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)
After a bit of hesitation, I wrap my arm around him and push my face between his furry pecs. “I’m just… a little overwhelmed with everything. But you make me feel safe, like you’re where I belong. You not only gave me so much pleasure of the flesh, but also a closeness of the souls unlike anything I have ever known.”
Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t cry.
Hawk grins and looks straight at me. “Aw, you’re so sweet. But give me time, and I’ll do my best to be the knight in shining armor you deserve. You do have knights in that other world, right?”
I snort, cuddled up under his arm. It’s like he brought the sunlight with him and I thought I hated it but melted anyway. “We do indeed have knights. Who knows, maybe with how strong and broad you are, you might become one someday.” I imagine him as my personal guard, and my stomach flutters with excitement. It’s too soon to think so far into the future, I know. Still, I see him at my side at court, and while his size would only emphasize how small I am, I love imagining how impressive he’d be in armor. The first human guard at the Nocturne Court? I’d have to check the history records to make sure that’s the case.
Hawk hums and kisses my forehead with a silly smile. “You may call me Sir Hawk.”
I can be soft with him, and it’s so new I’m still adjusting to it. I let the tendrils of shadow slide over his back, then all the way to his neck and cheek. I don’t feel his skin through them, but I can sense the touch.
“And are you ready to serve the Goldweed cause?” I kiss his hairy pec with a smile.
Gasping, he nudges the shadow tendrils with his finger, and smiles when they wrap around the digit like a baby’s hand. “As long as that doesn’t make me the villain. Kinda like the idea of being the good guy for once,” he says, winking at me.
I look up at him with my most innocent expression. “Do I look like the ‘bad guy’?”
Hawk stalls, his mouth falling open as if he’s gotten lost in my eyes. “Damn, I think I would have burned cities to the ground if you looked at me like that,” he mumbles and leans forward, pressing his mouth to the little shadow tentacle I created. “You said you were banished? I assume you did something people didn’t like.”
I groan, pushing one shadow tendril behind his ear to stroke him. “I may have taken part in an assassination plot against our Lord. Though, in fairness, at that point he was still a prince, and my intentions were noble. Me and my family, we considered him a rake, a wastrel, and someone who would doom us all if he gained the position of supreme power. And the plot wasn’t even my idea.” I had a better one, that would have most likely succeeded, but maybe I don’t want Hawk to know that about me just yet. “My involvement wouldn’t have been revealed if it wasn’t for my sister’s diaries. A farce really.”
Hawk frowns. “So you, like… committed treason.”
“Well, we all make mistakes in life, do we not? I do not wish to kill him anymore. That does have to count for something, right? I reluctantly admit he will make a fine ruler, and all I want is to get back into his good graces so I can return to my rightful position at the Nocturne Court. Now, with a Dark Companion.” I kiss him under the collar bone.
Hawk clears his throat, and while I understand his hesitation, he must get on board with my plan or everything will be lost. “And you think he’ll just forgive you? Is that possible?”
“I was but a marginal part of my family’s plan. And when our cousin got seriously hurt during the assassination attempt, I saved his life. This is why I was banished rather than executed, and not even permanently. I’m sure when the Lord sees us together, me as the master of your shadow, he will see the value of keeping us around.”
Clearing his throat, Hawk lets his gaze wander down my chest. “So… what will be my role in this? You connected our shadows. What now?”
I pull on the thread of shadow that connects us and show it to him with a wondrous sigh. “This means you are meant for me. My promised. We’re only hours away from the full moon in the Nightmare Realm, so as soon as we’re there, we will make our vows, and you will forever become my Dark Companion. Then, I will be able to wield your powerful shadow and not be forever doomed with my own, which is like clouds where yours is obsidian. To say I cannot wait to feel that force within me is an understatement.”