Total pages in book: 207
Estimated words: 196971 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 985(@200wpm)___ 788(@250wpm)___ 657(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 196971 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 985(@200wpm)___ 788(@250wpm)___ 657(@300wpm)
"I offered to visit you upon your arrival in the kingdom," he reminded her, "and you said - admittedly in more polite terms - that it is best I do not bother."
"Because I was not yet prepared to meet you," Rhapsody explained matter-of-factly. "I did not, however, realize it would make milord think I hold you in dislike. That has never been the case..." She saw the look of skepticism on the marquis' face and struggled to find the right words to say. "The idea of you, milord...made me feel what I believe is called...a mixed bag. And now that you have unexpectedly appeared before me, I feel even more conflicted. Truth be told, milord, the number of emotions I have to concurrently process is...overwhelming."
"I am...sorry to hear that." It was all Mihail could think of saying, struggling as he was not to succumb to an improper urge to smile at the rather clinical manner in which she spoke. In order for both of them to regain their respective composures, he simply let time pass and turned his attention to their surroundings.
At the back of him was the graveyard with its stony population of angels and gargoyles, and behind Rhapsody the crooked, leafless trees of Amstel Woods, swaying to the beat of a chilly autumn wind. Put together, it painted a landscape of eerie Gothic beauty...and one perfectly fitting for his hauntingly lovely pet, whose countenance was no longer as ghostly as earlier.
Satisfied at what he saw, he nevertheless sought her confirmation, asking politely, "You are feeling better, milady?"
The question had his pet's lips pursing in response, and he could almost see her going through a mental checklist to examine if she was indeed feeling better.
After a while, his pet lifted her gaze back to his and nodded. "I am indeed feeling better."
"That's good to hear," he murmured.
And then it was just silence between them, and although he had yet to drink her blood in order to read her thoughts, at that exact moment, it didn't even seem necessary. He simply looked at her, his pet and heartkeeper, and she looked at him, her Master, and somehow...it was the exact same memories that drifted to their minds.
Mr. Booth says I must practice expressing my affection, she had once written to him. Do you reckon I succeeded?
And to which he remembered wasting several sheets of paper until he found the right words that did not cross the lines of deception. While I wish to always take your side on all matters, heartkeeping also forbids me to speak any untruth.
He had hoped that would have been the end of it, but instead she had quickly sent her reply back. It did not escape my notice that you did not actually answer my question.
The memory made his lips twitch, and before him, he saw his pet's lips curve ever so slightly.
Her first smile, the marquis found himself thinking, and the sight was as heavenly as it was earthly, as precious as it was forbidden.
"How is this happening, milord?" his pet suddenly asked.
"This?"
"The two of us thinking the same thing and knowing that it is so."
"I truly do not know." Mihail was not lying. "Heartkeeping still remains a mystery to most of us."
"It's strange," Rhapsody murmured. "It is our first time to see each other, but it does not feel that way. It is as if my soul...knows you."
And the fact that she could say such a thing without feeling frightened...well, that was probably also the strange magic of heartkeeping at work, too.
Generations of otherworlders had often likened him to the Grim Reaper (or as the the scythe-holding immortal was known in their ancient circles, the fallen angel Azrael). Of all the Galeré, Mihail was said to be the fiercest and most intimidating. He was not princely and elegant like Silviu, not wicked and charming like Ilie, or gentle and kind like Adrijan. Women wanted him as a lover, even a Master, but as a husband who would be by their side every moment of their lives?
The idea had always been too daunting for the kingdom's womenfolk, and yet here his pet was, claiming with utter sincerity that her soul soul knew his.
"Are you not afraid of me at all?" Mihail questioned.
Rhapsody shook her head. "Should I be?"
"Extremely so," he answered without hesitation.
"But I am not."
"Obviously."
"Maybe it's because I'm not normal?"
The marquis rejected the answer outright, saying decisively, "It's not that."
"Then?"
Naivë as fuck, Mihail thought. She was too innocent to even realize she should be scared of him, and it had the marquis wondering what other things his dark-haired temptation of a pet could be just as naivë about. A thought nagged him then. There was something else he should be talking to her about, something that had greatly angered him—-
"Master..."
His blood heated. There was something bewitchingly provocative in the way she said the word, and he fucking loved the way her tone lowered ever so becomingly whenever she called him that.