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)
“Yes, we do have cows, not whatever this horror is.”
They’re black, and their fur is so matte it sucks in any moonlight that falls on them, and their horns are bigger than those of a massive Texas longhorn.
Kyran laughs. “They’re mostly harmless.”
This doesn’t put me at ease at all. “‘Mostly’?”
“Well, it is calfing season...”
I take a deep breath and push forward in the saddle when I realize how silly I’m being. “Their size is unreasonable. And what’s with the glowing red eyes? Are they not creepy enough? When we get back home, I will draw you a cow. And a human next to it to show you how big it should be.” I shake my head, never taking my eyes off the monstrous bovines.
Kyran laughs, an easy, sweet sound that wanders down my back as if he’s just covered me with a plush blanket. “Please, do. Next you’ll tell me their milk should be white.”
I shake my head, but his relaxed attitude puts me at ease. “Well, it should, but now that I’ve seen these ‘cows’, I’m no longer surprised about the milk being black.” I’m ranting, but the truth is, all of this is so exciting to me. Creatures I couldn’t even dream up, a handsome Prince of Darkness, we’re riding a kelpie with a skull for a head, and the strange massive moon shines above us. All of this is so removed from the reality in which I’m flipping burgers, saving a few bucks a month, and sucking mediocre Grindr dick.
Why would I ever go back to my cramped attic room in the house of a mother who never wanted me?
Kyran’s amused and kisses my neck as we pass the cows, descending toward the bright lights of the settlement. “That being said, you should never approach a beast you don’t recognize. Even a little bat could pose a threat, and you wouldn’t know.”
“Like the tooth moths.” I nod and sigh, remembering my near-death experience in the forest. “It seemed so interesting and friendly. I wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt. Not everything that frightens you is actually a threat…” I arch back enough to give his jaw a kiss. Okay, so I may have a little crush on him. Sue me.
He drops the reins and wraps his arms around me, as if he had a sudden need to hold me close. “This worries me. My mother would tell me the same thing. And now she’s gone,” he says in a dull voice.
My heart sinks. “What happened to her?” I ask quietly, unsure if it’s even appropriate to ask. I heard she was killed by despairs, but without any details. I don’t really have many friends, and I learned to be guarded to survive so it’s unnerving to step into such painful territory with someone. It’s intimate in ways I never experienced.
Kyran cocks his head until his cheek rests on my shoulder, and he strokes my forearm, as if seeking my touch. I entwine our fingers, but my heart quickens to a nervous rhythm.
“First, I have to explain to you more about her. My mother felt beasts could be tamed. She was the one to bring the kelpies to court. When someone found a kelpie baby on the beach, she took him in. Kelpies can shape-shift, but it becomes harder as they grow, so she had a collar fashioned, to let him remain in elf form. That’s how Drustan became part of our household, and over time, he lured in more young kelpies from the sea. But I think my mother grew too bold.”
“What do you mean? Did she not have guards with her?” I ask, stroking Kyran’s hand with my thumb. Crab seems to know where he’s going without being urged with reins, so we’re free to just hug as we watch the world pass by.
“She was extremely capable at shadowcraft, and confident about it too. At some point, she started theorizing that there might be a different, more permanent way of dealing with Heartbreak. For some reason, she decided that it might be tamed. She wanted to start with the despairs but ended up attacked by a large group she couldn’t fend off. By the time she was found, there was nothing anyone could do to save her. I didn’t even get to be at the funeral. It was too big of a risk.”
My heart breaks for him, and I squeeze his hand. “I’m so sorry. You deserved so much better. How old were you when that happened?”
I feel Kyran’s chest expand, and he holds me more firmly, as if he’s worried the despairs could get me next. “I was ten. Nobody ever visited me in the shadowild after that.”
It’s like a stab in my chest, even though it’s him who went through years of entrapment, pulled out only for training as if he were some beast. I can’t imagine how that must have affected him, yet I’m also not surprised that his palace in the shadowild is so intricate, because he must have had more time to craft it than he knew what to do with.