Chapter Six
Imprint of the Heart
Muffins calmed even the surliest of grumps. And luckily for me, I came armed with enough to feed a small army.
Leaving the room by myself without telling anyone where I was going normally would’ve found me in the hot seat, begging for mercy as I was tickled and lectured. But one look at the platters of food had my men forgetting to be mad.
“Tasty, huh?” I asked, watching them tear into their breakfast. They all mumbled and nodded between hearty bites. “Eat up. There’s plenty more where that came from.”
“Don’t have to tell me twice.” Quincy scooped more rice onto his plate. The trio of knights had joined us shortly after I got to the room, lured by the smell of food.
Maddox reached for another banana muffin while still chewing the one he’d just shoved into his mouth.
My sexy glutton. Callum grabbed his third one, earning a sneer from our captain, then shot me a dopey smile that had me giggling.
His cheeks were stuffed like a chipmunk. The two of them sat with me on the bed.
“I’m sure we could have breakfast on the patio or somewhere bigger,” I said, glancing at everyone piled together in the room.
The bedchamber was a decent size, spacious enough for a table and several chairs, along with a king-sized bed and one of those cushioned benches slash trunks that sat at the foot of it, but we were still crowded together.
Apart from me and Rowan, the smallest of the bunch, and Briar, who was tall but slim, they were all big guys.
“Here is fine,” Maddox said, gaze trailing to the door. Sacrificing comfort for what he perceived as safety.
So stubborn. I sighed.
“Gratitude for the meal, love,” Briar told me before sipping his tea. He and Lake sat together on the small love seat, warming themselves by the toasty fire.
“You’re welcome,” I responded. “Fane made the eggs and rice.”
Quincy paused mid-chew and glanced down at his plate. Then, as though deciding it was too delicious to waste, made by a demon or not, he swallowed and shoveled more into his mouth. Not that it would be poisoned or anything. Silly knight.
“You were there with him, thief?” Maddox asked, expression sobering. “In the kitchen with the demon?”
“Demons,” Rowan said from his perch on the window bench. “Plural.”
Maddox stopped chewing. Guess the muffins were only a temporary remedy to hold off my captain’s protective tendencies.
“Stop glaring or you’ll make me fall for you.” Rowan eyed him over his mug. Couldn’t see his mouth, but I knew he was smirking. “Relax. No harm came to your little muffin. I was with him the whole time.” His eyes shifted to me.
No words were needed for me to know his thoughts. Maddox would, most definitely, lose his shit if he learned one of those demons had been Lord Onyx.
“Captain?” Baden wiped at his mouth and straightened in his chair. He, Duke, and Quincy sat at the table near the hearth. “I thought we might patrol the castle today. Get a feel for the land.”
“And the warriors,” Duke added. “Learn their movements and routines.”
Maddox nodded to them. “The demon lord says we’re guests here, but I have doubts as to his true intentions. Especially after his claim about Evan being a prisoner.”
“A guest who can’t leave,” I mumbled. “Geez. Get it right.”
He briefly closed his eyes, as if silently praying to the gods to give him strength because I was undoubtedly testing his last nerve. The tight muscle in his jaw relaxed as I poked him, though, and his eyes opened, shining with the smile he refused to give me.
“Speaking of the demon lord,” Quincy interjected. A grain of rice lingered at the edge of his upper lip. “I forgot to ask last night. Is he as hideous as the stories claim? Winged, horned, and skin like dragon scales?”
I blinked in surprise. Yeah, whoever made up that story obviously had never seen Onyx. The man—er, demon—was hotter than molten lava. And I got the feeling he was as destructive too.
“I vaguely recall him from that day in the dark wood,” Baden said. “Black hair and red eyes. Pale skin.”
Quincy shuddered. “You recall his face? I was too preoccupied with all the bloodthirsty demons around us to notice.”
“Aye.” Duke drank from his mug and wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. “The lieutenant was bleeding out. We all were. Our little prince jumped in front of a damned fully-grown Fenrir to save the captain. Thought my heart would give out. I barely remember anything else.”
My gut soured at the memory of that day. All of my knights had come to my rescue… and had nearly died because of it.
“No horns or scales,” Lake said. “He’s handsome actually.”
All eyes moved to my wolf, and his ears lowered. He was no longer nervous around the knights, but he wasn’t fond of the attention aimed his way. An introvert through and through.
“Handsome?” Briar pondered for a moment. “I suppose he is. Although, it could be an illusion. If he’s as powerful as I’ve heard, he could use a glamour and appear however he wishes to.”
Powerful. Yet, he’d calmly sat while Maddox and Callum had sneered at him in the parlor last night and puffed out their chests, tempers blaring.
A bird landed on the small ledge outside the window. Chubby with blue and orange feathers. It pecked at its reflection in the glass before flying away. Blue sky showed beyond the window with mountains in the distance. A far cry from the nightmarish realm I’d envisioned before seeing it for myself.
Maybe, like the realm, the lord ruling over it was different too. Misunderstood.
Thuds came from outside, like swords against shields. The warriors must’ve been in the training field.
“Don’t you think it’s strange?” I asked. “I didn’t grow up in Bremloc so maybe I’m wrong here, but I’ve only heard about you fighting low to mid-level demons. The slimy worms with teeth, crows, and other animal-like ones. Not warriors with weapons like the ones out there now.”
“What are you inferring?” Briar asked, interest piqued.
I shrugged. “Just saying it’s strange is all. If Lord Onyx is so powerful, why has he never sent his army of warriors to attack the kingdom? Why has he never marched on the capital and killed the king himself?”
“You’re suggesting he’s not as wicked as we believe?
” Maddox set his plate on the bedside table before grabbing my hand and weaving our fingers together.
He wore the ring I’d bought for him; a flat silver band with an emerald stone in the center.
Briar had infused the stone with protective magic, shielding him from harm.
“There you go again trying so hard to see the good in those around you.”
“And there you go again being too stubborn to consider that I might be right.” I touched the band of his ring and traced the stone.
Sorting my thoughts. “I know I’m not a battle-hardened soldier like you.
I’m too trusting sometimes. But you thought the same thing about Rowan once, remember? That he was dangerous.”
“He has a point, oh mighty captain.” Rowan shifted on the window bench, reclining back and throwing one arm behind his head. The action lifted the bottom of his shirt, revealing a peek of tanned skin and lean muscle. “Look at us now. You love me.”
“I tolerate you,” Maddox countered with his signature scowl. “Love plays no part in it.”
“Sure. Keep tellin’ yourself that.”
Maddox released a breath. “Back to the matter at hand. The demonic army, led by Lord Malachi, was defeated long ago. Though it may be true no armies have marched on Bremloc since then, I find it unlikely that Lord Onyx has made peace with his father’s death.
Vengeance is too great a driving force. My gut says he can’t be trusted. ”
“Your gut is too full of muffins to know your head from your ass,” Rowan told him. “How many did you just eat? Twenty?”
“He ate seven,” Lake said matter-of-factly, his poofy tail sliding across the rug in a slow wag. He’d moved to the floor to be closer to the fire. “And one bite of an eighth.”
“Well, can you blame the captain? Those muffins are blessed by the mighty saint.” Duke waggled his brows at me. “Tastes like magic and sweet love.”
“Ugh. Stop.” I scrubbed my hands over my face. “Forget about the ‘s’ word. I’m far from saintly.”
“Tell that to the mercenaries pacing outside the barrier,” Baden said, gaze hard. “If not for them, we could take you far from this place. Somewhere safe.”
I’m safe here, I wanted to say but sighed instead. Nothing I said would convince them. I could argue about Lord Onyx not being a villain until I was blue in the face and they wouldn’t budge at all in their way of thinking.
“Briar?” Maddox asked, eyes lowered. “Is it possible to craft another protection stone for Evan? One that would make him undetectable once again to the mercenaries tracking him?”
The question shocked me. I hadn’t considered it.
“It’s possible, yes,” Briar answered, after taking another sip of tea. It was probably cold by now. “But it will take time. Ever since his last one shattered, I’ve tried several times to craft another but have yet to find a gem strong enough to hold the power needed for the spell.”
Maddox started to remove his ring. “Then I’ll give him mine. That will allow us to leave this realm without fear of him being tracked.”
Briar shook his head. “The magic in that ring is bound to you and you alone. If you give it to Evan, it won’t react because it’s tied to your life force. It’s the reason why a protection spell of that caliber is so complex.”
Quincy frowned, wrinkling the scar on his face. “What of the charms you make for us? Will they not temporarily shield him?”
“No. Basic protection charms like the ones you mention are weaker because of the material and method used to craft them.” Briar made a face—brows pulling together and mouth down turning.
“However, I fear that even with a strong protection stone, it won’t hide Evan’s life force from the mercenaries. Not anymore.”
“Why not?” I asked.