Cont...
Interlude 6 – Finn (Sixth Prince, Royal Artist)
I have painted a thousand sunsets.
None of them come close to the color of his eyes when he's happy.
My hands shake now when I hold a brush if he's in the room. Not from fear. From awe.
Every canvas in my studio is him now.
Him laughing.
Him sleeping.
Him looking over his shoulder with that little smirk that says he knows exactly what he does to me.
I want to cover him in paint and lick it off slowly.
I want to spend the rest of my life trying (and failing) to capture the exact curve of his smile.
My body burns for him in ways that have nothing to do with sex and everything to do with worship.
He is my masterpiece.
And I am content to be only the brush he uses.
—Finn, who finally understands beauty for the first time
Interlude 7 – Gavin (Seventh Prince, The Broken Blade)
I don't know how to be gentle.
I only know how to break things.
