Serpentine Desires
I almost didn’t recognize the person looking back—eyes hollow, cheeks pale, lips trembling from more than just the cold.
He had taken something from me, something I couldn’t name. My strength? My freedom? Or maybe just my ability to trust myself. Whatever it was, I could no longer care.
I crouched to my knees at the lake’s edge. My fingers curled into fists, clenching snow and dirt like they could somehow ground me.
“I hate you,” I whispered, though I wasn’t sure if I was speaking to him or myself.
My gaze locked on the lake.
It was beautiful but dangerous like a paradox in plain sight. Smooth and still, yet hiding depths that could kill. It reminded me of him. He was the ice—silent and allu