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)
Luke slides his feet into a pair of slippers and rushes over to the cage where the critter that gave me away resides. It didn’t occur to me that someone would keep their pet bat in their bedroom. I loathe this creature that stood between myself and victory.
Kyran scowls and gestures toward me, as if I’m a stain on his carpet. “My wretched cousin, Sylvan, attempted to attack us in our sleep. I don’t know how he moved past the guards and sigils, but I will not just leave this!” He turns to me, and dark shadows dance in his gray eyes. “You know I have the right to kill you? The only reason you’re not dead yet is my husband’s sensibility.”
“It’s okay, Flap,” Luke says, pulling the bat out of its cage and hugging it like a child as it whimpers, pushing its ugly face against the human’s chest. In the long black nightshirt decorated with lace at the bottom, he is strangely reminiscent of a young parent tending to their child at night. The purple bat has a matching outfit.
His gaze lands on me, and even though there is no love between us, I do try to plead with my eyes. If only I can speak up before I lose my head, I’ll be able to at least try to convince them that they need to help me for their own benefit. Because I doubt they would do so out of the goodness of their hearts.
Luke glances at his husband as he strokes the bat’s fur, which peeks out from under the black costume it’s wearing. “Kyran, he looks… haggard.”
“Of course he does, my love. What else could we expect from a rat who illegally escaped banishment, murdered one of my grimsmiths, and now made an attempt on our lives?” Kyran says, pacing in front of me, as if he wants to flaunt how perfect of an example of a noble elf he is. “Perhaps you should return to bed? I will deal with him.”
Luke attempts to tidy up his brown-green hair. To no avail, as he has to hold the bat with one arm. “No, I need to know what’s going on. I know firsthand that Best Burgers Bonanza is a shitty place to work at, but is that worth dying over?”
Kyran shakes his head, and if glares could kill, I’d be dead. “Oh yes. He is that petty. He thinks that just because he found himself a powerful Dark Companion, he can come here to challenge me? Nobody can challenge me. I am the Lord of the Nocturne Court, Ruler of the Shadowild and Protector of the Nightmare Realm. I saved our shores only months back, while you ran, Sylvan.”
I mumble in denial, but it’s no use with the damn gag.
I despise Luke for the pity he exudes when he looks at me, but he is my only hope. Kyran’s so bull-headed, he’d sooner rip my head off than let me speak. So I stare at the human without blinking, and beg with my eyes. I don’t have any shame left.
Luke frowns and strokes Kyran’s arm. “Where is his Dark Companion then?”
Kyran stalls, capturing his husband’s gaze. His large, graceful hand finds the head of the bat and scratches it between the comically long ears. Doubts pass over the handsome features, but then the shadow tentacle retreats from my mouth.
“This might be your only chance to speak ever again, so answer my Companion.”
“I have found the Sunwolf Crown!” I blurt out immediately, because appealing to Kyran’s selfish interests has a chance to hook him so that I can plead my case.
Luke has no idea what this is about, but Kyran leans back, as if the beast were already coming for him. “Do you… have it?” he asks in a steady voice, then answers instead of letting me speak. “No, your Companion must have it. That was how you decided to ensure your safety in case something like this happened.”
The human pets the bat’s black wing when it whimpers again. “What is that? What crown?”
Kyran strokes his head, and I can’t help but miss Hawk’s touch when I see their easy affection. “I will explain it to you soon, my starshine. But I must know what is going on first.”
I take a deep breath. “My plans have long been thwarted, and none of them included your death. All I wanted was to return from banishment, and I thought I found a way to do so in a man with the most potent shadow I’ve ever seen. We stumbled on the Sunwolf Crown, and I wished to bring it to you as means of buying back my place at court. But in our travels through precarious swamps, my Companion put on the mask, as it was the only means to save us from death.”