Total pages in book: 169
Estimated words: 156210 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 781(@200wpm)___ 625(@250wpm)___ 521(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 156210 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 781(@200wpm)___ 625(@250wpm)___ 521(@300wpm)
“Well, I’m in love with this man,” I say, meeting her gaze as chills trail down my spine. This is the first time I’ve said that. The first time I thought of it so consciously, and all of a sudden I want to ride back to Luke and tell him too.
She scowls at me. “When did that happen? Two months ago you told me in dramatic fashion how your heart cannot be tied down by love, and now all of a sudden you have feelings for this human? Feelings that pulled you out of every bed you frequented other than mine as well? Explain it to me, Kyranis, or I will begin to worry you have been charmed!”
I take a gulp of air, and it fills the empty space where my brain used to be. I’m not used to being confronted like this, and I’m not sure how to handle it. Should I just dismiss her and show my authority as prince? It doesn’t feel right. It also doesn’t feel like something Kyranis would have done, or she wouldn’t have spoken to me the way she does. Then again, I’m not Kyranis.
“I don’t know what to tell you. Maybe it’s because he’s human?”
She shakes her head, increasingly desperate. “So all we’ve had means nothing? Above all, I was sure we shared a friendship.”
I hang my head, feeling guilty even though I’m not the one she clearly had feelings for. My brother didn’t deserve this kind of affection. “I truly am sorry. Maybe after the wedding, I will be able to rebuild our friendship,” I say as my shadow reaches out for Luke, seeking comfort in his closeness.
But he is not close, and my head jerks up as I focus on the path. “He’s too far,” I mutter, nudging the horse with my heels.
“The stag?” The Marquise perks up without a smile, but doesn’t look like she’s about to throw a tantrum, which is mature of her in the position we’re in.
“Luke? Tristan?” I call out, turning my horse around, confused by the faltering thread of connection between Luke and me. The only time it’s felt this broken was when Vinia gave him a lantern filled with Sunlight.
Could the stag’s proximity do the same?
I sigh a breath of relief when Tristan emerges from between the trees in his black and red glory. “Is everything all right, Sire?”
I stall, and the worry I’ve been feeling turns into a violent throb in my temples. “Where’s Luke? I can feel he’s far.”
Tristan opens his mouth, and the need to punch him makes me grab my own wrist to prevent that from happening. “He’s close. Sire, you are the one I’ve been guarding since the day he was born.”
Hardly. Despite his skill and good heart, if Tristan was the only one trying to keep my late brother alive, Kyranis would have left us all much, much sooner. There are many eels on my skin to prove that.
“I can take care of myself. You were meant to watch my promised!” I roar and dash to where I last saw Luke.
While the Marquise’s face still looks as if she’s bitten into a rotten sardine, she turns her attention to the forest around us and joins in the search. “Luke?” she yells out into the darkness between the trees as my stomach turns into stone.
I don’t even have the time to yell at Tristan, because all I can think of is golden antlers piercing Luke’s heart.
Chapter 31
Luke
Do I know that the forest is dangerous? Yes. Am I taking my chances in order to talk to Carol before the wedding? Also yes.
Not even two weeks are left until I’m forever bound to Kyran, and I can’t forget that the clock is ticking. I need to be braver if I am to find out the truth, unobscured by Kyran’s sweet words and kisses.
When he holds me close, all and any rational thinking fades away, I melt into him as if our shadows are already one. I’ve never had sex that felt so intimate, and I’ve never really had someone I could call a friend with it holding so much meaning.
If all of this is some elven trickery meant to enslave me, my heart would shatter into a million pieces. I want to believe him. But what I’ve been through at school, the kind of deception and mistrust sowed in me took root too deeply for me to accept people’s words at face value. I wish I wasn’t broken like some skittish puppy kicked one time too many, but it is what it is.
I didn’t plan to run after Carol, but the clock is ticking, so when I caught a glimpse of the other party passing through the woods not far from us, I grasped the opportunity of Tristan drifting off to spy on Kyran and the Marquise.