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)
But then I look into the golden eyes, which hide very little thought behind them, and decide that’s not the case after all.
“I heard you won’t be courting him? That you’re to be married tomorrow? Doesn’t he deserve—”
“He deserves everything, but this cannot wait. You know the beast might crawl out of the sea any day now? You really think it’s reasonable for me to parade my promised around, meet peasants, and have our portrait painted while we wait?”
I don’t particularly enjoy company, as I spent most of my life in solitude, watching my brother from the shadowild. Nothing will be stopping me from getting to know Luke better after our wedding. Once our deal is sealed.
Tristan groans. “Well, I’ve been telling you to go pluck him for three years now.”
Yes, I’ve heard those gentle nudges from him, but my hands were tied as the decisions belonged to my brother, and he wanted to delay any obligations for as long as possible. Now, it’s up to me, and I don’t care to wait. Unlike Kyranis, I’m ready to take on the responsibilities that come with my position at the Nocturne Court. The luxuries and privileges we have depend on us doing our duty to the rest of the Realm. Something I won’t be shirking from.
And if I get a beautiful human of my own as a reward then… don’t mind if I do.
“But I didn’t pluck him. Nothing that can be done about that now, is there?” I ask, annoyed that the situation demands I explain myself.
Tristan takes a step back with a sour expression. “Tell me at least… You fished him out when he was so young… what’s he like now? Is he pretty?” Tristan’s eyes widen a little. I know all too well that he doesn’t discriminate when it comes to the gender of his many lovers, and while jealousy wraps itself around my chest like a kraken’s tentacle, I’m too proud of my companion not to boast about him a little.
The green strands in his fine hair are like seaweed. His long fingers are beautifully breakable, like the rarest corals, and his ears, so small and cute in their roundness, I wish to suck on them for hours. But most of all, he is only mine. My good-for-nothing twin might have been the one to order that I make an arrangement in his stead, but I was the one to pick Luke, the one to take him. He is mine in all the ways that matter.
“He is perfect. You will see.”
Tristan bites his lip and shakes his head with a smile, making his long red hair move in sleek waves. If he wasn’t holding Luke’s clothes, he would probably shove my chest the way he sometimes did with Kyranis. A gesture I never really understood, but then again, I rarely got to interact with others.
“I will. I’ll be in the first row at the wedding, and definitely not late. I bet Reiner and a team of seamstresses will be frantically working into the night.” He nods at me with his chin, his long, elegant ears making a little twitch as he leaves.
I close the door behind him even though I should go too. But if I leave now, I’d have to walk with him along the corridor, and continue the interaction. It’s better to wait it out a little.
Now that I talked about my promised to Tristan, all I can think of are Luke’s pretty flushed cheeks and cutely round ears I want to run my thumbs over. Would one more peek at him hurt so much?
“Just for a few heartbeats,” I promise myself as shadows whisper, enticing me into their depths. I stand in the corner and touch the wall, opening a small circular passage. The shadowild isn’t tamed by the same rules as the material world, so I dip in my face and feel it emerge on the other side. The damp air smells of water and moss, and as my eyes open, I forget that the rest of me is standing in the hallway, separated from the bathroom with several walls.
My body stiffens when I see him from the darkness cast by one of the beams in the ceiling. And my cock reacts immediately.
My body moves on its own accord, face pressed to the translucent barrier reminiscent of silk so thin one can see through it. The flickering green lights make Luke’s form appear fuzzy, but the closer I am, the better I can see him from the shadow on the ceiling.
My heart beats so fast it feels like it's about to jump out of my chest, because the vision below me is so erotic my whole body throbs with need.
Luke lies in the water with his eyes half-closed, cheeks flushed and mouth open as if he’s already inviting me in. His pale chest turned pink in the middle, one long arm rests above his head, the other reaches between his obscenely spread legs.