heartgear

His Second Riddle

Added 2025-05-21 16:42:55 +0000 UTC

“I have another riddle for you. If you can answer it right, then this little hunt I’m on will go one way. Answer wrong, and, heh, well…”

He slides the knife the rest of the way through, snatches the end of the now cut fabric, and rips it back and away from her skin. L manages to turn her scream into a gasp, tears streaking her face as a thin line of blood wells up from the wound.

“Understand?” Helios asks, hovering close to her face, his look of pure delight spreading across his expression like a disease. The pain is too overwhelming for her to speak, but L squeezes her eyes closed, nodding her understanding.

“Perfect!” Helios grips her dress again. “The question is; under what circumstances would my quarry escape me today?” The knife cleaves through the fabric, cutting away strip after strip. L’s mind races.

What could she do to escape? Could someone intervene? Maybe if she accused him of mishandling her? No, no, that’s not how this works. The little pile of fabric grows, her tattered garments eroding away under the blade. She can’t run. She can’t even fight. She has no political power, no physical power. She can’t even read. She has…

Nothing.

There’s not… a single thing she can do to stop this from happening.
The only one that can stop Helios, is...

“You.”

His knife stops. Just above her navel. Half of her torso exposed.

“... go on,” Helios says.

“You’re the only one that can stop this from happening.”

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Excerpt from Imago Ch21: Songbird

We will be posting patron exclusive Imago art for Ch17 up till the end of the story, one illustration per chapter, every Monday Wednesday and Friday at 12p EST! So be sure to check in on those times, we've got some killer illustrations ahead.

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