Em

“Come with me,' Cardan says again, drawing me away from the blood-soaked star chart and the others taking their lessons. 'I am a prince of Faerie. You have to do what I want.'

He leads me to the dappled shade of an oak tree, then lifts me up so I am seated on a low branch. He keeps his hands on my waist and moves closer, so that he's standing between my thighs.

'Isn't this better?' he says, gazing up at me.

I am not sure what he means, but I nod.

'You're so beautiful.' He begins to trace patterns on my arms, then runs his hands down my sides. 'So very beautiful.'

His voice is soft, and I make the mistake of looking into his black eyes, at his wicked, curving mouth.

'But your beauty will fade,' he continues, just as softly, speaking like a lover. His hands linger, making my stomach tighten and warmth pool in my belly. 'This smooth skin will wrinkle and spot. It will become as thin as cobwebs. These breasts will droop. Your hair will grow dull and thin. Your teeth will yellow. And all you have and all you are will rot away to nothing. You will be nothing. You are nothing.'

'I'm nothing,' I echo, feeling helpless in the face of his words.

'You come from nothing, and it is to nothing you will return,' he whispers against my neck.

A sudden panic overtakes me. I need to get away from him. I push off the edge of the branch, but I don't hit the ground. I just fall and fall and fall through the air, dropping like Alice down the rabbit hole.”
― Holly Black, The Queen of Nothing