Subtlest Game: Book One - March of the Pawns

Chapter 15

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Ceris gagged, and spat out her bite of steak. It didn't help. She could feel a hard lump at the back of her throat, smooth and firm. It felt like it was actively pushing up and out through her mouth. She swallowed hard, and the sensation seemed to vanish. Lilith glanced up from across the room, raising an eyebrow. She had, after much not so patient debate from Ceris, agreed to wear a black robe embroidered with concentric circles, loose around the legs and arms and tight around the torso, the blend of basic fashion and ease of movement Ceris had tended to favour for official events. It actually went rather well with her pale skin and gleaming white fangs, and Ceris hated that her cheeks flushed at the sight just as they would for Arabella.
"Something wrong?" Lilith enquired with a falsely innocent grin. "Food not to your taste." Ceris forced a glare that mixed dislike with dismissal, turning back to her food.
"Just swallowed a little too much." she cut off a smaller piece of meat and chewed it thoroughly before swallowing. She was having a large, rather greasy starwhale steak with a pile of floury potatoes seasoned with butter and oil. The thought of Lilith watching her eat made her flush again. Though she'd always favoured a slim build, her marooning on the barren Gloom Peninsula, thanks to none other than Arabella, had taught her the value of a controlled store of energy should it be needed. She generally ate alone though, out of sight of the guards her advisors, or in this case Gwendolyn, had assigned. It probably wasn't a good idea to give her knights an excuse to eat well and lose control of their fat for "travel usage".

Lilith chuckled, rising with the fluid grace of Arabella and walking over with the long stalk of a predator.
"A possession like yourself should learn to look pleased at my attention." she twined her fingers into Ceris's locks of violet hair and yanked her head back hard enough to make her scalp burn. "Or else my dear little toy might find herself damaged when it's playtime."

Ceris clenched her teeth, blood rising to her cheeks, and not from embarrassment this time. She pulled her head free, leaving purple strands caught in Lilith's hand, and stood up.
"You think you can still threaten me? May I remind you, you're no longer in Arabella's body!" her voice caught on her lover's name, and she shoved Lilith against a wall. Lilith raised an eyebrow, then lashed out and caught Ceris in an iron grip on her throat.
"The only way," murmured Lilith, eyes alight. "to stop me strangling you, is to break my arm. Something we both know you're very easily physically capable of. So go on then."

Ceris growled, locking her arms around Lilith's. She glared into the Siren's eyes. And she knew she couldn't do it. Not even to Arabella's most twisted part.
Lilith laughed, wrenching Ceris out of the chair by her neck and muscling her onto her knees. "You've gotten weaker, Ceris. I told Arabella so many times, loving someone more than yourself is just weakness." she leaned in, the cinnamon scent of her pheromones ghosting over Ceris's face. "Perhaps I should turn you into something like me...I could use some company-" Ceris's fist caught her across the face and threw her back into the endstone wall with a thump. The Ender Queen's stomach twisted with shame and satisfaction as the scales on her fingers left bruised welts on her lover's likeness.
"I might never actually hurt Arabella." Ceris wiped her mouth. "But I've wanted to punch her plenty of times."
Lilith wiped blood off her bleeding lips with a trademark chuckle. "You're lucky your mistress finds your disobedience more amusing than annoying."
Ceris scowled, and scratched at her back.

***

Sin hummed a little tune to herself as the elevator descended, as much to drown out the tinny music as for her enjoyment. She couldn't remember who had chosen the music for patrons travelling between floors, but it blurred together into one brain-melting slurry of distorted notes and incoherent lyrics.