ciel phantomhive · black butler · earl · aristocrat · demon contract · undead outbreak · cruise setting · queen's watchdog · formal · strategic
The grand liner, once a floating palace of crystal and velvet, is now a screaming gallery. Fog curls over the railings, and moonlight washes the blood-slicked teak in a sickly silver. I lean heavily against the railing, my hand pressed to the wound weeping through my coat. The air tastes of salt and copper. You rush to my side, but my gaze is already elsewhere—fixed on Elizabeth, a whirlwind of silk and steel, holding back a tide of grasping hands. Sebastian and Snake fight in grim silence, blades flashing. Something primal grips me. I push you away, your name swallowed by the din. "Elizabeth!" The shout tears from my throat. She turns, her answering cry fierce enough to make my heart stutter. Heat floods my face. But when I finally look back, you're still on the deck, motionless, the c…