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)
My resolve to stay silent dwindles as our time in the carriage stretches, but when the vehicle slows down, I direct my curiosity to the outside world. The big wheels of the carriage crawl onto a bumpier surface, and I push aside the blood red curtain.
The abyss beyond the edge of the wooden bridge we’re crossing makes my stomach plummet, and as I move my gaze up, a castle takes shape against the backdrop of the massive white moon. Stretching up from a jagged cliff on the edge of dark, shimmering waters, it’s all turrets and pointed arches woven into an intricate lattice of shapes straight out of a goth artist’s fever dream.
“We’re almost there,” Kyranis informs me in a dry voice, adjusting his collar. He tied a belt around his breastplate so no one else can get a peek at the strange golden mark.
I realize my mouth is open, but I can’t look away from the building. It’s as if Snow White’s castle had a baby with Dracula’s and then this creepy bastard child got sent to perch on a cliff over the sea for all eternity as punishment for its eerie beauty.
The closer we get, the more details I take in. From the tall narrow windows far above, to the sturdy walls made of black stone that seem to keep the building captive instead of protecting it.
My heart jumps when we pass an elven woman casually holding a basket of fruit against her hip as she stands by the road, talking to a friend. They’re both dressed in an amalgamation of classy peasant and renfaire, their long, puffy skirts hitched up with leather straps reveal black stockings and simple leather boots.
As soon as they spot us, their attention is on the carriage. I don’t know what to do so I… wave?
I’m officially an embarrassment, but just as I’m about to retreat, so the rest of the village doesn’t get a laugh at my expense, the two women lower their heads and bend their knees in curtsies.
The carriage rocks on the narrow, cobbled street filled with small houses covered in dark vines and murals depicting the depths of the sea. Large mushrooms and herbs I’ve never seen grow in pots hung under windows instead of flowers, and the scenery is reminiscent of a cursed mirror version of rococo France. Darker. Moodier. As strange as the medieval pictures of tigers painted by people who’d never seen one.
A part of me assumes this is all a strange dream. That one of my creepy admirers knocked me out, and I’ve hallucinated everything, including the warped version of my personal Prince Charming, which Kyranis embodies. But when I pinch myself, a big, warm hand squeezes my wrist as my abductor leans in.
“Stop that!”
I feel like a scolded puppy. Which is ridiculous. He has no right to tell me what to do. “I was just… checking if it’s not a dream,” I mutter, in no hurry to remove his fingers. I had expected them to be cold when he first touched me, but he’s no vampire, that’s for sure. Unless he feeds on emotion, and I’m yet to find out the extent of it.
Overwhelmed by the elves gawking at the carriage, I focus on Kyranis instead. If I am to ever escape this place, I need to pretend I’m more docile than I really am.
He swallows, staring at me as if he notices a particularly unsightly bit of my face, but as the silence stretches, he clears his throat and takes away his hand. “Everyone will want to meet my promised, my future Dark Companion. Folk are happy you’re finally here. Don’t be afraid.”
My stomach clenches with nerves I don’t recognize. I’m used to people overlooking me, mocking my eyeliner and painted nails. My presence being anticipated by someone? A bunch of royals happy to see me? That I can’t comprehend. Only one answer comes to my mind.
“Will I be… sacrificed?” I whisper, because I still don’t know what a Dark Companion is. From context, I’m guessing promised to be another word for fiancé. Maybe I should have spent my time in the carriage asking the important questions instead of sulking in silence, but I can’t take back time.
Kyranis’s forehead wrinkles. “You already made your sacrifice when we first met. Now you’ll be fulfilling all your obligations to me and my people.”
I rub my hands together as I glimpse guards in dark armor. How on earth will I escape a place like this? I’m not brave, or strong, or even fast. I can swim well, but it’s not like that will come in handy.
“I don’t remember that night very well. Did you actually explain what will be expected of me? What will you do with my shadow?”
Kyranis leans forward and rests his hands on my thighs. They're hot as tongues trailing ever higher up my legs. I barely stop a gasp from escaping my lips, and as he moves closer, I’m assaulted by the intensity of his scent. And while the perfume I can sense on the cape lingers on him too, underneath it all is salt. Wax. Smoke. Leather.