Page 21 of Bought By the Revenant (Monsters’ Bride Market #1)

Amity

The portal brings me home, in our library, and I grab the nearest bookshelf to steady myself.

Even after all these months of using portals, my body still needs a moment to remember it’s all in one piece.

The basket under my arm is filled with chamomile, mint, and rosemary, and the fragrant smell helps with the nausea that’s been constant lately.

I spent the day in Aura Glade with three new mothers and their healthy babies, plus one woman who will deliver her first soon.

Working with the village’s midwife and Fenna has given me purpose and fulfillment these past months.

The money doesn’t matter, since Riven provides everything we need, but earning my own keeps me feeling independent and useful.

The library is empty. I usually find Riven reading in one of the enormous armchairs by the window, but these days he spends more time outdoors than buried in his books. The change makes me happy, because his pale skin could use the sunlight, and he seems lighter somehow when he’s not hiding away.

He kept his promise about the portal and had one installed right here in our home, so I can travel easily to work. Then he surprised everyone by donating another portal to Aura Glade, which now connects the village to the world and brings visitors from all over.

I set my basket on a side table and take a moment to breathe.

Today isn’t just any day. After weeks of morning sickness, tender breasts, and one missed cycle, I finally got the courage to confirm what I suspected.

This morning, with help from the village midwife, I tested my first morning urine using the old method of wheat and barley seeds that midwives have trusted for generations.

The barley sprouted faster and stronger than the wheat, and I knew.

The method doesn’t always predict the gender right, but if I am to trust it, Riven and I are going to have a boy.

“Nell?” I call out as I step into the hallway.

She appears almost immediately, as she always does. “Yes, Mistress?”

“Where is Riven?”

“At the stables with Olaf, Mistress. They’re discussing the new mare.”

“Thank you.”

I walk quickly through the house and push open the back doors to step into the sunshine. Our grounds have transformed into a green paradise full of blooming flowers and fresh herbs everywhere I look. Through the garden paths, I spot Fria working.

The stables stand at the far edge of our property. We have a small collection of horses that live in absolute comfort, and as I get closer, I hear Riven and Olaf talking. They stand together near the fence, pointing at a beautiful chestnut mare who watches them with curious eyes.

“Riven!” I call.

He turns, those white eyes of his catching the light even from this distance. His stitched face breaks into a smile when he sees me. He says something to Olaf, then strides out to meet me halfway.

“You’re back early,” he says. “Is everything all right in Aura Glade?”

“Everything is perfect. I have something for you.”

I reach into the pocket of my dress and pull out a small package wrapped in blue paper.

“What’s this?” he asks.

“Open it.”

He unwraps it, revealing a tiny garment made from the softest white fabric I could find. He holds it up between his large hands and stares at it in confusion.

“It’s a baby gown! For our child.”

“Our...? You mean...?” His eyes dart from the piece of baby clothing to me, then back to it.

“I’m pregnant, Riven.”

For a moment, he stands completely still and silent. Then his arms sweep around me, and he lifts me right off my feet.

“A child,” he whispers. “Our child. I never… Not in all my centuries… I never thought I would be a father.”

He spins me in a circle before setting me down, handling me as if I were made of glass. His hands hover over my stomach, which still looks flat.

“I’ve been feeling unwell for weeks,” I tell him. “The morning sickness, the fatigue… All the signs were there, but I wanted to be sure before I told you.”

“A child,” he repeats, seemingly unable to form more complex thoughts. “Amity, my love, you’ve given me so much, and now this miracle too?”

He lifts me into his arms again, and I cling to him, laughing.

“My wife,” he murmurs, pressing kisses to my hair as he carries me toward the house. “The mother of my child. You make me so happy. I don’t deserve you.”

“You deserve me, Riven. You’ll be a wonderful father.”

He carries me through the house without slowing down, past a startled Nell who steps quickly out of our way, and up the stairs to our bedroom. The door closes behind us as he lays me on our bed, his white eyes shining brightly.

“A family,” he whispers, joining me on the bed. “Our family.”

I reach for him, pulling him close, silencing him with a deep, lustful kiss.

He responds in kind, and before we know it, we’re tearing at each other’s clothes, throwing them all over the room.

He grabs me by the back of my knees and spreads my legs wide, positioning himself at my dripping entrance.

His cock is dripping, too, hard and engorged.

He presses the mushroom head inside me, and our fluids mix.

When he thrusts his whole length into me, I whimper and grab at the sheets.

He has no patience, and I have none, either, so I don’t mind if this is hard and quick. It’s exactly what we need.

Riven looks into my eyes as he withdraws, then pushes in again.

I dig my heels into his buttocks, encouraging him.

He leans over me and kisses me hungrily as he fucks me with urgency.

Skin slaps against skin, he grunts, I moan, our bodies are soon covered in a sheen of sweat.

His movements become erratic. One of his hands moves between our bodies, his fingers finding my clit.

He knows this drives me crazy. A few more thrusts, well timed with the firm strokes of his fingers on my throbbing nub, and my eyes roll in my head.

I let out a scream and come hard, soaking him with my juices.

As my pussy squeezes him like a vise, he explodes inside me, filling me with his hot cum.

We stay like that for a long while, still connected, united in more ways than one. He holds me in his arms, and I hide my face in his neck, inhaling his unique scent. Then his hand travels down my body and rests on my belly.

Together, we’re creating a new life.

Riven

Eighty Years Later

I sit in an armchair next to our bed, holding Amity’s frail hand in mine.

Her skin is paper-thin, blue veins running under it, and I rub my fingers over her knuckles, now knotted with age.

One hundred and seven years she has lived, an extraordinary lifespan for a human, even with the small magical interventions I’ve used to keep her with me.

Time has left its mark across her face in lines and spots, turning her brown hair white, and making her body smaller with each passing year.

When I look at her, though, I still see the fierce young woman who stood in that crowded market square, pointed at me and said, “Sold.” I see the midwife who risked everything to save a mother and child when the rest would have let them die.

I see the bride who chose me even though my face was a thing of horror and nightmares.

The beauty of who she is has never faded, not once in all our decades together.

Our family waits downstairs to say their goodbyes.

We raised four children together, two sons and two daughters, all of them old now, with children and grandchildren of their own.

They understand their mother won’t be with us much longer and have gathered here one last time.

Of our original household, only Fria remains, too aged now for regular duties but refusing to leave us until the end comes.

Nell, Tomas, and Olaf passed away years ago, though we still speak of them often and remember them with love and gratitude.

Over our years together, I’ve extended Amity’s life whenever I could.

When she cut herself working in the garden, when she fell from a ladder and broke her arm, when winter fever threatened to steal her away too early…

I added a stitch here or worked a small enchantment there.

Each time, I gave her just enough magic to heal her and keep her strong, but she always refused to let me do more, to cover her in the black threads that would have given her centuries instead of decades.

“I want to remain myself,” she would tell me firmly. “Even if that means growing old. Even if that means leaving you someday.”

That someday has arrived at last, and I can do nothing to stop it.

Her eyes open slowly, still as blue as the sky. When she finds me watching her, she smiles the same smile that has been my greatest joy for eighty years.

“Riven,” she whispers.

“I’m here, my love.” Tears run down my face, following the lines of my stitches as they fall.

Her hand shakes as she lifts it to my cheek and brushes them away.

“Don’t cry for me. I’ve had such a wonderful life with you.”

“I know.”

“Our children, our grandchildren, our great-grandchildren… So much joy, Riven. So much love. You gave me all of it.”

I press her palm against my face and hold it there, feeling its warmth while I still can.

“You gave it to me,” I say. “I was nothing before you.”

“It’s time for me to go,” she says. “But please, don’t follow me. Not yet. The family still needs you.”

I shake my head. “I won’t go on without you, Amity. You’ve known this. When you leave, I’ll release my soul back to the universe. Perhaps we’ll find each other there.”

She sighs, but I see acceptance in her eyes because after eighty years together, she knows me too well.

“Such a stubborn monster,” she murmurs.

“Your monster,” I remind her, pressing a kiss to her palm. “Always yours.”

She smiles again while her eyes grow heavy. “I love you, Riven.”

“I love you, Amity.” I lean close and whisper against her ear. “Forever.”

Her eyes close one final time, her chest rises and falls with a final breath, and then she is gone. Her hand in mine goes slack, but her smile remains on her face, peaceful and content.

I sit there for a long time just looking at her face, seeing her as she was when we first met. Then I stretch out beside her on the bed we’ve shared for so many decades, resting my head on her chest where her heart no longer beats.

I close my eyes and turn my attention inward, searching for the essence that has kept this patchwork body moving for centuries.

I find it there, the connection between my eternal soul and this physical form made from borrowed parts.

One by one, I begin to loosen those connections, feeling the bond between body and soul start to unravel.

The release comes without pain when I finally let go completely.

The separation feels gentle and natural, as if I’m drifting away on a soft current of air that carries me up and out.

My last physical sensation is the weight of Amity’s body pressed against mine, her warmth fading but her presence still real.

Then I leave behind the form that carried me through this life and set my spirit free to search for hers in whatever comes after this world.

We chose each other in a crowded market when we were both desperate and alone. We chose each other every day for eighty years. Now I choose her again, following where she leads, my soul seeking hers in the beyond.

THE END