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)
“It’s my home. I want to enjoy art that makes me feel good,” Kyran says and continues down the corridor, with Reiner trailing ten steps behind us, his head lowered.
“I’ll allow it,” I say smugly, as if I can command a prince. “In the bedroom, I have something that’ll make you feel really good after the training session,” I add, but when I spot Reiner’s little frown, I realize how that must have sounded, and my face goes hot.
This is a private area in the palace, so we don’t meet any courtiers, but I’m still mortified that I said that out loud. Kyran, however, doesn’t seem to mind.
“Oh really, what do you have in mind?” he asks and stands in front of the bedroom door while Reiner runs up to us and presses on the handle, allowing Kyran to walk inside hands-free.
I hug him more tightly. “You’ll see.” At this point it would have been more embarrassing to try excusing myself to Reiner, because he wouldn’t have believed me anyway.
“Is there anything you need, Sire?” Reiner asks, staying just outside the door.
Kyran shakes his head. “Prepare some food for us. We will dine in about an hour. And, please, bring the coralberries Flap likes so much. It is his last day here after all.”
“Of course, Sire,” Reiner says and closes the door.
I sigh when Kyran sets me down. “Do we have to let him go?”
My prince refrains from providing an immediate answer and only does so once we see the massive cage we keep him in. “He is a wild animal. With time, he will grow and become a danger to you and everyone else.”
I open the cage and have to admit the bat has grown in the time I’ve been nursing him to health. His purple ears and paws are getting longer, his teeth sharper, and while I trimmed his claws twice, they could definitely do some damage.
But when I grab Flap under the armpits and pull him out, he squeaks happily, and his yellow eyes seem to light up. “But he’s not an animal. He’s just a little baaaby!” And more than happy to cuddle with me as soon as I pull him close.
I understand Kyran’s worries though. He lost his mother to despairs, and from her notes, I gather she also considered them to be “tameable”.
“I’m sorry,” he says in a voice so quiet I feel like I’m torturing him by asking to let Flap stay.
With a sigh, I put Flap on the bed and let him roam. “You clearly think that’s the right thing to do, and you know your realm best. Come on, I have something for you.” I grab his hand and pull him to the bathroom.
Kyran’s looking back toward the bat, as if he expects it to leap across the room and tear our eyes out, but in the end he stops resisting, and we leave it be.
“All right,” he says, settling in a chair close to the window to remove his boots.
“Have I mentioned how much I love this bathroom?” Only a million times.
I smile and turn on the water. From the fish bone chandelier to the sculpted bathtub and stained glass windows, this room is a dream come true. The kind of luxury I could have never dreamed of in my world. Even the towels are borderline magical with how well they soak up water. They’re made of a thick black fabric that resembles fluffy fleece and is light as cotton candy.
Some days, I fear I don’t deserve them, or the massive bed, or even Kyran’s affection, but my presence always brings a smile to his face, so maybe I’m really selling myself short?
In any case, I want to give back, so I reach into a jar where I stashed my latest creation and pull out the fist-sized bath bomb in shades of green and purple. Kyran catches my eye, not yet aware what’s about to happen, so I hold his gaze and drop the final result of my experiments into the water.
A low fizz echoes through the air, prompting Kyran to shoot up and peek into the tub, where the bath bomb spins, releasing colorful bubbles. “It smells… like cherin and… roses?”
“Your favorites.” I beam at him. “It’s a bath bomb. I used to make them in my world in a variety of smells and colors. It took me a while to work out how to make something similar here, but Sabine got me in touch with a young alchemist who was very keen to help. I made this one especially for you.”
Kyran stares at me, as if he’s not sure he’s heard me correctly. “For me?” he asks, and before I can catch my breath to answer, he sits on the edge of the tub and pulls me close, resting his face in the folds of my sweaty top.