But while I’m trying to reason with this man… this Prince of Darkness with magical shadow powers, I know it’s a lost cause. He brought me here, and no one can save me anymore.
“I can and I will. It’s best if you understand this now. It shall save you a lot of heartache,” Kyranis tells me but doesn’t come any closer and frowns, taking me in with a mysterious expression. Does he feel hate? Disgust? Self-satisfaction? I can’t tell.
And I also don’t know what becoming this Dark Companion entails other than handing over my shadow, which in theory doesn’t sound frightening at all. But getting lost in ‘shadowild’ for all eternity? Well, I definitely have objections tothat.
Am I expected to have sex with him? It’s not like we can have shadow babies or whatever—or can we? My mind goes in directions I’d rather not explore, but it’s too late. My panic reaches its crescendo.
I throw the brush at his face, grab one of the embroidered pillows, and then throw that for good measure, then follow that with throwing… myself at him. My cloak slides to the floor, but my only focus is the key he put in his pocket.
Just as I reach for my prize, weightless black tentacles climb my body and stiffen around my limbs, keeping me in place. With my heart in my throat, I look down to see a thick matte vine wrapped around my midsection and my legs. It emerges from the floor, where Kyranis’s shadow touches the tips of my boots.
The Prince of Darkness is no longer smiling and instead watches me with a somber expression. “Why are you struggling? I don’t intend tohurt you.”
My breath becomes ragged, but I’m too afraid to move even if my hand could reach him. Against all my resolve, my lips tremble and my eyes itch. I don’t blink, hoping to keep the tears at bay. My attempts are futile.
“You abducted me, you psycho!” I choke out, and a few tears streak down my cheeks when I lose my cool.
Who am I kidding? I never had any cool to begin with.
Kyranis’s shoulders drop as he comes closer and slides the back of his hand against my damp cheek. His eyes are so deep, like two clouds of smoke looming at the bottom of a well, and I am suddenly so afraid of falling in.
“You wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for me. We made a bargain, and you no longer have a choice. You became mine when I threaded my shadow to yours. You are my crown.”
I swallow and glance down to the thick shadow tentacle wrapped around my waist. I don’t stand a chance. His face has a green sheen to it from the many lamps scattered both inside the cage and in the little space outside it.
If this place is real, and it is, then he’s right. He did save my life. I didn’t just swallow lots of pills. I cut my wrists, died, and he gave me my life back.
Yet now he’s taking it.
“It hurts,” I complain when the shadow slides higher up my back, ripping what’s left of my uniform.
“You’re struggling too much. Why is it that you want to escape me this badly? Is your life so enviable that you don’t want all this and the attention of countless servants?” Kyranis asks, gesturing at the fine interior decorated with the opulence of a baroque palace. The columns holding up the canopy over a bed the size of the room I occupy at Mom’s home are shaped like beautiful men and women in armor, the ceiling is covered with carved wooden panels, and the walls painted with an artistic depiction of sea creatures and mythological beasts, all in a lush gothic style I’ve only seen in fantasy illustrations.
I do love the stylistic choices here, but that’s beside the point.
“This is, literally, a gilded cage,” I say, fighting a sob rising in my chest, but Kyranis cups my face and wipes tears off my cheeks. His hands are big and pleasantly smooth. I can’t help but see them as comfort, even though his gestures feel a little patronizing.
“My throne won’t be secured until we’re wed. The bars are for your safety.”
I glance at the silver door of my prison with a frown. “Are… are you saying someone could try to kill me?” Suddenly, Kyranis’s presence isn’t so unwelcome anymore. Then again, this could be a lie meant to keep me in line.
He nods. “But don’t be afraid. I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen. My future is tied to your life,” he says as the shadow tentacles loosen their hold on me.
I’m left standing on my own, and now I kind of miss being held. Even if it hurt where they dug into my back, at least I felt… secured.
“And that happens tomorrow? Our bond?” I whisper, unable to look into his eyes. My dating life consists of hookups. And now I’m supposed to getmarried?
Kyranis opens his mouth, but then his gaze slides down to my chest, and he sighs. “How about I tell you more as I clean those cuts? It would be a shame for such beautiful skin to scar.”
I glance at the few cuts at the front of my polo shirt with a sigh. Me? Beautiful? I’m a strong six in Maine,ifyou’re into goths. And yet my toes curl in my boots where he can’t see them, because Kyranis is most definitely next-level gorgeous and knows it. But I appreciate the flattery nevertheless.
“I’d like to know more, please.” I take a deep breath and wipe away any remaining tears as he leads me to the bathroom.
What I didn’t have the time to take in, is the sheer scale of this interior.
It’s bigger than my mom’s living room, with a massive stained glass window that fills the space with a blueish glow. The green carpet feels soft under my feet, and the tub is a massive spiral seashell tugged by a horse with the hindquarters of a fish. A merhorse? Just like the one in the prince’s crest. Polished to perfection, the pale figure is frozen mid-stride, with its mouth wide.
“I have just the thing for those wounds,” Kyranis tells me, approaching a black cabinet on dainty legs.
