I circled him slowly, tracing my fingertips along his back, ribs, and stomach. His hair stood and I saw other clear signs of arousal, but I knew I could do better. I wanted him to beg - for what, I didn't yet know. He would tell me, and I would use it against him.

"Scarlet," he whispered, voice heavy with need.

I kissed his cheek.

My purpose was to serve the Ivory Kingdom. Be their sacrificial princess; enter the Other world; seduce our enemy, Rowan the Crimson King. I did all of these things. Now he would take me to the Crimson Gates and unwittingly break the banishment curse on my kingdom. My kingdom would invade his overnight. But he wasn't the monster I was told he would be. He was precious, playful, and all things good. I didn't want to betray him, but I didn't know what else to do.

18+ for sexual content
TW: mild violence; substance-induced psychosis; recovery from cult/mental abuse.

Of What is Red is created by Diana Regolizio, an eGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.

Of What is Red

Even though the Grippers were only real to Rowan’s memory, the herb concoction from Mathilde’s piece allowed me to feel his anxiety so strongly, it felt as though I was there - as though I was him, alone and distressed in the Land of Night.


The Grippers appeared in pairs about the setting which refused to take a comprehensible shape. They took the forms of Rowan’s parents, looking as scared and confused as Henry was when Rowan had first seen him enter from beyond the Crimson City Gates.


Rowan’s voice was young, piercing with grief when he called, ‘I know you’re not them!’ His tears let the sand stick to his face, gritty and uncomfortable.


‘Rowan?’ warbled the voice of his mother.


Chapter 37: We Overshare