Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 140462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 702(@200wpm)___ 562(@250wpm)___ 468(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 702(@200wpm)___ 562(@250wpm)___ 468(@300wpm)
I sigh and lean my head against the wall. “I just wanted to let go and be happy at our wedding celebration. I never really drank before, so I thought I was having a reasonable amount.”
He frowns, watching me while the frogs and insects grow ever louder, as if they were warning each other about the upcoming night.
“Are you… a minor here?”
“A minor… what?” I ask, unsure about the change in conversation direction when even talking about the weather feels like a strain on my mind.
Hawk clears his throat and takes a lungful of the cool, root-scented air. “Since elves live so long… are you still too young to have alcohol?”
I groan. Not this again. “No, but I was advised by my mother that because of my stature, it could have an adverse effect, and that I would make a fool of myself. Guess she was right.”
Hawk exhales, and I shudder, because it’s difficult not to interpret the sound as agreement. “You should start slow and get used to it gradually. But I get it, that milky booze was very tasty.”
But something else is on my mind when I notice that one of his fingers is red and swelling. “What happened?” I grab his hand to examine it.
“It’s broken,” he says, flinching when I prod the flesh. “Fenren helped me push the bone in place, but now it’ll take time to heal. Maybe I should find a stick to keep it safe?”
“One of my books features a great recipe for—” I stall, only to shoot to my feet so fast the world spins around me. At least I might be done emptying my stomach for now. “My books! We left everything at the inn, even the m—”
Relief covers me like a warm blanket when Hawk pulls my hand to his chest and I sense the Sunwolf Crown under his coat. “Figured I better keep it on me, since it’s so important,” he says before once again obscuring it with the blanket.
I lean in to hug him, so happy I could cry. I might be able to still recover some of my items from Fenren, but losing the mask would have been a disaster. Our future at court hinges on it just as much as it does on Hawk’s bottomless shadow.
“I love you so much right now.”
He remains quiet as Fenren bursts out of the cabin and cups his hands at his mouth before releasing a strange cry. I’ve seen something similar done during royal hunts, when beast masters imitate the calls of creatures the party is after, but surely, that cannot be Fenren’s goal?
A series of taps resonates over the water in response, and his body language relaxes. “She’s here,” he says and gestures at us to follow him inside. “Come, I brewed some tea.”
Hawk is stiff in my embrace and is quick to untangle himself from it. Did I… do something? I don’t want to ask with Fenren within earshot, so I turn to greet Ivy, who emerges from a nearby thatch of bushes in the same dress she wore at the reception, though right now the lush skirt has transformed into pants with the help of a long cord and some knots.
“Uh, finally!” she groans and stretches her back. “I’ve had to hide inside a barrel for two hours!”
“Is your wife coming with us?” I ask, getting to my toes to see if she has company.
“My wif—” Ivy’s face twists into a scowl. “I really don’t have the patience to play this game anymore. There is no wife. I just wanted you to go through with the wedding.”
Hawk’s presence next to me feels even colder.
I look up at him in panic. “I was not reconsidering it!” But then I turn back to Ivy, crossing my arms on my chest. “How could you have lied in such a perfidious way?”
She rolls her eyes, joining us on the porch. “Oh, please, like it actually matters to you whether I’m happily married or not.”
My ears heat up and twitch. “That’s not the point!”
“I think I’ll stay outside for a bit longer. Really need more air after… all that happened,” Hawk says and steps away from the hut just as Ivy enters it, leaving both of us outside.
Something’s not right, and, like the research-driven person I am, I will find out what. “I will join you two later as well,” I say, but Ivy shuts the door in my face before I even finish speaking. I clear my throat and turn to my husband. “I hope the Nightmare Realm has not proven overwhelming?” I ask, following Hawk down a short pier and leaning against the banister next to him.
The expanse of swampland in front of us is new to me, even though I’ve read about it and can name every frog, insect, or plant thriving in this environment. I both dread the beasts lurking beneath the surface of the dark water, and wish to touch every flower I can spot, just to learn its texture. There is lots of beauty in those marshes, especially now, with the moon halfway gone beyond the trees, but areas like this are considered dangerous, and no royal in their right mind would risk their life venturing into such treacherous terrain.