Page 14 of Bought By the Revenant (Monsters’ Bride Market #1)

Chapter Twelve

Riven

The carriage rocks gently over the dark roads of Luminea, and I watch my reflection in the window glass.

My white eyes glow in the darkness, and for once, I don’t turn away.

Since Amity has given herself to me, since she’s let me touch her, kiss her, have her, I haven’t hated myself with the same intensity.

Soon, I might find it in me to uncover all the mirrors in the house.

“We’ll be at the mansion soon, sir,” Olaf says from the driver’s seat.

My thoughts keep returning to Amity at Katherine’s house.

I left her half an hour ago, but the distance already bothers me.

I know I’m just doing what she told me, which means that she feels safe.

She probably wanted me to go away, too, since all I did was put more stress on her with my awkward presence.

But I swore not to let her out of my sight.

I shake my head. No, I can’t let dark thoughts get a hold of me so easily.

She’s fine. We’re fine. Besides, I’ll grab what she needs and return to her as fast as I can.

It’s not like I’m going home to take a nap while she works all night.

She’s my wife, but she needs her independence.

I can’t be glued to her side every minute of every day, or she’ll feel smothered.

The carriage rolls on, and I find myself thinking about my choice to live near Aura Glade. After the Marriage Temple disaster, I needed to get away from everyone and everything.

The Marriage Temple.

It’s not something I think about often. When memories of that time resurface, I push them down.

Ruthlessly. Ethelburg and Elysburg, the larger cities of Luminea, offered no peace after what had happened.

In Ethelburg, where I spent decades perfecting the soul-to-matter transference process, the streets were too crowded.

Too many eyes followed me. Too many conversations stopped when I passed.

Even my colleagues, who looked nearly human thanks to my work, found reasons to avoid me.

Whenever I entered a room, they’d pretend they were needed somewhere else.

Aura Glade gave me what I needed then: a quiet village where few people lived and fewer asked questions. The mansion I built sat far enough from the village center that I rarely encountered anyone. The servants I hired came from distant places and needed the work. I finally had a place to hide.

But now I see the flaw in my plan. Aura Glade has no portal, and the nearest one is in Ethelburg, hours away by carriage.

The portals that make traveling through Alia Terra fast and easy need constant maintenance and cost more than most places can afford.

Wealthy estates have private ones. Marriage Temples keep several.

Cities sometimes install public portals for travelers and trade, if they’re big enough.

Small villages like Aura Glade make do without them.

If I had a portal at the mansion, Amity could reach patients instantly.

She could help women like Katherine without these long carriage rides.

I should have one installed. The cost means nothing to me, and the benefits would change everything for her work.

I could even pay for one in the village and maintain that one as well. I can afford it.

For now, we have only my carriage and Olaf to drive it, and it’s slow. With a portal in Aura Glade and one at home, I could’ve fetched Amity’s clothes and bag and been back with her in a matter of minutes. I guess they don’t call it live and learn for nothing.

The mansion appears through the trees, and I’m surprised to see lights burning in the windows. All three servants wait outside despite the late hour. Nell rushes forward before the carriage fully stops.

“Master! We were so worried. Where is Mistress Amity?”

“There was an emergency,” I say. “A woman went into early labor. Amity is helping with the birth.”

I hurry past them into the house. Every moment away from her feels wrong, and it definitely feels wrong to be home without her.

In Amity’s room, I pull her midwife’s bag from the wardrobe and gather a few clothes.

My eyes move to the bed before I can stop them.

Last night, we lay there together, and she touched me without fear or disgust. She kissed the stitches on my chest and called them beautiful.

The memory makes my hands shake as I fold her clothes.

Nell appears in the doorway with a small basket.

“I packed some food and tea,” she says. “The mistress might be hungry.”

“Thank you.”

I grab the basket and rush back downstairs.

I know the servants would love to hear more details, but there’s no time.

For some unexplainable reason, I feel like there’s a ticking clock above my head, counting the minutes.

To what? I don’t know. I’m being paranoid, most likely.

I jump in the carriage and urge Olaf to hurry.

“Right away, sir,” he says, snapping the reins.

We move faster than before, yet the journey feels longer.

I grip Amity’s bag and lean forward, as if that will get us there sooner.

It must be the fact that since I brough her into my house, we’ve never been apart.

Even when she worked in the garden and I was in my workshop, I knew she was there, on my land, my property, and that she was safe.

I could look out the window and see her or walk to the back door and watch her.

It’s all in my head, I know. She’s delivering a baby, and here I am, driving myself crazy because I miss her.

The blue house appears at last, and I jump off before Olaf has a chance to stop the carriage completely.

The windows glow softly with lamplight, but no sounds come from inside.

I expected to hear Katherine screaming. Maybe she’s given birth and she’s asleep?

I knock on the front door, but no one answers.

I try the handle and find it unlocked, so I enter carefully.

The living room is empty, so I move to the bedroom.

Indeed, Katherine is asleep. Beside her bed is a wooden crib with a newborn baby inside.

The child looks perfect – completely human, which makes sense.

Revenants may be stitched from different bodies, but our parts come from humans.

When we have children with mortal partners, those children are always human.

No glowing eyes, no stitches, just normal babies who grow into normal people.

Relief washes through me that the birth went well, but then the question remains. Where is Amity?

The floorboards creak behind me. I turn to see Fenna, who gasps when she sees me. A man stands behind her, tall, broad-shouldered, with the weathered look of someone who works outside. This must be Katherine’s husband.

“Where is Amity?” I ask.

“She left after the baby was born. She said she was going to wash up, but she never came back. I thought she went home.”

“She’s not at home. I just came from there.” My voice rises a notch.

The baby starts crying, and Katherine’s eyes flutter open.

“What’s happening?” she asks.

“I’m looking for Amity,” I say. “Do you know where she went?”

Katherine shakes her head. “I’m sorry, I don’t. But I’m so grateful for her help. She saved us both. We should pay her…”

“That’s not important right now,” I say, waving away the mention of money. All I care about is finding Amity.

I start moving through the house, opening doors and checking rooms. The house is small, so it doesn’t take long to search every corner.

A kitchen with dishes still in the sink, a sitting room with mended furniture, a storage room with preserves on shelves, and a second bedroom, smaller and nearly empty.

No sign of Amity anywhere, not even in the bathroom, where I barge in after knocking on the door.

Katherine’s husband follows me.

“I understand you’re worried,” he says, “but I must ask you to stop. You’re disturbing my wife and child.”

The words are polite, but his meaning is clear. Get out. I want to grab him and shake him. I want to remind him that Amity just saved his family. But I know he’s right. Tearing through his house won’t fix anything.

“If she returns, please tell her I’m looking for her,” I say stiffly.

He nods and walks me to the door, relieved to see me go. Anger builds in my chest at being dismissed from the house Amity just blessed with her hard work and kindness, but I push it down. I have to find her. Outside, I climb into the carriage.

“Drive slowly through the village,” I tell Olaf. “We need to look for Amity.”

“Yes, sir. Don’t worry, we’ll find her.”

The carriage creeps through Aura Glade’s quiet streets.

Most houses sit dark, their occupants still sleeping.

I scan every shadow and doorway, hoping to catch a glimpse of her.

Maybe Katherine’s husband came home earlier than expected, and she felt like she wasn’t welcome anymore, so she started toward the mansion on foot.

What sort of people treated the midwife who just saved their baby so coldly?

Katherine’s husband should’ve sat her down and offered her something to drink and eat.

After the night she’s had, I can’t imagine Amity walking the streets alone.

As we search, unwanted thoughts take hold of me.

I want to stop them, but I can’t. She sent me away during the birth.

I thought she needed her supplies, but what if she just wanted me gone?

What if my presence made things harder for her?

The way she looked at me when she told me to leave.

.. Maybe she realized what a burden I was.

The thoughts grow darker. What if she planned to leave from the beginning?

The wedding preparations, the dress fitting with Ms. Talia, her interest in seeing the village…

Were they all just tactics to study her escape route?

She couldn’t have known about Katherine’s emergency, but when it happened, did she see her chance?

Another bride who fled. No. I won’t think about the Marriage Temple now. That was different. That was years ago. This is now, and Amity chose me. She chose me at the bride market. She touched me. She kissed me.

Unless she didn’t really choose me at all…

But if Amity didn’t leave willingly, then something worse happened.

The men from her village, the ones who’d hunted her through Crosshold…

Could they have found her here? It seems impossible.

Aura Glade sits deep in revenant territory.

Humans don’t enter our lands so easily. How would they track her here? How would they even know where to look?

I can’t think of another explanation.

Dawn creeps across the sky, painting the houses in pale light, and I watch the village wake up.

People begin to emerge from their homes.

A baker opens his shop, and the smell of fresh bread drifts through the air.

A woman sweeps her front steps. Two men greet each other on the corner.

Life in Aura Glade continues its normal rhythm while mine falls apart.

“Should we check the road back to Crosshold, sir?” Olaf asks.

“Yes.”

After centuries of being alone, I finally found someone who looks at me without fear.

Someone who looks past the stitches and the mismatched parts and sees whatever remains of my true self.

She chose to bind herself to me. She lay in my arms and spoke of our future.

She made me believe I could have something more than endless solitude.

And now she’s gone.

The fear I’ve been fighting all night wins.

I’ve lost her. Just when I allowed myself to hope for happiness, just when I started to believe in the possibility of love, it’s been torn away.

The universe reminds me again and again that I’m an abomination and I don’t deserve what others can easily have and take for granted.

She’s gone.