Chapter 19 starts with Merry hesitating to put on the ring. Doyle tells her to just fucking do it because she’s being stupid, so she does.
I slipped the ring on my finger. It was too big for me, but almost instantly I felt that first spark of magic. It would be exactly my size now. A small magic. I looked up at all of them. “I don’t feel any difference in it.”
They tell her that the ring never worked for Merry from a distance. They need to touch the ring to feel the magic work. Rhys tells them that he’ll volunteer to be the first, unless anyone objects. And of course Frost objects. He wants, no needs, to be the first to try it.
It was as if some huge invisible hand caressed the front of my body, as if there were no clothes, nothing but my skin, for the magic to stroke. Frost collapsed to his knees, his eyes wide, lips half open in a movement caught between desire and surprise. His hand convulsed around mine, pressing his flesh harder into the ring. His hand convulsed around mine, pressing his flesh harder into the ring. The magic responded in a second wave of desire more powerful than the first. It ended low in my body, throwing me back against the seat, bringing a cry from my lips. My body spasmed and my hands jerked against Frost’s, breaking the ring’s contact with him.
They then talk about how the ring caused Merry to have an orgasm like she’s some scientific study. Rhys asks Frost if he had an orgasm as well, and Frost replies that he almost did. So great, dude’s got blue balls. Rhys then moves over to Merry so that he can touch the ring.
Galen helped Frost into one of the nearby seats, clearing the aisle and giving Rhys room to drop to one knee beside me.
“Not so far to fall,” he said, grinning.
“You never have far to fall,” Galen said.
Rhys gave him a look but didn’t rise to the bait. “You’re just jealous because I get to go next.”
“Not so far to fall,” he said, grinning.
“You never have far to fall,” Galen said.
Rhys gave him a look but didn’t rise to the bait. “You’re just jealous because I get to go next.”
YOU’RE JUST JEALOUS YOU’RE ALL JUST JEALOUS
Galen tried to make another joke, but finally just stepped back and said, “Yeah, I am.”
Rhys touched my shoulder, bringing my attention from Galen’s somber face back to him. “I like to know a girl’s at least looking at me during sex.”
I gave him a look. “You know how it is, Rhys, a man gets as much attention during sex as his skills deserve.”
Rhys touched my shoulder, bringing my attention from Galen’s somber face back to him. “I like to know a girl’s at least looking at me during sex.”
I gave him a look. “You know how it is, Rhys, a man gets as much attention during sex as his skills deserve.”
Bleh. Whatever. Same thing happens to Rhys when he touches the ring, and he basically blasts in his pants. So they all decide that every guard needs to touch the ring, to see how it reacts. They need to know if it reacts to everyone, including those that did not come into their godhead, before they land in St Louis. There’s going to be a ton of cops and reporters when they arrive, and they need to make sure the ring doesn’t go off on any of them mistakenly.
“Tell me again why we have human policemen waiting for us in St. Louis,” Rhys said. His eyes were still unfocused, but his voice was almost normal.
“One of the tabloids ran a picture of all of us rushing into the main house last night, with guns drawn and very few clothes. The ambassador to the courts did not believe the queen’s assurances that it was not an assassination attempt on the princess, but simply a misunderstanding. I believe, and the queen believes, that the rulers of St. Louis do not wish to be seen as being careless of the princess’s safety. If something goes wrong, they want to be able to say they did their best.”
Rulers of St. Louis. Sometimes I forgot for days at a time how old Doyle and the rest were. Then they’d say something like that, and you knew their thoughts and vocabulary were formed in a time before mayors, or Congress, or anything remotely modern.
“The humans are no longer content with some of the queen’s stories,” Doyle continued. “The ambassador to the courts is most unhappy that they will not show him Prince Cel. He doesn’t believe that Cel is merely away.”
“One of the tabloids ran a picture of all of us rushing into the main house last night, with guns drawn and very few clothes. The ambassador to the courts did not believe the queen’s assurances that it was not an assassination attempt on the princess, but simply a misunderstanding. I believe, and the queen believes, that the rulers of St. Louis do not wish to be seen as being careless of the princess’s safety. If something goes wrong, they want to be able to say they did their best.”
Rulers of St. Louis. Sometimes I forgot for days at a time how old Doyle and the rest were. Then they’d say something like that, and you knew their thoughts and vocabulary were formed in a time before mayors, or Congress, or anything remotely modern.
“The humans are no longer content with some of the queen’s stories,” Doyle continued. “The ambassador to the courts is most unhappy that they will not show him Prince Cel. He doesn’t believe that Cel is merely away.”
Apparently Cel had been big on the St. Louis club scene (is there a St. Louis club scene? I’ve been there once and didn’t see much in the way of nightclubs) and now the public is starting to wonder where he’s been, since, you know, he’s being tortured and all. So the public is getting all pissed and not believing the Unseelie Court when they tell them “oh he’s fine, he’s just stepped out of the public for a time” because who would fucking believe that.
So anyway, Galen then touches the ring with his lips and it flares to life as well but it is hurting Merry. It’s like a constant stream of electricity through her body. But it feels good to Galen, however it wasn’t as strong as it was with Frost and Rhys.
My hand was touching Galen, but I said to Rhys, “Do you want to be strapped down and have me run electricity along your skin?”
Rhys reacted as if I’d slapped him. The reaction of just thinking about it shuddered through his body. Watching him respond that strongly to the idea of it made me want to do it. Made me want to give him that much pleasure. “That was a big yes,” I said.
He managed a breathy, “Oh, yes.”
Galen was laughing, softly.
Rhys frowned at him. “What’s so funny, green man?”
Galen was laughing so hard that it took him two tries to say, “You’re a death god.”
“Yeah so what?” Rhys asked.
Galen sat flat on the floor, his knees tucked up in the smaller space, but turned so he could see Rhys. “I have this image in my head of you hooked up like Frankenstein’s monster.”
Rhys reacted as if I’d slapped him. The reaction of just thinking about it shuddered through his body. Watching him respond that strongly to the idea of it made me want to do it. Made me want to give him that much pleasure. “That was a big yes,” I said.
He managed a breathy, “Oh, yes.”
Galen was laughing, softly.
Rhys frowned at him. “What’s so funny, green man?”
Galen was laughing so hard that it took him two tries to say, “You’re a death god.”
“Yeah so what?” Rhys asked.
Galen sat flat on the floor, his knees tucked up in the smaller space, but turned so he could see Rhys. “I have this image in my head of you hooked up like Frankenstein’s monster.”
So they all start laughing, which causes Frost to ask “Who is Frankenstein’s monster?” which causes Merry, Galen and Rhys to laugh like idiots over their stupid fucking joke as the chapter ends.
Trailer Park of Emotion 