Shona comes to her senses, but Rosabel…

Gill takes a moment to gather himself, his body still shaking and tingling with residual excitement. His already flushed cheeks burn even hotter as he becomes aware of a deepening ache and stiffness – his cock almost painfully hard, straining under his clothes. It must be the rush of victory, he tells himself – not other feelings that are fortunately fading.

Partly to try and hide that particular detail, he stays back, giving Shona some space while she comes to terms with what’s happening. He can see the confusion in her eyes, the fear and anger – at least she seems to be in control of herself.

By her side, though, there’s no real change in Rosabel. After the satyrs’ song stopped, she seems to have sunk back into the same torpid state as before.

“Can you hear me?” Gill asks, after a moment. “Are you all right?”

“Am I – ?” Shona clutches at her head. Her voice wavers, but a certain fierceness wins out. “I can’t – Those monsters! I’ll tell the Great Athisz what they tried to do!”

“Shona.” Gill holds out a hand to her. “Athisz is the one who did all this to us. She enslaved us. You don’t have to obey her.”

“That can’t be – !” A flicker of doubt shows in Shona’s eyes. “I have to – Mother, Father, I’ve got to find them. Something’s not right. Something’s not…”

She bolts for the door. Gill gestures helplessly to her, but he doesn’t dare stand in her way, especially in his present state. At least she seems to be coming out of the spell; maybe she’ll be all right. Maybe. But for now…

Rosabel sits on the edge of one of the beds in this small shack. Her placid, vacant expression offers no sign that she was aware of what’s just taken place. Gill focuses on slow, steady breaths until things have eased enough that he can comfortably stand up straight; then he moves a little closer, careful not to startle her.

“Rosa,” he says, gently, then corrects himself – too familiar. “Rosabel…?”

Her name seems to spark a response. Her pale blue eyes focus on him. A smile lights up her face.

“Gill,” she murmurs. “Where have you been? Oh, we were so worried…”

“I’m sorry,” Gill says. “I – I met someone who helped me. Broke me out of Athisz’s control. You need to understand – Athisz is our enemy…”

“What!” Pain, betrayal in Rosabel’s eyes, tying Gill’s stomach in knots. “Gill, how could you say that? You’re one of us…”

One of us. If only. Gill shakes his head. “Athisz lied to us all,” he says. “She was using us to get to this place, where she could rule. I know it’s not easy to resist her – you have to try.”

A shiver runs through Rosabel. Her lip trembles. For a moment, she is fighting it; he can tell. But then – the tattoo on her neck seems to writhe, black ink shifting under her pale skin. She recoils, twisting away from him, face contorted with pain. When her eyes meet his again, they blaze with anger.

“No!” With a scream she scrambles away from him, her movements suddenly frenzied. He tries to follow – but backs off sharply as she turns to face him, now clutching a knife she’s just found. Teeth bared, she glares at him with something like hatred.

“We’re going to a better world,” she hisses. “We were supposed to go together. How could you!”