Chapter Thirteen #3
Please don’t be a ghost. “Hello?”
“You’re trembling,” the man said, his cadence silky. Still nowhere to be seen. “Like a baby rabbit alone in its burrow.”
Goose bumps trailed down my arms as his voice clicked into place. I’d heard it once before while deep in the dark wood, surrounded by demons. “L-Lord Onyx?”
The air stirred at my back.
Skin prickling, I flung around to see him sitting on the window seat. Crimson eyes. Smooth, pale skin. Long raven-black hair with sections braided and pinned back, like a warrior. The demon lord was both beautiful and frightening.
Okay. Changed my mind. I’d rather it be a ghost.
“You know my name. Good.” He rose from the bench and approached the bed. A purple kimono-style robe hung off his tall, lean frame, falling open in the front and revealing red tattoo-like markings on his chest. “Saves me the trouble of introductions.”
“We met once before,” I said shakily. “In the dark wood.”
“I remember.” Onyx reached the bed and rested his hands on the comforter, leaning toward me. “I allowed you and your companions to leave that day. A mercy that denied my demons a wonderful feast.”
I shuddered at the visual. A feast where we would’ve been the main course. “Pretty sure it was a mercy for them too. I wouldn’t taste very good. Probably like stale muffins and expired milk.”
“Ah.” Lord Onyx pressed in closer, his dark hair falling forward and tickling my arm. My back was against the headboard, leaving little space between us. “On the contrary. I believe you’d be exquisite. Pure bliss.”
A scent tickled my nose. Cedar and woodsmoke. From the fire, maybe?
“You said Lake is okay?” I asked, inching away from him.
“Yes.” His red eyes carefully watched me. “He’s resting in the room down the hall. I’m told his injuries were quite severe. He must truly love you to have carried you for so long while in so much pain.”
My chest squeezed. “Can I see him?”
“Soon. He was given a strong healing elixir and will be asleep for a while.” Onyx tilted his head. “If the Fenrir pup hadn’t alerted me when he did, your wolf may have been past saving.”
I vaguely recalled the little yips and tugs on my sleeve, then a deep, wailing howl breaking through the quiet night.
“Oreo.” My heart squeezed. On impulse, my hand went to my chest—resting over the burn scars. “He keeps coming to the rescue. Might need to start calling him Super Pup.”
A waft of air touched my legs, and I realized the comforter was still pushed off from when I’d started to get up earlier. That’s when I noticed my clothes. Well, shirt. It fell to the middle of my thighs.
“This isn’t mine.” I picked at the material with my thumb and forefinger.
“Your clothing was soiled with dirt and blood, so I had it removed.” Onyx dropped his gaze to my bare legs and glided his fingertips up my shin. “I’d say this suits you much better.”
I wiggled away and shoved my body back under the blanket. Definitely not dwelling on the feel of his fingers or the little tingles they caused in my core.
“Keep your hands to yourself. I don’t care if you are a demon lord. You can’t just take a dude’s clothes off without his permission.”
He faintly smiled and withdrew his hand. “Nothing inappropriate occurred, I assure you. Fane treated you with the utmost respect.”
“Fane?”
“My attendant. He took your suit to be washed and will return it on the morrow.” Onyx stood from the bed, and I started to relax a little. Surely if he planned to hurt me, he would’ve done it by now. “Shall I have food brought to you? You must be hungry.”
“I don’t want food. I want answers.”
“To receive an answer, you must first ask a question.”
“Why are you being so nice?” I asked without missing a beat. Out of all the questions rolling around in my head, that one stuck out the most.
“Nice, you say.” Onyx exhaled a musical sound, not quite a laugh but close. “Not a word many use to describe me.”
“Humans are your enemy, right? I should be in a dungeon, not a comfy bed.”
“Do you want to be in a dungeon?” he asked, head tilting. “I could have that arranged.”
“No, thanks.” I gathered more of the blanket around me. “I’ve had my fill of dungeons to last me a lifetime. My prisoner days are hopefully far behind me. One night in a cell was enough.”
“I hear you’ve had quite the evening,” he casually said. “My demons say you tried to kill the king. You poisoned him during the royal ball, then attacked guards to escape.”
“It’s not true,” I said, chest suddenly tight. “I’d never hurt the king. I’d never hurt anyone.”
“A pity.” He exhaled. “I would’ve poured you a drink and clapped you on the back for a job well done. Alas, your innocence makes much more sense. You’re but a small boy who can barely walk on flat ground without tripping. A far cry from a coldhearted assassin.”
“First of all, rude. I can walk just fine. Usually. As for the rest, it’s…” I heaved a sigh. “A huge misunderstanding.”
Good news was Onyx only knew half the truth: me being Muffin Enemy Number One in regard to the assassination plot.
If he didn’t know about the mercenaries, I sure as hell wasn’t going to mention it.
Because then I’d have to explain why, that I’d been targeted for having some rare power slash blood I still didn’t understand.
“Regardless of your proclaimed innocence, they believe you’re guilty.” Shadows flickered across his defined features. “Knights and royal guards are currently scouring all areas of the kingdom in search of you. A bounty has been placed on your head.”
“Oh, well, that’s lovely.” Worry churned in my gut. But not for myself. “I’m sure anyone close to me will be arrested.”
“You fear for your lovers.” His soft tone surprised me.
“When we were ambushed, they told Lake to take me and run. They…” My throat burned. “They stayed behind to give us a chance to escape. I don’t even know if they’re okay.”
“They are.”
I sharply turned to him. “How do you know?”
“Once he knew you were safe, the Fenrir pup… Oreo, as you’ve named him… tracked your companions to a cottage deep in the forest. He knew you’d be worried about them.”
The relief nearly made me break down. My men had made it safely to Lake’s old cottage. “When I see that cute baby again, I’m gonna give him all the head pats and chunks of steak he wants.”
The demon lord smiled. “After reporting back to me, he ran off again. Though I suspect he’ll return before long. He’s grown awfully attached to you.”
“The feeling’s mutual,” I said, returning that smile.
“A bond was formed the day you helped him with the thorn.”
The thorn. A memory stirred. How the air seemed to grow colder and what little light there’d been fading even more. And what sounded like a soft chuckle coming from the dark trees.
“You were there?” I asked.
“Yes. I was at the nearby spring when I heard his cries… and then I found you. You spoke to him in such a soft voice. He even allowed you to pet him. Few things take me by surprise, but that gave me pause. Then I laughed, equal parts amazed and curious.” His gaze roamed my body.
“A curiosity that has only grown since then.”
I squirmed under his scrutiny.
“Do I make you nervous?” he asked.
“No,” I lied.
A devilish smile curved his lips.
“Wait. The red flowers,” I said, remembering further. “That’s the first time I ever saw them.”
“Red flowers?” His smile faltered. “You saw the lilies?”
I nodded. “Saw them again tonight. Patches of them kept appearing.”
“And they led you to me,” he said under his breath, eyes widening a bit. “So it’s true.”
“What’s true?”
“You need to rest.” Onyx turned from the fire and stepped toward the door. “Fane will check on you in the morning.”
“Hang on.” I heaved the comforter off and scooted out of bed. The stone floor was cold beneath my bare feet. “You never told me why I’m here. Where even is here?”
The room didn’t provide many clues apart from it being huge and well-kept. I saw only dark sky through the window.
“You’re a guest in my home.” He reached the door and looked back at me, his expression harder than before. “That’s all you need to know.”
“If I’m a guest, why do I suddenly feel like a prisoner?” I asked, stopping beside the post of the king-sized bed. The sudden coldness in his eyes shot a chill down my spine.
“Do you see shackles anywhere?”
“No.” I wavered in place, hands fidgeting. “But I kind of get the feeling I won’t be able to leave this room.”
“Believe me. Staying in here is for your own safety.” He stepped into the corridor.
Lit sconces flickered, projecting his silhouette on the wall.
“It wouldn’t do you any good to wander the halls at night.
Who knows what could be creeping in the shadows, waiting to sink its teeth into your soft flesh? ”
“Well, that’s terrifying.”
“Good.”
The door began to close.
“Wait!” My heart hammered against my rib cage, the beats heavy and desperate.
Onyx paused. “Yes?”
“You said a bounty was placed on my head,” I blurted out in a rush. “Seeing how I’m a wanted man and all now, they could come here looking for me.”
I couldn’t tell him the mercenaries had the ability to track my life force without causing his suspicion to rise, ultimately resulting in the full truth coming out, probably in the form of a long-winded ramble.
The edge of his mouth twitched. “Do you tell me this out of worry for yourself… or for the trouble it could potentially bring to me?”
“Both. For whatever reason, you’ve been nice to me. And you helped Lake. So you should know that by letting me stay here, you’d—”
“Worry not.” His smooth voice sounded a touch warmer than before. “No one can find you here.”
“Really?” More fidgeting.
“This is my domain,” he said with a nod. “Only those I allow to enter may do so.”
“Your domain?” My breath caught as understanding slammed into me. Callum had told me stories about the demon lord—and where he lived. A place deep in the dark wood, the location unknown. “That means I’m in the…”
“Yes.” Lord Onyx stepped farther into the hall, pulling the door closed with him. “Welcome to the Shadow Realm, Evan Clark.”