Total pages in book: 20
Estimated words: 17648 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 88(@200wpm)___ 71(@250wpm)___ 59(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 17648 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 88(@200wpm)___ 71(@250wpm)___ 59(@300wpm)
I stood frozen right in the entrance, just gazing around at how grand it all was. Jagged stone columns lined the walls, rising into the rocky ceiling above that showcased black crystal stalactites. Everything else held nothing but this darkness that seemed never-ending.
Torches burned in sconces between the columns, their bright blue flames intense and cold. Eerie shadows danced across everything they touched in an ominous hue.
I could see a balcony just at the far end of the room, and although the distance between me and the double doors was great, I could see nothing but sky, the occasional flying creature soaring by and rocky mountain tops in the distance.
Blaylock watched me. I felt it, but I was too transfixed by my surroundings to look at him. A throne sat at the far end of the chamber, carved from black stone, bone, and the same sparkling black crystals. It sat on a bone dais, the steps to it puzzled together with the rib cages of beastly beings.
I finally glanced at Blaylock. He stood tall and terrifying in the cold blue light. His all-black gaze pinned mine with this inquisitive expression.
“You are not my prisoner. You are not a slave,” he said, his voice deep and rumbling. “You are free to do what you wish.” Although he said the words, there was this strange tone in his voice that told me he didn’t mean it, not wholly.
I blinked, unsure how to respond. This seemed too… easy. “That’s not true, is it?” I whispered, thinking I said the words to myself, but when he stepped closer, I knew I’d said them out loud.
“You are mine,” he said, bobbing his massive head side to side, like he was weighing two equal options.
For a second, I didn't think I heard him right. And then his words slammed into me like a blow, and I took a step back. My heart stuttered. “W-What do you mean I’m yours?”
He didn’t smile. Didn’t blink or speak. His expression didn’t even soften. Faster than I could inhale my next breath, Blaylock was in front of me, his big, clawed hand wrapped gently around my waist as he pulled me closer. I was frozen in place as I cocked my head back to look into his face.
“Claimed, sweet little one. You are marked as mine. Protected at all costs.” He tightened his hold on my waist and gripped my face with his other hand. “I want you as mine, beautiful human. My queen to rule the Dark Realm of Shadow Vale. And I’ll wait for however long it takes.”
My mouth opened and closed, but I was speechless.
“Use your words, sweetling. Tell me what’s on your mind.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, breathed in and out slowly, and just said what needed to be said. “You can’t...” The words caught in my throat, but I forced them out. “You can’t just say things like that and expect me to believe I’m not a prisoner.” Fear twisted in my gut, and I started trembling. “I won’t belong to anyone ever again.”
The sound that left him was low and guttural—a growl that reverberated through the throne room. The air seemed to vibrate with its intensity, and out of my peripheral vision, I saw the blue firelight swaying from an unseen wind.
My body tightened, and I felt like prey caught in a snare, strung up right in front of a predator about to devour me whole.
“I want you as my equal. A slave isn’t what I desire nor need, little one.” This electrical charge moved over my arms and legs, and I shivered. “You are safe here, Katrina. But you mesmerize me. You intrigue me. I need to know all about you. I need to learn every facet and detail that makes you… you.”
It was strange hearing these things come from a male who wasn’t human. Who looked like he was plucked out of a terrifying dream and brought to life. But when he looked at me, his gaze touching me with this gentleness, it startled me. It… warmed me.
“I just… want you.”
I stared at him, my chest rising and falling rapidly. His words shouldn't have made my stomach flip, but they did. I shouldn’t have felt anything but fear and panic. But instead, I felt heat rising in my body, and a tingling flush was stealing along my neck and face.
Confusion filled me, but there was something primal and needy moving through my veins and settling right between my legs. I’d never felt anything like this—a warmth that felt forbidden.
“I won’t hurt you,” he said, his voice softer now but still very much animalistic. “But my mercy and gentleness ends with you, sweetness.” His brows furrowed as if the very idea of being sweet and soft was foreign. And I realized he’d never shown compassion or empathy to another living being.