Page 100 of Taken By the Lord of the Nocturne Court

I open the cage and have to admit the bat has grown in the time I’ve been nursing him to health. His purple ears and paws are getting longer, his teeth sharper, and while I trimmed his claws twice, they could definitely do some damage.

But when I grab Flap under the armpits and pull him out, he squeaks happily, and his yellow eyes seem to light up. “But he’s not an animal. He’s just a little baaaby!” And more than happy to cuddle with me as soon as I pull him close.

I understand Kyran’s worries though. He lost his mother to despairs, and from her notes, I gather she also considered them to be“tameable”.

“I’m sorry,” he says in a voice so quiet I feel like I’m torturing him by asking to let Flap stay.

With a sigh, I put Flap on the bed and let him roam. “You clearly think that’s the right thing to do, and you know your realm best. Come on, I have something for you.” I grab his hand and pull him to the bathroom.

Kyran’s looking back toward the bat, as if he expects it to leap across the room and tear our eyes out, but in the end he stops resisting, and we leave it be.

“All right,” he says, settling in a chair close to the window to remove his boots.

“Have I mentioned how much I love this bathroom?” Only a million times.

I smile and turn on the water. From the fish bone chandelier to the sculpted bathtub and stained glass windows, this room is a dream come true. The kind of luxury I could have never dreamed of in my world. Even the towels are borderline magical with how well they soak up water. They’re made of a thick black fabric that resembles fluffy fleece and is light as cotton candy.

Some days, I fear I don’t deserve them, or the massive bed, or even Kyran’s affection, but my presence always brings a smile to his face, so maybe I’m really selling myself short?

In any case, I want to give back, so I reach into a jar where I stashed my latest creation and pull out the fist-sized bath bomb in shades of green and purple. Kyran catches myeye, not yet aware what’s about to happen, so I hold his gaze and drop the final result of my experiments into the water.

A low fizz echoes through the air, prompting Kyran to shoot up and peek into the tub, where the bath bomb spins, releasing colorful bubbles. “It smells… like cherin and… roses?”

“Your favorites.” I beam at him. “It’s a bath bomb. I used to make them in my world in a variety of smells and colors. It took me a while to work out how to make something similar here, but Sabine got me in touch with a young alchemist who was very keen to help. I made this one especially for you.”

Kyran stares at me, as if he’s not sure he’s heard me correctly. “Forme?” he asks, and before I can catch my breath to answer, he sits on the edge of the tub and pulls me close, resting his face in the folds of my sweaty top.

I wrap my arms around his head and kiss his hair. “Yeah. Look, at the center, it releases these black wisps. It reminds me of your shadows, and I mixed in specks of shiny blue pigment to imitate the tear stone, like in the engagement ring you got me.” I also madehima ring, but he’ll be finding that out on our wedding day.

My eyes shut when Kyran pulls up my top and stuffs his face under it, kissing my damp skin, as if there was nothing he loved more than the scent of my sweat. Which is embarrassing, but also kind of reassuring. “I never got a gift this thoughtful.”

Which makes me both sad and happy at the same time. But also, I get it. I understand him so well, because I’ve also not been given much before he came along. It’s as if we were created to lick each other’s wounds.

“You shower me with gifts all the time. I want you to feel appreciated,” I whisper and stroke his head through the fabric, feeling so tender toward him my heart might just break.

It’s so weird.

I still remember telling Kurt that I wasn’t the marrying type.

Then, laughing at Kyran. Then trying to flee him, and making a deal, which involved him letting me go. Now I despise the thought of being apart from him. And I went from point A to point B in under a month.

“You being here is enough. Not that I don’t appreciate the other perks,” Kyran tells me before sliding out from under my top with his face pink and messy hair.

You’d never imagine a Prince of Darkness could be adorable, but he is.

“Like my human sweat?” I roll my eyes and pullmy top off.

Kyran grins at me and licks me from navel to nipple as I gasp. “Mmm… like sea salt. Delicious. But if you want to get clean…”

Before I know what’s happening, he tips back with me in his arms, and we splash into the water, sending bubbles into the air.

The amazing blowjob and time spent floating in the fragrant tub did take my mind off needing to part from Count Flapula, but once the rush of excitement was gone, the melancholic mood came back. Flap clings to my arm like a little puppy as Kyran takes my hand and leads the way into the caves that almost took my life only a day into my stay here.

But Kyran was there for me, no matter how angry he must have been about my betrayal.

“It’s okay, you will be fine, Flap. You’ll get to meet your family again,” I say and stroke his purple head. At this point, I’m not sure if I’m reassuring him or myself.

We walk through the darkness that smells of sea and salt, listening to the flapping of shark skins high above. Kyran is holding a green lantern, but since my awakening to shadowcraft, I’ve been seeing in the dark much better.