Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 120029 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 600(@200wpm)___ 480(@250wpm)___ 400(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 120029 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 600(@200wpm)___ 480(@250wpm)___ 400(@300wpm)
The whole thing is more of a short story than a novel and tells the tale of the founder of the tavern.
Sohan of the Stormy Gates, who was a knight and hero before settling down here, made the mistake of promising his firstborn to a vile sorcerer. He thought he could kill the monstrous elf before he had a child, but he didn’t understand that when he made his oath, it was written in the stars.
By the time Sohan held his daughter in his arms, the sorcerer had become a recluse in a castle far away. Since Sohan had made a starlight oath, unbroken, the promise would have come to pass in one way or another.
In a race against time, Sohan decided to seek out the sharpest thing in the world, a unicorn’s horn. It can not only break any chains or shatter any sword, but it can even cut through a promise.
Since his wish was pure, he pleaded with the unicorn, and the beast used its starborn power to crush the shackles of his oath. The unicorn joined the knight in battle against the sorcerer who had tormented Sohan for so long, and together they defeated evil.
The End.
A nice fairytale to calm my rattled senses if it wasn’t for the very long afterword about how the story is true, how the unicorn then came to Sohan on its deathbed, and how its skull hangs prominently in the tavern.
My mind wants to believe it’s just a legend, very much like the story of King Arthur, but this isn't the world I’ve always known. I vaguely recall the bartender telling me his wife is Sohan’s granddaughter. This is the Nightmare Realm, and the things I’ve seen in the past two months prove that impossible things like magic, mythical creatures, or injuries and fractures healing overnight only to be inflicted again can be as real as the water I’m submerged in.
Heat blooms in my emaciated body, as if the pamphlet’s stoked a fire inside. Because maybe not all is lost? Maybe I won’t have to spend my life scared that one day Tristan will appear at my door and take me away, just because our shadows have become one? After all, he could pretend to set me free in the human realm, then secretly torment me there in some messed up attempt to darken my shadow.
“Tristan?”
“Yes?” he answers in an instant, so he must have been right behind the door, guarding me.
I hate that it makes my heart beat faster, but he is still my savior, so maybe I shouldn’t judge my emotions too harshly?
“Come in, please.”
He walks in, as dashing as ever. Of course. He’s not the one who spent two months being tortured.
“I think I should stay here. For now,” I tell him, but as he falls on one knee and reaches for my hand, I tuck it under the sheet still floating around my body.
He licks his lips, staring at me intently. “You should. You will not regret it. At the Nocturne Court, you will get the best treatment. And Lady will be so happy to see you. And… I will be honored to have you there as my promised.”
I’m going to be sick. I need to disillusion him right now, because he seems to believe he can get back into my good graces with sweet words.
“Do not call me that,” rips out of my mouth so sharply it makes my throat ache. Tristan’s eyes flash with hurt, but I won’t make myself small for his comfort. “I did not agree to be your ‘promised’, and you still made the bond. That’s—that’s abhorrent.”
“I’m sorry, I—”
“If you want my forgiveness, help me find a unicorn, because I want us to separate. I don’t—I can’t live like this,” I mumble, my voice becoming ever thicker with grief.
I’ll never trust anyone again.
“A… a unicorn?” Tristan asks and sits back on his heels.
“A unicorn. It can break a promise.” I wave the booklet in front of his face. “Why not our ‘promise’? Then, I will be free to return home, and you can take another Dark Companion, with a dense, dark shadow that will actually be of use to you.”
He grabs my hand and won’t let go even as I pull. I’m so darn weak. “You can’t be serious. What about… us? Promise be damned, I want to marry you, Nate.”
He might as well have stabbed me, because this is all I ever wanted—for a man to treat me seriously, want only me, and be proud of our relationship. Two months ago, his attention made me so elated I dropped everything and followed him to the Nightmare Realm.
The Nightmare Realm.
And look where the trust I put in him got me…
I’m a shadow of my former self.
“Why would you do this to me? Why ask questions like this when you know I don’t want to be involved with you or anyone else from this cursed place?”