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)
He makes the tiniest whimper and squeezes my hands. I swear his eyes are glossing over. And when he opens his mouth to speak, he doesn’t seem able to choke out even one word.
That makes me frown. “Sylvan? Did something happen? Do I need to rearrange someone’s face?”
“No, I just… I cannot wait a minute longer. And in fact, I do not wish to wait until after the reception, as is the usual way. I can’t bear that you are not yet mine. So much can happen in a few hours, and if you were to be taken from me because I am unable to protect you, I would never forgive myself.”
I stall, still on my knee before him as he trembles with emotion, fighting tears, as if I were a piece of jewelry anyone could just snatch off the counter. Thinking about it makes me smile, but then I remember the strange pull I felt when the grimsmith tied our shadows, and it sinks in that Sylvan’s fears are in fact very real.
“You want to… skip the party?”
“No, I wish for us to make our vows now. I want you to become my Dark Companion, and for our hearts to be forever tied. I don’t care for tradition, for what others may think of me, or that this moon is fake.” He points to the large lamp above us, which imitates a moon glowing red. “The one outside is very real, full, and it will bless our bond whenever we choose to make it.”
My heart flutters in a way it hasn’t since the day I chose to kill for a man I thought I loved. That decision proved disastrous. I lost my freedom and found out he’s been manipulating me all along. But Sylvan? He’s wearing his heart on his sleeve, and I love that about him.
With elation radiating inside me, I pluck the titanium ring out of my pocket and show it to my fiancé. It’s a trinket, really, studded with crystals. I don’t think they’re precious gems, but what do I know? One is clear and sparkly, one is red and one is blue. I stole it from Tassarion’s workshop, and while that bastard earned everything he got, I have to admit that he had talent for this metalsmithing thing.
“Do you know what this tradition means in my world?” I ask, pushing it on Sylvan’s ring finger. I frown when it proves way too loose on his dainty hand, but such things can be corrected in the future.
His pale face flushes. “My apologies, I am not sure.”
I... did not expect that response, but I can work with it. Worse hurdles have been thrown my way in the past, so I smile, rub my face against his palm, and kiss it. “Marry me, Sylvan Goldweed. Now.”
Sylvan brightens with a smile so wide and so joyful, my heart leaps. He’s a beautiful elven prince, and he wants me. “And this ring means that?” He looks at the trinket on his finger, amazed as if I gave him a star from the sky.
“If you accept it, it means you agree,” I say and rise to my feet, already knowing his answer. He wouldn’t be here if he didn’t want me. He wouldn’t risk everything for me, nor kill for me, yet here we are. Still, I add, “please.”
“I will. I do. I accept it,” he says, as if he expects me to take back my offer if he doesn’t take it fast enough. He’s glowing when he stands on his toes and pulls me down by my elaborate cravat for a kiss. His lips are so soft, so welcoming, and he said yes to my proposal. I knew my suffering would eventually lead me somewhere good. Even in my darkest moments, I’ve never lost hope and it’s why I crawled out of that river in what I thought was a dream. I could have given in to despair and let the current take me, but deep in my gut, I knew there was more for me.
And here it is, in my arms, and it has the form of the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen.
“Then let’s do it,” I urge him. “Let’s marry now!”
There are whole galaxies in his eyes, and each time I peek into them, the need to take a leap of faith becomes more insistent. I don't think I’ve ever wanted anything this much.
Sylvan slips out of my grasp, and I already miss his fresh smell, his warmth. Determination and focus are back on his face as he looks around. “Yes. All you truly need to do once I cover us with my shadow, is vow that you are mine, body, soul, and shadow. And mean it. But!” He raises his finger when I’m about to say these magic words, because fuck yes, I can say it and mean it. This tiny cutie owns me already, even if it’s him who’s mine in the sheets. “Bear with me a second, I want to do things right. Or as right as possible,” he adds, exasperated, when he plucks a big red rose out of a lush bouquet on a side table. “Tradition dictates the rose should be of the midnight blue variety, but this will do.”