Page 80 of Crown of Flame
She chuckles.
“You don’t have to call them ‘humans’ anymore Cinis,” she says. “They’re your kind now.”
My kind.
These frail, pathetic creatures are nothing like me. They crumble at the slightest bump, spilling their fluids at every inconvenience.
But I shake my head, stifling the immediate rage I feel.
Whatever my people were, they were nothing like me. They cannot presume to care about anything short of their immediate needs, and balk at every display of creation or raw emotion. To express one’s individuality among my kind is to err.
“What’s wrong, Cinis,” she asks, noting my head shake. “Isn’t this what you wanted?”
I’m not a human. Leaving the present company, others will always remind me of what I am with both terror and curiosity.
But whatever I am, and wherever I fit in, I’ll have a lifetime to discover it by her side.
“It’s everything I wanted,” I reply, now fully convinced.
I take her hands, gripping them tightly with my malleable, fiery arms.
“And I wanted them to know it as much as I do.”
She smiles, and her smile emboldens me.
“Like a sculptor - you just taught me that word - you saw the potential in me, and you reshaped me to my true potential. Before I met you, Serena, I was formless.”
I stare deep into her eyes. In her cold, blue eyes, which somehow warm my soul, I can see the wonders of infinity with her by my side.
“I was functionless, and I was aimless. From my timeless realm, I was plucked and given meaning by your side.”
I look out at the audience. Their reactions vary, from curiosity to admiration to amusement.
Without Serena, these people wouldn’t have been given a second chance. They would have been transformed into the aberrations that roamed these lands, both no longer aware of what they were and left with nothing but their appetites.
Perhaps that would have been my fate too, had I not met Serena. I would have remained a purposeless beast, who indiscriminately terrorized the creatures that crossed my path.
“Perhaps I owe you some gratitude for that,” I say. “You elevated my purpose, showing me the wonders my realm neglected to show me.”
I grip her hands tighter, never daring to let go. Her warmth is my anchor, holding me solidly in this moment.
“And I don’t know what the rest of our time together will yield in this realm, but I’m excited to find out. For as long as we both draw breath, I will cherish you.”
I can’t help but feel cocky, seeing the admiration in her face.
“Did I do good?”
She nods, grinning widely.
“You did very well,” she replies.
“I learned some pointers from the bird fellow to the north.”
Her expression becomes quizzical at that note. But perhaps she cherishes the mystery because she doesn’t inquire further.
“Cinis,” she says, gripping me in her hands.
I give her my full and immediate attention, never daring to leave her piercing gaze.