“They say he lavishes you with attention even when there’s nobody to see,” she says and wags her finger in mock-disapproval. “And you aren’t even married yet.”
I smile, avoiding her penetrating black gaze. “If no one can see, how would they know? I assume the prince is charming toward anyone.” Unless he’s about to kill them.
“He definitely can be. He’s a man who likes to spread his charm around,” she tells me, and as she leans back, the tightly laced dress wraps itself even closer around her waist.
If I were anywhere near bisexuality, I’d probably be whimpering ‘mommy?’ by now.
The idea of Kyran“spreading”his charm takes me aback for half a second. Not because I’m a stranger to slutting around, but because he seems so focused on me. I don’t think he’d have the time for anyone else. Of course, Kyran is not the same person asKyranis. My Kyran was a very horny virgin, but definitely not the rake this lady is acquainted with.
“I don’t think it would be appropriate while he courts his promised,” I say, even though I have no idea what the rules around that are. What if the elf courting their future Dark Companion was already married? After all, it was made clear to me that not all Companions have romantic or sexual relationships with the people to whom they traded their shadow.
She hides her mouth, but I still spot her initial, uninhibited reaction, a surprised smile, as if she sees me as painfully naive. “I’m just… surprised that you’re a man. That’s not his usual repertoire. Is he…enthusiasticin his courting?” she asks, no doubt wanting to find out if she’s been dumped without a word. Can’t fault a lady for wanting to know where she stands.
How can I milk the conversation for the information I want? She’s been around Kyranis and his family before. While she doesn’t look a day over twenty-five, for all I know, she could havebeen born earlier than Kyran’s parents.
I glance up at her, pretending I have no idea what she’s talking about. I can only hope no bites are visible on my neck from under the high collar of my shirt. “Veryenthusiastic. He brings me flowers, we eat together every day, and he indulges my new pet.” I point to Flap when he decides to peek out of the bag I put on the table, pushing aside the book. He yawns, showing off his needle-sharp teeth. “Didn’t his father have a male Dark Companion as well?”
She sighs, glancing past me, perhaps to study at the portrait I was admiring earlier. “Indeed. He was already married when he chose his companion, which became a… source of tension. Not everyone can cope with other people in the relationship. It was probably Her Majesty who didn’t want him in this painting.”
I dread to think of Kyran ever wanting an elven spouse. Which is silly because I’ve told Kyran that I’m leaving him after the wedding, so why wouldn’t he consider marrying someone else once his shadow bond was secured? He would need companionship and an heir, among other things, but I hope he’d only choose another partner after my death. It’s selfish of me, but no one needs to know my intimate thoughts.
“That must have been complicated. But at least the late Lord had someone to support him after his wife passed.”
The Marquise’s long eyelashes lower as she watches me. “The shadow bond is forever, but it’s not always based on love. In their case, the late Lord’s companion couldn’t offer him what he lost with his wife’s passing.”
I sense my cheeks warming with a flush as soon as I think about sharing a love bond with Kyran. It’s silly, since I know our relationship is one of convenience. We have great sexual chemistry, and we’re developing a friendship, but Kyran will one day find someone who can give himeverything. Which shouldn’t sting as much as it does. Will he eventually call upon me for a reason of ‘grave importance’ only to introduce me to his beautiful elven husband on the day of their wedding?
Just imagining that hypothetical situation makes me sick.
Since I’ve fallen silent, the Marquise picks up the conversation. “I’ve heard that in the years before the Lord’s tragic passing, he argued a lot with his Companion. I don’t know the reason. Maybe there was too much affection between them, or too little? Now he’s lost in the shadowild. Whatever happened, his fate wasn’t as grave as that of those fallen in the battle against Heartbreak. They became part of the beast’s flesh, you see. We justdon’t know if it devours their souls, or if they are somehow forever trapped with the other unfortunate victims…” She reaches out to Flap with a long nail, blood-red as her lips.
“Is it possible that the former Lord’s Dark Companion is still alive?” I whisper.
She exhales and pulls away her hand the moment Flap leans in to smell her skin. “Oh, no. It’s been seven years. Even if he had access to water and non-perishable food in our former Lord’s shadowild, he would have gone mad being there all alone. I suppose that’s why many Dark Companions always carry poison, or something else that can quickly end their lives.”
Something cold drips down my throat and into my stomach, tainting all the trust I’ve built with Kyran so far. He’s not mentioned this.
“Has anyone… looked for him?” I say in a voice lower than I intended. My throat tickles, and I have to clear it.
She shrugs. “There’s been a few divers over the years, but—”
The Marquise keeps talking, but the moment my ears pick up a familiar gait, it’s all I can hear. Even, confident, yet somehow almost too studied, as if Kyran is worried that if he were to make one wrong move, his secret identity would be revealed to all.
He walks out from behind a bookshelf as tall as a house, but the smile he’s carrying drops the moment he spots me sitting with the Marquise.
She follows my gaze. “Looking dashing today, Sire,” she says with the kind of familiarity I imagine she must have had with Kyranis.
I hate it.
I also hate that she’s stirred up some very reasonable doubts in me. Can I not live on Cloud Nine a while longer?
I don’t think Kyran is a devilish mastermind fucking me just to make me more compliant, but despite our growing bond, there are things he’s not telling me. Things I need to find out if I am to consider staying at the Nocturne Court.
“Like every day,” I say, and wink at him, because fuck it, we are courting after all.
I am surprised to spot Reiner trailing behind Kyran. He’s still in groveling mode around the prince, eyes cast down, face somber, but I ignore him for now, focused on Kyran, who stares at us as if he’s walked in on his wife and mistress having a friendly chat. I’m just not sure which one of the two I am.
He squeezes a small blue box topped with two roses in lieu of a ribbon and clears his throat. “You both look excellent too,” he says, and I can almost see the beginnings of a grimace, which he skillfully masks.
