your eyes and see you, like I see you now, when we make love, but every time... It's like he's touching me. I feel like... I'm not with you.”
“Have you stopped loving Ryan?”
“How could I? I think I'm going mad! Every time... Ah!” she said and began to cry again in disconsolation.
The creature approached and touched her face, making her turn to him.
“I need to talk to you about something important.”
Tayme stared at him as tears poured from her eyes.
“Tayme, I...” He said when he saw that he had her attention and pulled a velvet box from his pocket and handed it to her.
Tayme opened the box and let the rings fall into the palm of her hand and looked at those small circles, although one was larger than the other, they were identical. She looked at him intrigued.
“These rings are made of...”
“Diamonds. Yes.”
“But how...”
“There are only those two in the universe...” He said meditatively, as he looked at the rings in Tayme's palm.
“I don't understand. Diamonds don't form similar objects and they're unbreakable, so they can't be shaped by ordinary hands.”
“You've just described the bond that unites us. The meaning of these alliances.”
“Diamonds simply are what they are. They are born one way and stay that way. That's not how I feel about you. I was born and as soon as I realized that, I loved Ryan. And I still love him.”
The creature looked patiently and proudly at Tayme.
“I hope so.”
“What do you want me to do with these rings?”
“They represent our union. If you put it on, you'll discover all my secrets and... You'll be married to me. Eternally. Our lives will be linked and... Maybe you need a religious ceremony and...”
Tayme took the largest of the rings and held it out to him.
“You first.”
He accepted the ring she offered and put it on his finger. The ring turned the color of fire and felt like it was burning his hand.
Tayme looked at the creature and it stared at him defiantly, not at all surprised by the ring's reaction. No expression of pain at the burning fire in his hand. Tayme accepted the challenge and placed the ring on her finger.
She felt an intense heat emanating from her own body. It was as if she were burning. It was as if she were the fire itself.
He came closer and held her hand and the rings began to change visibly. It became a shade of steel and the cold overwhelmed Tayme, until the ring began to take on a pinkish hue and finally a shimmering blue and just as the sensation of those extremes was becoming an addiction inside Tayme, an addiction that trapped her in its delights and its comfort, a wave of ice descended on her once again. It was as if she were the snow itself. It was different to have power over the elements. She felt like the element itself. She felt euphoria, peace, and suddenly began to imagine that this must be what a dying person feels. A sense of relief. Another gentle wave invaded her body, and this time, not just her body, but also her soul. She opened her eyes, which had remained closed so as not to lose any of those sensations, and when she looked down at her hand, the ring had disappeared along with all the magic that had overwhelmed her.