My car isn’t all that far away anymore, and very soon, I will be home, doomscrolling on my phone as I drink hibiscus tea until I forget all about this fuckery.
I walk faster with every step, painfully aware the stomping of my boots is loud in the empty expanse of the parking lot. Or I’m just overly sensitive to sounds because I’m terrified that I’m being tracked by a serial killer with a penchant for dramatic outfits.
I squeeze the knife, wondering if I would be able to protect myself with it if push comes to shove. And if Kyranis follows me or harasses me, should I attack before asking questions? Would that even be considered self-defense?
The squeak of the restaurant's door makes my blood cold, and I speed up, desperate to reach my vehicle before Kyranis can catch up to me.
“Luke! We made a deal!”
There it is. He won’t give it a rest. His voice has lost its charm and has become demanding.
What deal is he talking about?
I don’t know and I don’t care.
I break into a run, not bothering to check how far away he is, because each step might make a difference. I’ll be reporting this fucker as soon as I’m home. For now, I focus on reaching my car.
I’m panting out of fear, but a few steps later, my boots sink into mud—What mud? I’m on asphalt.
My eyes go wide, and I scream out when I notice that my shadow looks as if it’s boiling. Bubbles of darkness form within its borders, and I can no longer pull my foot up. Oh, how I regret that my boots are tied above my ankle, and I can’t just slip out of them.
I try anyway. Terrified, I scoot down to untie the laces, but the shadow is rising around me. Whenever the bubbles burst, they release little clouds of smoke, and I can only hold my breath for so long.
The scent overwhelms me with its dark sweetness. If there are flowers that only bloom at night, this must be how they smell—addictive and so rich it’s making my eyelids heavy.
I lose balance, and my knees drop onto the asphalt, which somehow feels velvet-soft.
The lazy clop of hooves behind me is the last thing I hear before falling face first into my own shadow.
Chapter 3
Luke
When I wake up, the rattle of carriage wheels resonates in my brain. Even before opening my eyes I’m painfully aware that what I experienced in the parking lot wasn’t a dream. But I’m still not sure what my new reality is as I look up to meet the eyes of the man who introduced himself as Prince but doesn’t act like one.
They’re a dark gray in the sparse light of the carriage. The red curtains are drawn, locking us in this casket, and the only illumination comes from an old-timey lamp. Or should I call it a candle, since that’s what it seems to be. Locked behind glass, the green flame is both unnerving because of its strangeness, and soothing because it means I can see my surroundings.
Kyranis is wearing a dark cloak with a fur trim and watches me as if I’m a bug he needs to keep under glass, not his dark-companion-to-be.
“You know lots of people will be looking for me, right?” I ask even though deep in my gut I know this is no normal abduction. He hasn’t bothered to tie my hands, as if he knows I’m not getting away so easily. “And there are several cameras in the restaurant and outside it, so costume or not, youwillbe tracked down. If you turn around now and let me go, I’ll tell the cops it was all an elaborate prank on your part and we can go our separate ways.”
Sadly, both the cameras and the people looking for me are a lie. I’ll be lucky if my mother starts worrying in three days.
Kyranis shakes his head, and a strand of that silky-looking hair slips out from under the hood. “I don’t think you understand your position. I was actually excited to come whiskyou away tonight, but you had to spoil it by lying to me and attempting to escape. We’re not off to a good start to our engagement, Luke.”
Engagement.
I can’t help it. I roll my eyes. “No shit. I don’t even see a ring on my fing—” I lift my hand to make my point, only to get flustered because my ring finger is adorned with an exquisite piece of jewelry.
Made of some kind of black metal, it sparkles in the green light with several tiny gems on its band. They could as well be diamonds. At the heart of the ring rests a large blue stone that seems to shimmer with my every move.
“It belonged to my mother,” Kyranis says in that smooth voice that is so infuriatingly beautiful. “The pattern on the band represents seaweed, and the jewel is a blue tear stone, a crystal found only at the bottom of the Sea of Sorrows.”
I’m struggling to take it all in. I’d throw the ring in his face if it wasn’t for the fact that I don’t know where we are, and a piece of jewelry can always make for a handy asset during my escape.
Because Iwillbe escaping.
“Is this a suggestion that our marriage will be a sea of sorrows?” I deadpan, glaring at him.
