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)
At least not in the usual sense.
This is the shadowild, his personal kingdom, and I have never seen him so mad.
I’m paralyzed as Kyran stumbles closer, somehow taller, broader in the shoulders, with thicker biceps and fists that could crush my nose and knock out all my teeth. But it’s his voice, dark and raspy as if he dragged it through gravel, that plants real terror in my heart.
“You ‘rode off’? What the fuck does that mean? Why was he touching you?” he roars, and I spin around, dashing into the darkness like a spooked cat.
Chapter 32
Luke
Iknow only terror. The black woods around me are endless, primal, and just as I seem to be reaching the edge of the forest, new trees sprout from the ground in an even grid surrounding me from all sides as if this is a very old video game. Sound is so muted I can’t hear Kyran, but for all I know he might be right behind me, a second away from crushing my throat as punishment for whatever he blames me for.
I’m breathless, running as if this is my very own purgatory. I have no idea how long it’s been, but as I lose strength and my limbs turn heavy, the trees gain more detail, and all of a sudden I’m running from my boarding school.
I hear dogs barking. The shouting of the gym teacher who humiliated me at every turn. They’re so close. I can almost sense their hot breath on my skin. I don’t know if I’m delirious, or if Kyran, Prince of the Nightmare Realm can bring my nightmares to life, but all of this feels too real.
I don’t want to be that kid again. I don’t want to be stuck in a place with no way out, no agency, and no future beyond my next breath.
I leave my cloak behind, because it keeps catching on bushes, and I only make sure my next step isn’t into some bear trap. I couldn’t predict that darkness would open in the ground in front of me. It’s too late when I run straight into the hole, but instead of descending, my body is falling up.
My mind spins, and as soon as I manage to stand again, I find myself trapped in a black corridor with floors covered by a gray carpet. The walls seem to pulse with smoke, like Kyran’s sword did when he saved me from the tooth moths.
I dart through the first door, too frantic to look back.
I just… I just want to be safe. But as I dash for the door across from me, it just…. disappears, and my hands hit the wall. Frantic, I spin around, ready to find a different way out, but Kyran’s tall form fills the door, blocking my way.
“What did he promise you?” Kyran hisses, and unlike everything else around us, his form remains painfully sharp. “Did you forget you wear my crest? That you’re my promised? That you moan my name every night?”
My cheeks are hot, and I’m panting, but he is the master of this domain. There is nowhere for me to run.
“It had nothing to do with Anatole!” I choke out when I find my voice. My first instinct is to run, but when cornered, I will show claws.
Kyran’s eyes flash with a smoky glow as he steps closer, his chest pumping hard, as if he’s fighting the urge to squash me like a bug. “Then why did you seek him out? You wanted me gone so you could run to him! And you didn’t care that I’d be worried!”
I can’t believe that this is what his intuition tells him about me. “I was trying to find Carol!” I yell back, because what do I have left? He could kill me here and let the shadows swallow the body. “I wanted to talk to a Companion on my own, so I know what I’m actually in for!” I spread my arms and stand taller even though he towers over me.
Kyran opens his mouth, and his shoulders hunch, relaxing. “Carol? What? Why? I told you everything you need to know.”
“And how would I know if it’s true?” It hurts to say that, but something inside me is twisting, ripping, and it has nothing to do with the dark walls pulsing as if they’re alive.
Kyran stills, color gone from his features. His breaths shallow.
“You don’t trust me? After everything we’ve been through?” Were he someone else, I would have sworn his voice broke. “I give you everything you want…”
I want to hate him for the way he frightens me, for dropping me into the shadowild where I have no way out, but when I see the hurt in his eyes I feel only guilt. He needs to understand where I’m coming from.
I hug myself, taking deep breaths. “I can’t trust you because… because I can’t trust anyone. Ever. That’s just… gone for me, okay?” I sniff, fighting tears as I realize I never said that out loud. It’s always sat dormant on my heart like a cancerous growth I felt I had under control. But I don’t. It’s rotting me from the inside, and I don’t want to be anymore.