“So… what? I’ll be a gentleman of leisure?” I ask, laughing, but Tristan swallows more pizza and gives me a ferocious nod.
“Captain Gloombane will only need your shadow in special circumstances. You can pick any pastime you want. The Lord of the Nocturne Court is married to his Dark Companion, so I’m sure Luke will offer you a warm welcome.”
This sounds… too good to be true.
“And you’re sure I’m not on drugs right now?” I ask softly and poke the slowly-closing hole in the table. “This is real?”
Tristan scarfs down another slice of pizza with the appetite of a golden retriever. “Very real. Listen, Nate. Sometimes life takes a turn, and you don’t know what’s around the bend of the road. I’m fifty-seven and I’ve experienced so many changes. I was so certain about my course at some point, but everything changed. A man has to be open to what life can bring.”
I’ve never been more confused than when he said he’s middle-aged by any normal person’s standards, but If I assume all this craziness is real then maybe he’s just… immortal. At least he’s not four hundred, I guess. That kind of age gap would be hard to swallow. “But you know your role. You’re a prince?”
He shrugs. “Not thecrownprince. I’m a high-ranking royal, but I have to find my own way.”
What wouldIdo if money was no issue? I’ve been stuck on the hamster wheel for so long I’m not sure. I love animals, so maybe I could do charity…? “I am a vet tech, so I heal animals. Could I continue doing that if I came with you?”
Tristan’s golden eyes seem to sparkle when they meet mine. “You really are that sweet, huh? I’m sure something like that could be established, but you’d need supervision. The beasts ofour realm are very different from yours. You’d have to learn much first. But don’t worry, I’ll protect you on the way.”
I’m sold.
I’m so darn sold.
“A whole new fauna for me to discover? We could go on so many field trips, take photos, and catalogue them…” I can barely restrain my excitement and gently nudge his leg under the table. “That would be okay, right? For you to accompany me?”
His smile widens and he reaches for my hand. “You’d like that? I was thinking of quitting the Nightcloaks anyway, but I’m glad I didn’t before I got to meet you. Warden of the Realm only sounds glamorous until you’re forced to deal with an illegal shipment of parrots.”
His touch feels like a warm cloud about to carry me away to a place where I shall want for nothing. I want him to take me back on his horse and carry me away to this land of fantasy where I will get to take care of all kinds of new animals, read romance books in my free time, and wear silk shirts instead of T-shirts.
And who knows, maybe if I’m notthechosen one, I could be Tristan’s chosen?
My heart leaps as I stare at him, overwhelmed by an unexpected storm of emotions that tells me to throw caution to the wind and take a risk. What’s the worst that could happen? That I wake up to find out it was all a dream?
“Yes. I want you to protect me.”
“Then it’s settled. No abduction necessary!” He clinks his bottle of beer against mine and takes a swig. “Oh! This one is sweeter.”
I’m so giddy when it becomes clear that he doesn’t want to let go of my hand, and we play with each other's fingers while eating and drinking, as if this is a very successful date. I tell him of the deer my grandfather and I rescued when I was still a kid. He tellsme a lot more about his long career as a knight of the Nocturne Court, protecting the innocents and his Lord alike.
By the time we leave the pizzeria, I’ve had a bit too much beer, and everything he says sounds like the most hilarious comment ever.
“Oh! I forgot that I brought my human hat!” he says, laughing, and before I get to ask what on earth that means, he pulls out a baseball cap from a bag at his horse’s side and puts it on. It’s the ugliest shade of green, and hasBBBstitched at the front for some reason.
He looks ready to go on a mudslide to impress all his classmates, and once I start laughing, I can’t stop. “Yes. Exactly how I imagined an elven prince.” He’s ridiculous in the hat, and yet still so hot. I guess I always had a thing for jocks. Which reminds me I haven’t even thought about Richie much. I’m not even sad we broke up, because this is already the best night of my life.
“I have been told that I struggle with the court decorum.” He winks at me, but then turns his attention to the window of the tattoo parlor. “What is this?”
I’m surprised he doesn’t know, since he has those eels on his skin, but maybe the process of absorbing someone else’s ‘power’ is the only way to obtain body art where he’s from? “Well, this is a place where people can get permanent pictures on their bodies through ink being injected into their skin.”
There have been many times I toyed with the idea of getting a small tattoo, just to prove to myself that I’m not as boring as one of my exes claimed, but I never committed to the idea.
Tristan turns to me, eyes shining, and grabs my hand. “We should get some. To commemorate this night.”
“What, now?” I ask, putting up resistance, because I am not spontaneous like that.
He stares at the poster in the window for a prolonged time. “Yes. It says here, all night and day service.”
My heart speeds up, because… am I about to make a life-altering decision that I can’t take back?
“But what do you actually want to have tattooed? Shouldn’t a permanent mark on your body mean something?”
