AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Instead of leaving out the front doors, we head the other direction to a large wooden entrance with arching curtains and security detail. There’s loud bass reverberating through the door that makes my body shiver and tingle.
As we approach the beefcake guards who are absolute mammoth of men. They must be just over 6 feet, but Darian still stands taller than them by at least an inch or two.
Both guards nod at Darian and me as they step aside.
I shouldn’t be surprised. This is his building, after all, and he is their boss.
We pass through the oversized entrance, and it feels like we’re walking in a crowded nightclub that had landscaping throughout.
The inside is huge, there are trees everywhere and luminescent moss covers much of the bark on each trunk, extending to the branches giving the giant room a lunar glow.
Multiple bars can be seen from the entrance.
Two of them look to be thick tree roots that have grown into the mold and shape of a typical bar counter with intricate carvings etched within them with symbols similar to those tattooed onto Darian’s skin. There’s a wide tree in the middle of the room that stands taller than the others with a spiralling staircase that leads to the DJ area.
Without a speaker in sight, it almost sounds as though the music is coming from the trees themselves as the DJ spins his tracks.
There’s people dancing throughout the trees, some are huddled into groups and talking with one another, others are sitting at wood tables, leaning back onto comfortable benches as they sip their drinks.
As we make our way through the room, heads turn in our direction and nearly everyone waves, raises their glass or nods at Darian with a genuine smile on their face.
He greets them all similarly to Ilana.
He knows every story, discusses families, their concerns and regards them with equal amounts of interest as he converses with them.
He is genuinely loved by these people and a pang of loneliness resounds through me as we continue to move to the back of the room past the oversized DJ tree.
Darian’s hand squeezes mine, and I realize we’ve been like this the whole time.
No wonder I got a curious look from a couple of people. I’m holding the owner’s hand, after all.
Laughing softly to myself, I trail behind Darian while taking sips of my whiskey. Slowly we approach another room and nerves twirl through me from head to toe and back again.
“What does this place remind you of so far?” He asks over the music.
I blink at him, “Well the lake I’m researching, for the most part. Just, if the lake and this nightclub had a baby. A loud baby with good taste in music.”
Darian laughs before pushing the set of doors open in front of us and a gasp escapes my throat.
A giant waterfall flows out from a rocky structure on the other side of the room, with countless trees surrounding the small body of water at the base, the luminescent moss coating nearly everything in sight.
It looks entirely undisturbed by the public here.
“This is wonderful.”
He nods, gesturing to the room. “I built Haven to preserve this and keep it from prying eyes. It took me 50 years when I was banished but I wouldn’t change it for anything. The club has become a safe haven for those stuck here, hence the name and while the club has grown to be quite a popular attraction, this is the true beauty of it.”
It feels like I’ve been shown a little slice of heaven. A place where peace and calm seem to emanate and sink deep into your bones.
Darian leads us closer to the water and watches me as I step forward to stand beside him.
“Was there many of you left here when magic was bound?” Glancing at him as I ask, I can see his face fall.
“There was, though our numbers have decreased greatly with my brother sending hunters after those who remain.”
I frown, “Why would your brother send hunters after people from his own realm?”
Darian’s face hardens, “Because it feeds him the miniscule amounts of magic that he so craves in order to find his way back.”
