#eacarter

Love is what drives us. What destroys us. What heals us. To live for love, for the hope of love is the most courageous act of all. #theriseofthegoddess #eacarter #love #nighttimethoughts #thinkers_and_writers #transcendence https://www.instagram.com/p/CBWQLBaAXos/?igshid=2dkjpq8cc79n

I wake in a hospital gurney. This time no bright lights sear my vision. Instead, soft illumination slides up the plain white walls from a thin luminescent strip embedded along the edge of the grey slate floor. Apart from the gurney, no other furnishings grace the space. The door facing me is closed. To the right of the frame, a panel with several blue lights blink in sequence. I lift my hand, cautious, expecting restraints. Nothing. Disbelief, then relief slams through me. It is my hand. My own hand. I lift my other hand and clench both into fists, the movement familiar, invigorating. For a beat euphoria rules me, then like the wash of a polluted tide, nausea swarms over me and steals my joy. I spot a stainless steel container beside the gurney. A vile, blue-black liquid splatters the pristine container, slides down against its sides in ugly rivulets. Sickened by the sight of it, I heave and empty myself, gagging against its bitter, metallic taste. The door slides open. de Pommier's avatar walks in. I ease myself back onto the gurney, trembling, my guts strafed by agony. The acrid stink of my vomit fills the room, soaks my mouth. I want water. There is nothing. 'The worst is over,' de Pommier says. She stands just inside the door, her eyes move over me, critical, searching for flaws. A look of satisfaction touches the curve of her lips. 'Welcome back, Capitaine Ryan Maddox. For the next three months, you will remain with Vallis and be to her what you were before . . . and you will give her hope. Hope you and she will be together, forever, on Mars.' She cocks her head at me. I stifle a fresh wave of nausea. 'Of course, you won't. But when she realises that, it will be too late and she and the other evacuees will be on their way to Mars while the rest of us burn.' (continued in comments) _______________________________ #icassandra #eacarter #storytime #passion #forbiddenlove #dystopia #cyborg #bnwphotography #awardwinningauthor #wordporn #thesystem #storm #ultimatum https://www.instagram.com/p/B_DHcdVHuvo/?igshid=g6h1j5i57g4w

It began with the chase, persistent and light. She fell to his grace, his charm, and his might. He said he loved her but there was always a price Impossible rules that controlled her life He took her space, her air, her sight And imprisoned her in his realm of endless night Feasted on her love, her soul, her light. Gorged on her fear, her pain, her hope, Her plight. And when he was done. He told her the lie. It was she who was evil, and he the knight. #narcissist #narcissisticabuse #narcissistsurvivor #eacarter #noshame #survivor #healing #woman #empath #silentnomore #bnwphotography #poetry https://www.instagram.com/p/B-jn4b5H337/?igshid=11pbakgkn2zwo

#typography #bnw #eacarter #quotestagram #wonder #character #liveon #gone #mortality #magic #writers_and_thinkers #writersofinstagram #becauseofreading #awardwinningauthor https://www.instagram.com/p/B-Z_U5yn4pS/?igshid=1jgasis77kd90

One of my photos from when I was doing exhibitions. Shot this at 5am at a tiny bakery run by a husband and wife as they paused for a break. 2015 #love #eacarter #bnwphotography #noiretblanc #noiretblancphotography #lamour #instagood #kärlek #bnw_greatshots #bakery #couple #hands #sweden (at Gesällbageriet) https://www.instagram.com/p/B-RLS1_H2n_/?igshid=564ivxvi0xx0

Meresamun set aside her wine and touched her fingers to Marduk's. He pulled her to him, capturing her against the hardened panels of his gilded tunic. His eyes moved over her face, came to a halt on her mouth. A flicker of torment sliced through his features. He caught her chin, held her still as he brushed his lips against hers, tender, reverent, tasting of red wine, rare meat, torment and longing. His grip tightened and his kiss deepened, fierce, possessive, the violence of his passion consuming her, robbing her of her senses. He tore himself free. She swayed, overcome by his unexpected ardor. His hand found hers, warm, strong. He turned and led her across the firelit suite, the heavy golden panels of his kilt clacking, quiet. Before the closed doors, he cut her a dark look. "Though I have resisted this decision and may one day come to regret it," he said, "I find I can deny you nothing. Not even this." He hauled the door open. A cold draft swept in from the corridor. The flames of the braziers snapped back at it. Another flicker of anguish sheared through his carnelian eyes. "You shall have your wish." Meresamun caught her breath. Zarpanitu. Riven between fear and anticipation, Meresamun followed him through the halls and corridors of the citadel to the furthest reaches of his stronghold. Her consort said nothing more. He kept his eyes ahead, fixed on the distance, locked within the impenetrable corridors of his mind. (continued in comments) __________________________________ The Rise of the Goddess #theriseofthegoddess #epicreads #becauseofreading #goodreads #eacarter #marduk #meresamun #love #lamour #kärlek #passion #typography #beautifulwords #wordporn #poetry #atticuspoetry #poetsofinstagram #broken #made #us #trust https://www.instagram.com/p/B9fEpuHnu4Q/?igshid=kch9979cfvnk

Idira woke, her face tight with dried tears, her eyes gritty from crying. She sat up and stared at the fading teleport, bleak. A fresh spear of grief lanced through her. "So," Khadgar's echo said, standing up from one of the wing-back chairs and making his way over to the bed, "it seems I might be of more use to you than just keeping you company, after all." He held out his hand. She took it and let him pull her up from the bed. He looked her over, arching an eyebrow. He cleared his throat, meaningfully. She glanced down at herself, realising she stood naked before him. Her dress had been neatly hung over the top of the folding screen. Her heart lurched, Khadgar must have put it there, the man who always dropped his expensive clothing onto the floor into a heap, had taken the time to hang up her old, threadbare dress. "How long have you been in here?" she asked, dull, as she pulled the dress over her head. "Long enough," the echo replied, shrugging. "You didn't watch us?" Idira asked, momentarily shocked out of her despondency. "Hmm," he answered, oblique, looking away. "I came back after Khadgar left to break his fast, watched you sleep for awhile, waiting for you to wake up, was about to go to the library when he came back with those delicious buns—which I watched you gobble up like a little pig, not even thinking to save me a single one." He looked so put out, mirroring the look of a petulant child, Idira would have laughed if her heart had not ached so much. "So you watched us," she said, flat. "Hmm," he said again. He glanced at her. "You do realise I am his echo? Everything he experiences I experience. I didn't get much sleep last night, thanks to you." (continued in comments) __________________________________ Daughter of Azeroth #eacarter #blizzardentertainment #multiple #awardwinning #fanfiction #epicreads #love #lamour #kärlek #eternallove #itwasalwaysyou #fantasy #becauseofreading #typography #beautifulwords #wordporn #bnwmood https://www.instagram.com/p/B9XjcesHjuQ/?igshid=ltofhse1vx63

It's raining outside. Its gentle cadence soothes my heart, softening the jagged claws of dread burrowing into me, reminding me Maddox will soon leave me alone, trapped in this festering cesspool of a city. Morose, I gaze at the window, following the passage of the rainwater down the cracked panes. Maddox's grip tightens around me as he shifts closer from behind. A kiss, soft, against my neck. 'You awake,' he asks, quiet, his voice husky from sleep. I nod and turn to face him. He strokes my face, tender, his eyes moving over me, drinking in the sight of me, memorising me. Every time he does this. Looks at me like it's the last time he will ever see me. I hate it, because I'm afraid it is. I close my eyes. 'Blue,' he says, pressing a kiss against my brow, 'I am going to get you out of here. For good.' I open my eyes. Never once has he talked like this before. 'How?' I ask. 'I have food credits, been saving up since I met you. Used all my bonuses. It's a lot.' He pauses and looks at the window, then back at me. 'Those guys at the club, they're thugs. Scum like that can always be bought.' Thugs. If only he knew. A slash of guilt rips through me for my deception, for what I have stolen from him. He trusts me. He thinks I'm just a bartender in a grotty bar run by gangsters. I force a smile, hoping it's convincing. Zee is going to lose his shit. As soon as Maddox makes his offer, he's a dead man. He might be a GC Delta Force captain, but I belong to Zee. Everyone knows it—no one more than I. (continued in comments) _________________________________ I, Cassandra #eacarter #becauseofreading #epicreads #scifi #dystopia #forbiddenlove #cyborg #dangerouslove #typography #beautifulwords #wordporn #quotes #instaquotes #awardwinningauthor #love #lamour #kärlek #itwasalwaysyou #eternallove #sacrifice#quoteoftheday #igquotes https://www.instagram.com/p/B9AWDowHmpw/?igshid=10uon8fb44rfx