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)
I freeze with my mouth open. “Sabine? Fucking at the library?”
“Where do you think that baby was made?” Tristan asks, biting into the pastry with a wicked grin.
I shake my head, but as the meaning behind his earlier words sinks in, I feel that the floor under my feet is about to form a sinkhole. “It’s full moon tonight,” I whisper, meeting his gaze. “I’ll stand no chance if I don’t have a Dark Companion.”
“If you get to take part, they’ll surely take off your collar.”
I stand as frustration coils in my body, making it cramp. “It won’t matter if Luke and I aren’t married.”
“How so? It’s unlikely anyone else will have a Dark Companion so soon, so it will be anyone’s game. Though I have heard Princess Elodie set out to the River of Souls,” he adds with a twist of his lips.
I scowl, pacing in the middle of the room as I recall the horrified look crossing Luke’s features when he realized everyone knew what I am. I can’t stand it. Or the uncertainty of not being able to speak with him.
“Luke and I were to marry today. But why would he want me now? He must be so embarrassed. I spoiled everything for him, you, for everyone.”
Tristan wraps his thick arms on his chest. “Anatole outdid himself, have to give him that. At least you broke his leg? He won’t be healing from that so fast. But as for Luke… it’s hard to say. I didn’t have time to talk to him that much, but he was… crying.”
It hurts like a big game arrow straight to the chest. “Oh Luke... no... what did he say?” I ask and return to the table, placing both my palms on the smooth wood. All pride I ever had is draining out of me in the face of my lover’s distress. I want to cradle him in my arms and make all his worries disappear, but instead I’m trapped, so far away from him.
“He was asking about you, of course. Why would you question if he still wants to marry you? That boy is crazy about you. I had to restrain him in the corridor when he got the idea that he doesn’t want to leave your side after all. His hand bled all over my jacket,” Tristan points to the dark stains.
Words get stuck in my throat as I stare at the dark spots with dread and sadness crawling through my insides. “Because he didn’t know I planned to keep him in the Nightmare Realm. He didn’t understand that everyone would treat me as a pariah. Everything’s changed now that he can finally see I’m not worthy of him.” It flows out of me like an icy river, and I rub my face, trying to regain my composure. “I would give anything for a chance to see him.”
Tristan gets up. “You are Crown Prince Kyran Nightweed. Of course you are worthy of him. And you should see him.”
I look up, clutching the edge of the table. “But the tower’s protected with shadow wards—”
Tristan grins. “I’ve got an idea.”
Chapter 42
Luke
The floor trembles under my feet, and as I slide down the wall, imagining what would happen if the tall and slender tower I’ve been locked in crumbles into the ocean, a sense of dread coils deep in my gut. The tremors finally stop, leaving me with a numbness wherever my flesh touches a surface. It’s a reminder that Kyran and I were meant to serve as the weapon against the very thing causing the quakes, and our union just fell through for the second time.
But as the immediate fear for my life passes, I’m back to nursing the burning hole in the middle of my chest, and neither the scented candles peppered throughout the circular room, nor the fine furnishings can make me any less desperate.
I repeat the duel in my head over and over again, wondering if there was something I could have done. Every time I do that, Kyran’s words jam the cogs in my brain.
What does it matter if I never intended to let Luke go?
I know his feelings for me are true, yet the seed of uncertainty is there, planted deep in the potent soil of my mistrust. I have to fight myself to chase off the voices suggesting everything about our love is fake.
At least I’m alone here so I can cry my heart out, uncaring about someone seeing what a mess I am. Yet as much as this potential betrayal of trust hurts, my mind is full of worries for Kyran. I, the guy who has no real friends and who doesn’t care who he fucks as long as the sex is good, fell hard for a dude who might have been lying to me all along, and all I have on my mind is his safety.