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)
“That was… I’ve never…” But Luke can’t put together a coherent sentence, so I let him rest in the cradle of my arms, gently rocking him back and forth.
“You’re so beautiful,” I tell him, stroking his cheek with the back of my hand. And I’m not lying. Even the texture of his skin is so lovely I long to cover it with kisses.
“Right now, I’m filthy and I need a bath,” Luke chuckles as his heart regains its normal rhythm. To think that I could have lost him in the sea… I will have Vinia’s head for that.
Despite still feeling dizzy, I need to show off my strength. I push my arm under his knees before gathering all my power and lifting him from the bed. For a moment, the room sways around me, but once the furniture stops moving, I walk toward the bathroom with my heart in the clouds.
“Nothing a long soak can’t help with.”
Luke is quick to wrap his arms around my neck, and it feels so natural I just know we’re meant to be. He’s not yet convinced, but I have a month to show him a life at my side will be one beyond his wildest dreams.
“I did get to wash quickly when I came back, but I didn’t wash my hair, so I’m sorry if it still smells of sea and a despair guts.” He looks into my eyes as I push on the door of the bathroom with my foot. “You, on the other hand, were delicious.”
I chuckle as I carry him to the tub, enjoying the mossy floor. “If it wasn’t clear enough yet, never ever let a despair touch you. It’s best to avoid them altogether.”
“What are they anyway?” Luke asks as I gather all the strength left in me to put him down. Moments later, I join him in the tub filling with warm water.
I clear my throat, not sure where to start. It’s like attempting to explain reasons why folk need to eat and sleep to survive. “They’re spawn of the dangerous beast haunting our shores for millennia. Heartbreak. He returns from time to time, and a greater number of despairs usually means that time is near.”
“So he’s material, like the despairs?”
“Yes, he feeds on both bodies and souls of sentient beings. If I hadn’t pulled you out of the river all those years ago, he would have eventually found and consumed you.”
Luke shivers despite the flush still so clear on his cheeks. I can see his eyelids are heavy, but he’s trying to understand my world. He leans against me, happy to snuggle under my arm.
“That thing, the despair, it had human teeth and fingers. Do those souls… still live within Heartbreak? Are they going through eternal suffering?”
I exhale and rest my chin on the top of his head, eager to float in the warm, fragrant water. He left me oh-so-pumped-out and satisfied. “I never… thought about it.”
Luke’s eyes shut and I’m ready for him to doze off against me. After all, he watched me as I slept fighting the despair’s poison.
But a few little screeches sober him up and he sits, shaking his head. “Flap?” he asks the empty room. I’m confused, but then a purple bat jumps up to the edge of the tub and perches on there, watching us with beady yellow eyes. One of its wings is carefully wrapped with a bandage, and while the critter seems young, it has sharp claws and teeth nevertheless.
Before I can slap it as far away from Luke’s bare skin as possible, Luke speaks.
“Please don’t be mad. Tristan warned me they can be dangerous, but this one’s just a baby, and its wing was broken. It would have drowned in the cave if I didn’t take it.”
I stall. “Tristan let you bring it home?”
The bat watches me like a hawk, and I wouldn’t put murderous intent past it, but I can always make use of my shadow if it decides to show its true colors.
“I kinda… smuggled him in, since everyone was absorbed with trying to help you. Sir Tristan gave me a lecture when I finally showed Flap to a doctor, but he let me keep him in the bathroom for now. Apparently, they always go for the eyes first, but look at him. Does Count Flapula look like he could hurt anyone?” Luke coos and, to my horror, extends his fingers to the tiny beast.
I have to admit, it does not look threatening at this time, even though I would have twisted off the beast’s head if it as much as left a scratch on Luke’s perfect skin. “‘Count Flapula’?”
“You know, like Count Dracula? But he flaps around because of the injury…” Luke continues when I stare at him blankly. “Dracula is from a book about a powerful vampire in my world, and vampires can turn into bats so— Are there vampires in the Nightmare Realm?”