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)
I laugh incredulously. What I couldn’t put my finger on now makes sense. “You’re from… the fifties.” It’s more of a statement than a question as I think of her language and mannerisms. She’s like those people who go to live abroad and still use the slang they grew up with, because they're detached from their homeland.
My heart beats faster when I realize what all of this means. I avoided thinking about me aging while Kyran always remained his perfect self because it was too frightening and gave me stomach cramps. I didn’t want to ponder such a distant future at the point when even next month seemed so elusive.
Now I think of all the portraits of Dark Companions I’ve seen. It made sense to me that they would be made when the human first arrived, to avoid the sad reality of them withering away next to their elven partners. That might not have been the case.
I could stay forever young and share a long existence with the man of my dreams, who happens to be a literal prince.
How is this my reality?
Unaware of the tumultuous thoughts in my head, Carol goes on, “Yes, well, I do miss the food, and the colors, but it is a small price to pay, really. If I stayed, I’d have married my fiancé and maybe never even discovered that I don’t like men that way. Here, people like us can be free to love. I saw the way you danced with the prince at the festival. It was quite beautiful.”
I’m suddenly so moved, I have to squeeze her hand, and she lets me. “I’m so happy for you. Things are… much better now, but nothing like here, in the Nightmare Realm. Ironic name really, since I’ve not had a… good time in our world. I want to stay here, with the prince.”
She smiles and leans in, pulling me into a quick hug. “If you two belong together, you will be so happy. I never knew a bond like this before I became my wife's Dark Companion. She’s always aware of where I am, and I feel her care even now. Just the tiniest impulse through our bond.” She laughs and waves it off. “Oh, look at me, swooning like I’m fifteen again!”
I shake my head, swallowing the last piece of delicious pie. It feels like the stars are aligning. I let her tell me more about Lady Guinevere, but then it’s her turn to ask questions, and we spend some time with me explaining what the internet is (I still don’t think she gets it), and that my green hair and black nail polish aren’t ‘the fashion’ now.
I don’t want Kyran waiting too long, and I will see Carol after the wedding anyway, so I help her pack up the picnic and snort when she happily says, “See you later, alligator!” when leaving through a narrow passage. I don’t have the heart to tell her how old-fashioned that saying feels to me.
Once she’s gone, I try to sneak up on Kyran and find him sitting on a rock, whispering something to Count Flapula.
“Boo!” I yell, pouncing him from the back and wrapping my arms around his neck.
Kyran shakes his head, unaffected. “I would have heard you from miles away. I will teach you how to muffle the sound of your steps with soft shadows.”
I groan but only hug him tighter. “Thank you. I got more out of talking with Carol than I imagined I would.”
“Yes? Did she convince you I will not chop off your limbs and keep you in a cage just for your shadow?”
I frown. “That was… surprisingly gruesome.” Sometimes I forget I’m talking to an elf with a long history of violence painted on his skin with eels.
Kyran looks back and grins at me before bumping our foreheads together. “Is it hot though?”
I snort and kiss him. “A little. Maybe apart from the no arms and legs part. But the idea of being your prisoner is growing on me.” Now that I don’t consider myself one.
“Is it really?” he asks, rising to his feet, until he towers over me like a massive statue. “Should I put a little golden cuff on your wrist?”
I kinda like that I have to get to my toes to kiss him. “I wouldn’t mind if you had it engraved with your crest.” I may be a bit woozy with love, but I’ve evaded my feelings for so long I can hardly be blamed for being swept up in them now.
Kyran’s eyes grow darker, and he pets Flap’s head with a raspy grunt. “If we weren’t here with this unruly baby—”
I sigh at this callback to reality. This is why we came down here. To let him go.
“I know, I know…” I pick Count Flapula out of Kyran’s arms and give his fluffy purple forehead a kiss. “Time for you to spread your wings, my child.” I laugh despite feeling like crying. I put him on the rock next to us, so he knows he’s free, and wait for him to move. We won’t leave until I’m sure he flies with ease.