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)
He is the first thing in my thirty-five years of life that is truly mine, and I don’t want to spoil our relationship with unnecessary cruelty. I am not naive enough to expect this to be the end of his rebellion, though. Tears might glint like diamonds as they cling to his eyelashes, but he’s still feral and will take time to tame.
But how hard can it be to woo such a pretty flower? The fact that I have never kissed anyone, let alone a human, might be a little hiccup in our grand love affair, but I’ve seen kissing often enough that it ought to be child’s play. I can easily make up for lack of experience with the years of shadowing my rake of a brother. I guess he was useful for something in the end.
Other than dying.
The longer I watch Luke, the more ashamed I am of my violent reaction. This human has no reason to trust me, and since I know his kind lives in a different reality, how could he have predicted the consequences of his actions?
“Apologies,” I tell him as we walk down the path I cut out with my sword. The vines retreat out of our way like bugs crawling from under a rock as my shadow darts ahead, burning them with its darkness. “I understand this is a shock. I should have taken you with me right after pulling you out of the river, and prepared you for your role, but that wasn’t possible at the time.”
Thanks to my idiot brother, who’d have gladly idled away his life, without ever needing to take on the responsibilities of the Protector of the Nightmare Realm. It is due to his negligence that I now need to scramble for time.
Luke glances my way, and I push a strand of hair off his face. At the roots, his mane is dark, but then it shifts into a beautiful dark green, making me wonder how many colors humans can grow. But I don’t ask, since I don’t want to seem unknowledgeable, like some peasant who’s never left his village. He could use that against me.
Luke’s eyes grow wider as we step out of the woodland, and he points at our vehicle. “What are those?”
The moonlight makes the skeletal faces of the four beasts harnessed to my carriage shine like ivory, and I realize that my coachman used his power of illusion to make them appear as horses back in Luke's realm. “Is this your first time seeing kelpies?” I ask as we pass the tollhouse.
He doesn’t stray from me. In fact, he huddles ever closer as we approach the majestic creatures.
Luke’s brows gather. “They’re… monster horses from mythology. Of course I’ve never seen one. Are they not dangerous?”
Since he’s so interested in them, I don’t rush him to the carriage and indulge his curiosity.
“They are hardly a myth, if they brought us all the way here.”
“Where is here exactly?” Luke asks, and my tongue stiffens as I watch him while fog thickens around the stone bridge ahead.
Right. Back when I made the deal with him, I didn’t bother to take my time explaining what was going to happen in the future. I’m now paying for that mistake. “This is one of the few places where realms connect. One can pass through, provided the toll mistress allows it.”
“I’m guessing the prince gets to go where he wants?” Luke asks with a deep sigh, taking another step closer to the kelpies. Their shiny black coats drip with water, and when they shake their heads, seaweed is clearly visible in their manes.
My mouth quirks as I take his hand and lead him to the front of the carriage, so he can have a better look at the draft team. “I am the beneficiary of the toll, so yes. I can come and go as I please, though there are rules to it that even I am obliged to follow. As for the kelpies, you don’t need to be frightened. The males can be tamed, if one starts the training early enough. Besides, they’re under Drustan’s control,” I nod to my coachman. “He is a kelpie himself, but lives in this vaguely elven form, serving my family.”
Luke stares at Drustan’s blank face. His heartbeat quickens, I can sense it in his hand. “So if they’re tamed, can I… pet one?”
I grab the fingers of his other hand just as he’s about to put them on the kelpie’s mane, and I click my tongue. “Only with proper equipment. They’re very sticky, you see, and if their skin touches yours, it might take a while for us to free you,” I say and pull him against my chest. The fluffy top of his head tickles my chin, and my eyes close as I breathe in the earthy aroma clinging to his hair.