“We’re almost there,” he says, guiding me toward an open doorway. It’s so very dark on the other side, like the dungeon was whenever Gloombane left me on my own, dripping blood to agitate the meatworms he threatened to feed me to once I’d outlived my usefulness to him.
The tavern was quite cozy. Safe. Full of life and people who held no power over my protector, but what if the master of this castle has different ideas for my future and chooses to enforce them? Should I have ran when I had the chance, even if it meant never fully being my own man again?
An icy hold grows ever stronger around my heart, and I only enter the drawing room because Tristan nudges me forward, into the dark.
I can’t breathe.
My chest feels so tight my lungs are constricting, and I’m once more drowning in the salty seawater. Before I can fall to my knees, Tristan catches me and then he’s down on the floor with me. Stroking my shoulders, whispering something I can’t hear through the thudding in my ears.
Our eyes meet as I wheeze, and he’s taking deep, long breaths. In through his nose, out through his mouth. It feels like it’s taking forever, but I manage to tune into his rhythm and breathe again.
I finally hear Tristan. “You’re safe. There’s nothing to fear here. The Lord is just an elf, and as soon as we—”
“Justan elf, am I?” a smooth baritone comes from behind me, sending chills down my spine.
Chapter 21
Nate
That voice… it’s like cast iron where Tristan’s is copper.
It holds no capacity for mercy nor compassion, and when the lamps come on, I can’t hold in a frantic yelp, clinging to Tristan’s sturdy form.
“What’s so important that I’m being distracted from my marital duties?”
The sharp edge in his tone reduces me to shudders, and I squeeze my eyes in vain hope that I don’t have to bear the consequences of this man’s anger for as long as I don’t look his way.
I’m a puppet in Tristan’s arms when he pulls me up and sits me on a sofa, all wrapped up in the cloak.
“Really? You think that’s funny?”
The Lord of the Nocturne Court grunts. “Would you rather I kept you waiting until morning? Spit it out already, cousin. And who is this… creature?”
I flinch, because while I should not care what this man calls me, the offensive word still cuts deep. I pull the cloak tightly around me, seeking shelter in the familiar scent clinging to it.
I don’t want to be here.
I want to be somewhere small, contained, where no one will get to judge my damaged body and pathetic shadow.
“This is Gloombane’s promised. I took him from the tower.” Tristan stands up to speak but keeps his hand on my shoulder.
“Why? Have they made their vows away from court? I am losing patience.” I crack open one eye and see the very tip of the Lord’s bare foot moving my way over the carpet.
“No they have not! You want the short version? Certainly!” Tristan raises his voice, and my heart speeds up out of control. “The captain broke our laws and abused Nate in horrific, despicable ways. Experimented on him, and… stars only know what else! So he is now dead and hopefully being nibbled on by sea fleas as we speak.”
There’s a prolonged silence that makes my stomach twist with nausea.
“You… killed Captain Gloombane?”
“No! He did. As was his right. The Right to Revenge!”
“I do not follow. You’re saying he murdered the captain of the Nightcloaks, and you took him on his word?”
Tristan groans. “You’re not listening to me!”
The Lord steps closer to me again, and I can sense his dark presence within my shadow. I don’t know how, but I do. “Speak to me, human. Did you have the Right to Revenge? What has the captain done?”
I wish I could keep staring at his feet, but he pinches my chin between two fingers and lifts my face until I can meet his gaze—cold yet wild like a storm at sea.
