Chapter Seven
Boys’ Day Out
Sunlight broke through the thin, wispy clouds. Different hues of blue stretched across the sky, darker in some places and lighter in others. I breathed in the fresh air as we exited the castle. It smelled of spring. Felt like it too, with a crisp breeze but warm beneath the sun.
What wasn’t warm? The icy glare Maddox and Callum aimed at the two warriors accompanying us. They were elite warriors: Lord Onyx’s most trusted.
Seraphina and Borus were both armed with battle axes that clanked as they walked.
“They’re allowed to have weapons but not us?” Callum whispered to Maddox. “Tell me again why we’re supposed to believe they mean us no harm?”
“It’s just a precaution,” I said, sandwiched between them. “This is their realm after all.”
“Not to mention the years of conflict between our kinds,” Briar added. He walked in front of Maddox. Our captain was protective over both of us. “If the situation were reversed and demons were visiting Bremloc, you’d insist on carrying a weapon as well.”
“The healer speaks true,” Seraphina said in a firm tone. Her moss-green hair was cut short, and her yellow eyes popped against her gray skin. Most notable was the horn jutting from her forehead. It reminded me of a unicorn. “The relationship between us is far from cordial.”
“Aye.” Borus gave a curt nod. He was a boar-like demon with two short tusks and a long, braided beard. “While we hope for peace, we will strike you down if we must.”
“Okay, none of that,” I cut in before Maddox and the knights could puff up their chests and counter that threat with one of their own.
“We’re having a nice stroll through the castle courtyard right now.
Look. Pretty flowers.” I motioned to the colorful ones sprouting from the soil around a stone bench.
Then noticed something… strange about one of them. “Um. Are those teeth?”
“Oh my.” Briar vibrated with excitement as he approached the patch near the overgrown bench. “It’s carnivorous.”
“Like a Venus flytrap?” I asked, tiptoeing behind him, then peeking around him to get a closer look.
However, it looked nothing like the plant I mentioned.
This one looked like a mix between a purple tulip and a sunflower, but with a line cutting across the middle with tiny rows of teeth poking out. “What in tarnation?”
Then, the freaking unthinkable happened: the thing started swaying from side to side.
“It’s moving by itself?” I exclaimed, horrified.
“Indeed, it is,” Briar said, his earlier excitement surging higher. He was totally nerding out. “How extraordinary.”
The… er, extraordinary flower opened its mouth wider and snapped down in a chomping motion.
“You woke it,” Seraphina said from the side of the stone path, hip cocked and her arms crossed. “And now it’s hungry.”
I glanced over at her in horror.
She smirked.
“Does it like muffins?” I glanced down at the small basket over my arm. Leftovers from breakfast. I always came prepared.
Maddox grumbled something under his breath. The main reason for me bringing the basket. They were my emergency, ‘calm down my grouchy captain’ stash of muffins and should be used sparingly.
Oreo, who had been padding along beside me, leapt toward the flower, his ears flopping, and woofed at it. The monster flower swayed from side to side and chomped its creepy little teeth. The Fenrir puppy sniffed, then sneezed. When it tried to bite him, he jumped out of the way and growled.
“You know?” I grabbed Briar’s arm. “I think I prefer Herbert and Holly.”
He laughed and pressed a kiss to my temple. “Thane would be pleased to hear that.” The mention of his apprentice caused a shift in his expression. A sadness he tried to hide with a smile.
A cloud of guilt gathered in the pit of my stomach and weighed heavily, like a ship’s anchor. “I’m sorry.”
“What on earth for?” he asked, taken aback.
“You’re all here because of me.” A lump lodged in my throat, constricting my airway. “The knights should be with their Order. Ro should be with Draven and the other spies, and you should be in the clinic—”
“I’m right where I wish to be, love,” Briar softly interjected. The edges of his hazel eyes crinkled. “By your side. There’s no place better.”
A warm body pressed against my back, bringing the scent of warm spice and leather. “Our physician is right. This is all I need.” Maddox embraced me from behind and kissed my nape. “You safe and in my arms.”
Little growls filled the air as Oreo padded back over and sat at my feet. He bared his teeth at Maddox.
“Hush, furball.” Maddox hugged me closer. “He was mine first.”
The lump in my throat dislodged as a laugh broke through it.
A clang rang out, echoing across the courtyard.
“Swords?” Callum asked, head turning to the left.
“Our warriors,” Seraphina told him. “Come. I’ll show you.”
Trees and a small stable shielded our view, but after our group moved several paces down the winding, stone path—leaving the monster flower behind—we came to a field.
Demon warriors had gathered to do drills.
Swords clashed, combined with the heavy thud of bodies colliding against shields and each other.
Callum watched them train, hyper focused on their movements. His hand twitched at his side.
“You miss it, don’t you?” I asked, nearing him and looping my arm through his. “Training.”
“Aye.” He peered down with warm, chocolate eyes that still gave me butterflies. “Feel like my arm isn’t complete without a sword in my grip.”
“You’re a skilled swordsman, yes?” Seraphina asked Callum. Her serious expression matched his. A look shared by many soldiers I’d met. “Perhaps during your stay in our realm, you can show me just how skilled you are. It’s been ages since I’ve faced a worthy opponent.”
Interest flickered across Callum’s face. As did a competitive gleam in his eyes that was paired with a trace of a smile. “Challenge accepted. But do know that I treat all soldiers equally, regardless of whether they’re male or female.”
Seraphina grinned. “I’ll accept nothing less.”
Hope blossomed in my chest. That was almost friendly, right? Inching toward civil at least. Unless, of course, the competition got too heated and ended with one of them gutted like a fish.
Sigh.
Pressing two fingers to her lips, Seraphina whistled loud and sharp, then lowered her hand. A beat later, the rattle of a carriage sounded. Two carriages, actually. One was pulled by Ghost and Ash, and the other by demon stallions I hadn’t had the chance to meet, pet, and name yet.
“Gods,” Quincy said under his breath. “Those nightmarish creatures again.”
“Not as nightmarish as your face,” Duke mumbled back at him.
“Says the ugliest redheaded bastard I’ve ever seen,” Baden chimed in.
“Your brother never has any complaints,” came Duke’s immediate reply. “Then again, his face is normally shoved into my pillow. Hard for him to complain when he’s too busy moaning my name.”
“I’ll kill you!” Baden dove at him. The two beefy knights playfully brawled, no actual anger or heat behind their punches and headlocks.
Maddox sighed. Probably too tired to chide them for it.
“The carriages will take us to town.” Seraphina rested her hand on the hilt of the small tomahawk strapped to her belt, gaze pinned to the knights. “I suggest being on your best behavior. Would hate to give any of these warriors a reason to think you’re a threat.”
Baden and Duke pulled apart instantly, their playful moods tumbling into something colder. Callum watched Seraphina’s hand on the hatchet, his tightening into a fist in response.
“Understood,” Baden said, jaw clenching.
Jarring how things could be so light one second and heavy and thick with tension the next. Maddox pulled me and Briar against him, one arm resting on each of our hips. Rowan stood beside Lake, closer to his side than normal.
Oreo sat at my feet and looked between Seraphina and the knights, his ears perked. He then sneered at Maddox and wedged himself between us, pressing against my leg. I reached down to scratch his ears.
The strangest noise reached my ears; a horse’s whinny followed by the dinosaur-like rumbles of an alligator. Ghost stamped his front leg and bobbed his head up and down.
“There’s my handsome boy,” I said, stepping toward the stallion. Oreo padded along with me and sat once we reached the carriage. I got the feeling he’d follow me everywhere. My little protector.
Ghost lightly butted my hand and emitted another throaty rumble.
“Hope you don’t mind taking us to town,” I said, petting his neck. He exhaled through his nostrils and bumped me again. “I’ll find something yummy to give you as a thank you.”
“He’s quite remarkable,” Briar said, joining me at the carriage. He placed a hand on Ghost’s back. The demon stallion didn’t seem to mind. “This realm is unlike anything I imagined. It’s beautiful and filled with the most fascinating of creatures.”
I leaned against Briar’s side. “Just wait until you see the market.”
His eyes sparkled.
Our group divided ourselves between the two open carriages and started down the road, passing fields of flowers, a pond, and rolling hills.
Maddox sat beside Seraphina in the front of ours, while I sat on Callum’s lap in the back, Briar on one side and Rowan on the other.
Oreo lay at my feet, his tail wagging up a storm.
Lake sat beside Duke in the other carriage, having missed the knight he’d become such good friends with, and Baden was on the outer right side. Quincy sat beside Borus up front, and though I couldn’t hear a word he said, I saw his mouth moving ninety-to-nothing, talking the demon’s ear off.
I smiled and tipped my head to the sky. Earlier tension aside, I felt like it was going to be a great day. Lord Onyx had told me peace between our kinds was highly unlikely, but I had hope we were moving in the right direction. Even small steps still got you to where you needed to go.
Eventually.
***