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)
Woven of dark silver, its band resembles seaweed, and simple antlers grow out of it, bejeweled with blue and green stones. A symbolic reminder that he is master of both the forest and the sea.
But he is also the master of my heart.
On a balcony above, musicians play a soft background melody as we parade across the dining room I haven’t before seen and finally stand in front of our seats as the courtiers follow our example and join us at the table. Tristan sits close by, alongside his parents, sister, and a handsome brunet I’m not familiar with. When he squeezes Sabine’s hand and nods my way, it becomes clear that the elusive husband I’ve heard so much about has returned to the palace for the wedding. The Goldweeds sit right across from them, and farther away are other prominent guests, who all raise their drinks as I too am given a glass with the thick, white liquid.
The music reaches a sudden crescendo, only to die down as Kyran entwines our fingers. He takes his time to speak up, and for a moment I worry he might be too nervous, but when he opens his mouth, his voice is as confident as ever.
“Dear friends, thank you for joining us on this special day. After seven long years, we will once again welcome Dark Companions at court. My marriage to Luke Moor will also officially inaugurate my reign.” He bows to me so elegantly I lose my breath. “Let us hope for an uninterrupted century, and for Heartbreak to never make it to our shores.” When Kyran raises his glass, so does everyone else, and I take that as my cue.
“To my Dark Companion! To Luke Moor!”
“To Luke!” All the elves roar, and I catch myself saying it too, which is stupid, because I’m toasting myself, but I hope no one noticed and quickly sip from my cold chalice—
I frown at Kyran. “Is this…?” It tastes exactly like a malted vanilla milkshake from Best Burger Bonanza. When servants reach for the silver food domes and uncover platters of burgers and fries, I’m on the verge of sobbing. Not just because I have been missing familiar flavors, but because I mentioned it to Kyran, and once again he moved heaven and earth to make me happy. I don’t deserve him, but I will take him anyway.
I get to my toes, kissing my prince while Reiner explains the food to excited courtiers. A cheeseburger lands on my plate, and I wish I could eat it off Kyran’s bare chest.
The other servants serve fries in elegant bowls and instruct the guests about the choice of adding salt or ketchup, or both. One pronounces it “ke-chip” and I snort with laughter, so happy my heart is overflowing.
Sabine is so excited to taste the human food that she gets up despite her husband offering to help. They’re all dressed in Bloodweed black and carmine which looks exquisite in the red light of the blood moon.
Tristan toasts to me with the milkshake, stuffing his mouth with fries and demanding more from a server already. I’m so glad to see him alive and kicking. For saving Kyran’s life, he deserves burgers with extra pickles every day.
“How did you get all of this here?” I whisper to Kyran, chewing patty with a groan of satisfaction.
“It’s my little secret,” he tells me, biting a fry I put against his lips. “But I might show you after our wedding night.”
We’ve had sex countless times already, yet the thrill of getting to go down on him when he’s already my husband makes my balls throb with excitement. I want to be his, and no longer need to hide how close we are.
“Sabine wrote me so much about you,” her husband says, watching me with the eyes of a doe. He seems too young to be a father, but he is an elf and therefore could easily be two hundred years old.
Sabine chuckles and gives him a peck on the cheek before meeting my gaze, clearly flustered. “Andros and I bonded over a treatise on what humans call religion. His mother spent a whole year in this place called Greece,” she tells me as if it were a fantastical land of flying horses and gods, not a country like many others.
“That’s where she met my father, actually,” he adds with pride.
I lean closer, and when a drop of sauce is about to drip from my burger and onto my breeches, Reiner is there to catch it in a napkin. I’m a little embarrassed but pretend it didn’t happen, only thanking Reiner in a whisper before turning back to the Bloodweeds.
“Are you saying your father is human?”
“Yes, he lives in the capital and would love to meet you one day. I love the names you helped us pick!” Andros says, all excited, and now that he said his father is Greek, I can kind of see it in his darker complexion and black hair. “Nathan or Natalie. Simply glorious.”