Chapter Eighteen #2
Onyx stared at me in that dissecting way of his. Like he was peering right into my damn soul. “Interesting. I detect full sincerity. You would leave the safety of my realm, possibly walking straight to your death… just to save them?”
I nodded.
“What makes you believe I’d care whether you stayed or left?”
“Your curiosity,” I said, a lot more confident than I felt. “Last night you said you’d unravel the mystery of me piece by piece. The moment I walk out that door, I take all those answers with me.”
He seemed impressed. “And if I refuse this deal and choose to throw you into a cell instead?”
“Then I’ll take a vow of silence, and you’ll never solve the mystery.”
“You? Silent?” That earlier smile returned.
Lake softly coughed, and I bumped his side.
“Very well.” Onyx glanced between us before nodding. “I accept your terms. Now, speak. My patience is wearing thin.”
Here goes nothing.
“Nocturne has targeted me before,” I said. “When I was a baby. My dad died protecting me. He fended them off while my mom took me and escaped. It’s why they’re after me now. The one who hired them realized I was still alive.”
“Because of your rare blood,” Onyx stated rather than questioned.
I nodded anyway.
“And you aren’t sure what makes it so rare?” he asked.
Uh oh. Was it okay to tell him about the “child of light and dark” thing? My gut said no. Not yet, anyway. Dodging the question was my best option.
“The only thing I know for sure is the person behind all of this.” I toyed with my hands, bustling with nervous energy. “King Silas.”
“King Silas?” Varys asked, brow scrunching. “Why would the king of Haran…” Shock flitted across his face. His sandy eyes appeared to see me in a new light, widening at the edges. “Tell me, boy. Who was your father?”
Onyx frowned at Varys before returning his gaze to me.
Heart thrumming wildly, I held my head a bit higher, nervous but also determined to finally say it. “Prince Elias of Bremloc.”
“What? But you can’t be. This is… it’s impossible.” Varys dropped to his knees, emitting a pained cry. “I heard the baby died.”
His reaction surprised me. He had been the king’s closest advisor back then, so it made sense for him to have known my dad. The grief in his voice was unmistakable though, going beyond that of a mere acquaintance.
Varys had cared for him.
“My mom hid me away,” I explained, fighting a sudden lump in my throat. “Sent me somewhere they wouldn’t be able to find me. When I returned to this worl—I mean, realm, they sensed my life force and started hunting me again.”
Varys stared at me in disbelief. “The moment I first saw you, I noticed the striking resemblance, yet the possibility never crossed my mind. When news reached Bremloc of Elias’s death, we were told his wife and child died right along with him.
Ashes were all that remained of them. Only Elias’ body was recovered from the rubble. ”
The sorrow in his voice seeped into my chest. “Did you know him well?”
“Aye. I did.” The demi-wolf offered me a watery smile. “My father served his, so I lived in the castle. We grew up together. Elias was… special. Different than the other royals. His passion for life was unparalleled. As was his generous heart.”
Speaking of hearts, mine ached right then. “I heard he was well-loved by the people.”
“He was.” Varys rose from the floor. His poofy black tail drooped behind him.
“He devoted his time and money to providing housing for the poor, supporting war orphans, and fighting for demi-human rights. Elias believed we were all equal. He’d often sneak out at night, grab me, and visit taverns and mingle with the townsfolk, never placing himself above anyone else. ”
I smiled down at the floor, vision blurring.
“You’re truly his son?”
A tear slipped from my eye as I nodded.
Onyx stepped closer to the tall windows and watched the rain fall. He hadn’t said a word since I’d revealed my identity. His expression was so damn hard to read.
Was he angry at me? Upset that I’d kept it from him until now? He’d admitted to hating the royal family, and there I was, a part of that family.
Lightning shot across the overcast sky, followed by a low growl of thunder. As usual, the sound made me uneasy. Lake rubbed my lower back, an instant comfort.
“It all makes sense now.” Onyx looked at me before slowly closing the gap between us.
“What does?” Heat swarmed my veins at his proximity.
“Why you remind me so much of him.” He pressed the pad of his thumb to my bottom lip, brow furrowed. “Golden hair and green eyes that burn with a quiet intensity.”
Understanding dawned on me. “The boy from the forest? The one who gave you honey cake?”
“Your father.” Onyx traced the curve of my jaw. “So alike, yet so different.”
“Different how?” I asked, losing some of my vibrato. His touch, like last night, caused a flurry of hot tingles over my skin.
An impish smile touched his lips. “He never gave me such a headache.”
“Rude.” I pushed against his chest, only to have my wrist caught between his fingers. The touch sent an electric current all throughout my body. “How long did you know him?”
“Many years,” Onyx answered. “He would often journey to the forest and meet me at the same stream. Elias was a mere youth of sixteen when we first met, and before I knew it, he was a grown man.”
There was a gnawing in my gut. “Were you in love with him?”
“No,” he said. “I never had those feelings for him, nor him for me. We were friends and nothing more.”
“Ah. Cool, cool.” I tried to hide my relief at that fact.
“Why do you ask?” Onyx leaned in closer, breath fanning over my mouth. His tone was low and soothing, like a deep note played on a cello. “Jealous?”
My head spun as his cedar scent enveloped me. Rain tapped against the window, but I felt like I was curled up in front of a cozy fire. “No.”
Lies. He knew it too. Damn him.
His impish smile grew. Still holding my wrist, he lifted it to his lips and lightly grazed his teeth over my veins. “I wonder what’s so special about your blood. I admit… it does smell delicious.”
“I knew it. You really do plan to eat me.”
He laughed.
Lake stared at us with interest. No sign of anger anywhere to be found. He seemed more amused than anything. For some reason, Onyx had gained his trust. Seeing how happy the demi-humans were in the Shadow Realm probably helped with that.
“Wait.” I looked at Onyx. “Did you know my dad was a prince for all those years?”
“Yes.”
“And you didn’t try to kill him? I thought you hated the royal family.”
“Oh, I do. Yet, like Varys mentioned, your father was different. Extraordinary. Much like you.” Albeit small, a glimmer of pain showed in his eyes. “He was the first human to ever show me kindness.”
Fighting against every fiber in my being that yearned to be even closer, I stepped back from Onyx, placing a sizable gap between us. “Tell me more about him.”
“Well, he asked many questions. Also, like you.” Onyx arched a brow at me, and I pressed my lips together.
“He was curious about my realm and all the creatures inside it. I found it strange how he didn’t fear me.
However, the biggest shock came days after our first meeting when I returned to the same spot near the stream and saw him petting an adult Fenrir. ”
Shock slammed into me. “He was petting a demon?”
“Elias secretly had a soft spot for them,” Varys explained.
“Not that he could ever tell anyone. I was the only one he told. When he’d venture into the forest for a moment of solitude, demons would come and sit at his feet.
The people in Bremloc view them as mindless beasts, but many are quite intelligent.
They sensed a certain energy in him. That of a tamer. ”
“Are you saying my dad was a demon tamer? Seriously?”
“All mages have specific talents.” The demi-wolf faintly smiled. “Elias had his demons. A trait I believe he passed to you.”
I laughed. Hard. “God. Roth and the other knights were right.”
“About what?” Lake asked.
Tears stung my eyes, and I wasn’t sure if they came from amusement or the sudden ache in my chest. “They heard about Oreo helping me and accused me of summoning him. Of having the power to control and tame demons.” I rested a hand over my heart. “This is a lot to process.”
“You didn’t know of your father’s gift?” Onyx asked.
I shook my head. “I knew he had dark magic but not much else.”
“The Fenrir pup has imprinted on you. A bond that can’t be broken.” Onyx returned his gaze to the rain-blurred window. “Much like the demons who loved your father and continue to mourn him. You met one of them yesterday.”
“I did?”
“The stallion.” His red eyes returned to me. “The horse wandered too far once and found himself outside the barrier of my realm. Elias found him. Kept him safe and calm until I arrived.”
Lake smiled over at me. “Seems you take after your father in more ways than one.”
A lump wedged in my throat, and I tried clearing it. “Tell me more about him.”
“Elias was quite skilled in defensive magic,” Varys said.
“Creating barriers and repelling magical attacks. He developed weapons for the unit of mages, allowing them to deflect harmful spells and cast strong ones in response. But demons were where his true love lay. As I said, I’m the only one he entrusted with this secret.
What I didn’t say is I learned it by accident. ”
“How?” I asked.
“When Elias journeyed to the forest one day, I followed and saw him sitting with Lord Onyx. What I also saw? Demons napping at his feet. When he reached down and scratched one of their bellies, I nearly fainted.”
Onyx smiled. “You didn’t faint, yet you stumbled and made quite the commotion. Those napping demons then shot upward and swarmed you.”
Varys returned that smile, both of them lost in the memory.
“So you stayed friends despite the conflict between demons and humans?” I asked Onyx.