Chapter 25 begins with Merry laying Kitto down on her bed.
He looked like a ghost with his pale, pale skin on top of her dark burgundy
sheets. Rhys is standing near the dresser, and Merry asks him if he is going to
protest her sharing her body with a goblin. For once, one of the men doesn’t
get mad or take offense at it, and Rhys lets it go. They all determine that
Kitto is too weak to have sex with Merry, but Merry thinks she should be able
to rouse him enough to get him to take a bite out of her.
I
looked down at the tiny man. He seemed asleep, but his skin still had that
awful thin quality like it was wearing away. I stroked my hand down his
shoulder. He wiggled closer to me, but did not wake. I leaned over to him, putting
my mouth just above the skin of his shoulder. I had raised my shields
automatically when I’d finished using the magic to contact Kurag. Shielding was
like breathing for me. It was dropping them that took concentration. I’d
learned to shield about the same time I’d learned to read. But this wasn’t a
spell; this was less, and more than that. The human witches call it natural
magic, which means a natural ability you can perform without much training or
effort.
I drew magic, energy, into my breath and blew it across his skin. I willed him
to wake, to see me. Kitto’s eyes fluttered open, and this time he did see me.
His voice came hoarse, “Merry.” I smiled at him, touching the curls on the side
of his pale face. “Yes, Kitto, it’s me.” He frowned, and grimaced as if
something hurt. “What’s happening?”
“You need to take flesh from me.”
He continued to frown up at me as if he hadn’t understood.
I took off my jacket and began unbuttoning my blouse. I probably could have
pushed the sleeve up enough to expose my shoulder, but I didn’t want to get
blood on the white material. The bra underneath was white, as well, but I was
pretty sure I could keep it from getting stained if I was careful.
I love that at this moment she’s fucking worried Kitto will
get her blood all over her precious white clothes. This seems like a totally
valid thing to worry about when YOUR TINY CHILDLIKE LOVER IS DYING.
“Leave
your mark on my body, Kitto.”
“We contacted Kurag,” Doyle said. “He said that the reason you are ailing is
that your mark with Meredith has healed. Her energy must sustain you away from
faerie, and for that you need a new sharing of flesh.” Kitto stared up at the
tall dark man. “I don’t understand.” I touched his face, turned his eyes back
to me. “Does it matter, does anything matter except the scent of my skin?” I
put my wrist next to his face, then slid my arm slowly, just above his lips, so
that our bodies touched here and there. I ended on my knees by the bed, taking
my other arm behind his head to bring his face closer to the upper part of my
free arm, just below the shoulder. During sex, biting is great, even some
bloodletting; but this was cold, and I wasn’t ready for it. This was going to
hurt, so I preferred it be somewhere with some cushioning, some meat.
Wait, so you’re giving him your fleshy fat upper arm? That
area doesn’t exactly feel good when something bites into it. Not speaking from
actual experience being bitten there, but I’ve got a pretty detailed
half-sleeve, and let me tell you, getting tattooed there isn’t very pretty,
especially the inner-arm.
So Kitto finally fucking bites her and obviously it hurts.
His teeth have sunk in deep and blood starts flowing out of his mouth from the
wound. The blood stains her white bra SUCH A TRAVESTY. Merry can’t scream, can’t
tear her arm away from Kitto, so she begins blowing in his face, quick sharp
breaths into his face, to distract him. He opens his eyes and finally releases
Merry.
Merry slumps away from the bed, and at that moment they hear
the sound of bells coming from the mirror. Someone is calling, but they weren’t
expecting any calls. Her guards help Merry up onto the bed, and they answer the
call while Merry is still bleeding from her bite-wound.
It’s some Seelie sidhe named Hedwick, King Taranis’s social
secretary. Being one of the Seelie, and the chapter ends with Merry realizing he
was not going to enjoy seeing Merry bleeding all over her poor white bra, with
Kitto’s mouth covered in blood.
Labels: book review, Caress of Twilight
