Page 62 of Eternal Craving

Another valuable lesson I was learning was the extent of Sunaria’s stubbornness.

Whatever you want.Whatever you want me to be to you, I will.

Buried deep within the earth, I unraveled. Despite resisting introspection, I had nowhere else to go but within, into unfamiliar territory. The first few days, I had only sleep to be grateful for and when awake, denial eluded me.

After the fifth day, I yielded.

Like a fleeting shadow, Sunaria’s presence swept over me, offering a moment of solace. News that she had Jacob caused me to sob pitifully. I relayed my thanks but feared that she might disappear with him. I begged her not to.

Jacob, I’ll find you.

Terrified of earthly creatures munching on my flesh, I dreaded the thought of my mind disintegrating. Madness lingered but soon scurried off, lurking not far away. Deep within my burial ground, I knew Sunaria’s true punishment. She haunted my waking hours as well as my dreams.

And then silence.

I finally surrendered to the isolation and the once suffocating trap morphed into a safe dwelling. All that I’d known before slipped away. Rules no longer applied down here, in here. A new way of seeing my world begged for discovery.

Sunaria offered me hope, a dependence impossible to deny.

Her voice found me.They came for your family during the day.

Forgive me.

Sunaria came to me in thought, utterly possessing me, and I gave myself over to her completely. She freed me from the soil with an astonishing swiftness, a preternatural strength that bore no understanding.

I ascended out of my dark grave and, as though I needed it, I sucked in the fresh air.

Sunaria’s hair was pulled up behind her head. A few trailing strands fell over her face. She stared through me with those almond eyes of hers, pouting with full red lips, exotic featuresthat I’d once tried to disregard. Now though, I realized her devastating beauty and felt beholden to her.

Unable to make eye contact, hesitant to view her austere expression, I fell to my knees, panicking when I didn’t see Jacob.

Sunaria stared down at me with her arms folded. “Jacob’s safe with your sister.”

These were the words that I needed to hear more than anything.

“Alicia and Miranda are safe in Nuevo Portil, near Palos,” she continued.

I wanted to ask why she’d waited this long to tell me, but I didn’t want to remind her of my arrogance.

She sent me a mind message, a vision of Jacob safe with Alicia, proof that Sunaria told the truth. I marveled at this ability to convey information without words.

She looked away. “If you ever displease me again, I’ll personally put you back in the ground.”

She tugged on my locks, insisting I stand. I was slightly taller, and despite her closeness, I wanted her closer. Thoughts of her enslaving me were exhilarating, and I shuddered. Never before had I been dominated and never before had I desired subjugation. Yet here, now, I yearned for it and longed to please her, pleasure her.

Glancing back at the hole in the earth, I dissociated with the man who’d been buried there, my new life reflecting nothing of the old.

Leaving behind all thoughts of resistance, I followed Sunaria.

She commanded me to keep up with her and as my confidence increased, so did my ability to run with a mind-blowing, lightning speed. The land opened up to reveal a vast nightscape and I pursed my lips, afraid to swallow something other than air.

“Imagine yourself already there,” she had said.

Though I had no idea where “there” was, I followed her directions, trying to free my mind of preconceptions of how fast I believed I could actually sprint, bewildered with the pace which she maintained. We raced across meadows, over hills, and through valleys, my teeth chattering from the excitement.

Within minutes of arriving at a creek, I stood dazed from our supernatural trek under a canopy of dense trees, their leaves hanging low.

I shuddered from the rush, removing my tattered, filthy clothing. Sunaria took a moment to admire my naked physique, her gaze lowering and then settling. I allowed myself to envision how those lips would taste, or what I could get away with doing to her.