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)
The elves gathered around us do their best to stay quiet, and a soft cough coming from the corner cannot spoil this moment for either of us. Fenren leads the way, but the long, confident strides my beloved takes prove how badly he wants to join me.
A breeze that must have entered through an open window carries his earthy scent toward me, and I take a lungful of it, no longer nervous or plagued by doubt. When Hawk is close enough for me to see his handsome features in the glow of the single candle I’m holding, Fenren pulls off his blindfold.
My face will be the first thing he sees, because I am his flame in the night. His protector. His guardian in the Nightmare Realm. No one needs to know it’s Hawk who lights up my sky when our eyes meet.
Hawk smiles, and so do I as our hands entwine in front of all those strangers. I regret my Companion won’t get the pomp of a court wedding, with a lush ball to celebrate our union. He is the best thing that’s ever happened to me and deserves to be presented as the jewel he is, clad in the fine moth robes customarily worn by Dark Companions during a royal wedding.
But my Hawk is no dainty moth. He’s a bull. Affectionate yet powerful, and delicate fabrics and bejeweled wings wouldn’t suit him. I don’t need him to fit the mold of the many Dark Companions who came before him when he is perfect just the way he is.
As we stand under the antler chandelier, it’s clear to me that such trivialities don’t matter. He and I have bonded for life, and nothing can come between us.
The flame balancing at the tip of my candle turns his eyes into pools of gold, adding warmth to their usual green.
“Let me lead you through the dark,” I whisper the words a royal would say to their promised during the ceremony. No one needs to know that we’ve already made our bond with the Moon as our witness. My heart is suddenly so full I have to hold back tears.
Hawk swallows, and I see the muscles of his jaw twitch as he watches me with eyes so soulful I can’t understand why I initially rejected him. Our meeting was written in the stars, and I have almost missed a connection so powerful and deep his presence takes my breath away. When Hawk blows out the candle, symbolically confirming his trust in me, I close my eyes and smell the burning wax, joyful about the many days and nights we shall have together.
Swamplights come to life all around us, and several dozen elves erupt with loud cheers while tavern servers appear with huge trays full of drinks and snacks. Our guests are more interested in free food than our happiness, but I can’t hold that against them, because all the pats Hawk is receiving make his smile grow ever wider.
I was never fond of all attention being on me, so I’m glad Hawk is such a beacon for wide-eyed elves. Most of those gathered have probably seen a human or two, since I’ve got no doubt lots of them work with Fenren, but Hawk is truly something else.
So tall he has to watch his head constantly, wide in the shoulders, and handsome, he’s like a warrior from ancient ballads. He’s the kind of man you’d imagine capable of slaying a leviathan with his bare hands, or wielding the Frostblade, which hasn’t even been picked up in centuries, let alone used.
I’m so proud to call him my Dark Companion.
“I bet you’re hungry,” I say, squeezing his hand and pulling him toward the overflowing buffet set up in the corner. It features a whole roasted Goldbeak as the centerpiece, and while I already know I won’t be eating many of the foods on offer, the sight of its crispy skin makes my mouth water. Maybe back when I still lived at the Nocturne Court, I would have seen the food here as plebeian, but after long weeks in the world of humans and eating soft bread for almost every meal, the offerings laid out in front of me are a feast for the ages. No wonder the sight of all the rolls, roasted meats, cheeses, and mushroom dishes is making Hawk’s eyes shine.
“Wow. Yes. I am extra hungry, with a side of hungry,” he says and frowns, picking up an open sand clam, dusted with salt and the bright green shassel powder. “What is that?”
I explain to him how to eat it and wonder whether I should wait for someone to serve me the meat, but as the crispy skin starts to disappear on people’s plates, I join in the uncouth ritual of ripping some off.
I’m very aware of people stealing glances at me or outright staring. I have been humbled by my experience in the human world and don’t feel as out of place in this tavern as I would have before my banishment. After all, am I not also a criminal as no doubt many of the elves here are? We might not be exactly the same, since I am no ordinary cutthroat, but I do feel a certain camaraderie with those people.