Chapter Twelve #3
“Perhaps sometime you can…” Fane’s face flushed, and he averted his eyes. “Teach me how to bake? My specialty lies in savory cooking. I’ve yet to master desserts and pastries.”
I beamed at the idea. “I’d love to. And maybe you could show me how to make that herb crusted lamb.”
He tipped his head, drawing attention to his shiny black horns. “We have an accord.”
“An accord? You make it sound so official. I feel like I should call you Lord Fane of the Tasty Lamb, while you refer to me as Evan, Lord of the Muffins.”
A snort came from the far corner. I narrowed my eyes, knowing exactly who was hiding in the shadows.
“Why am I not surprised?” Fane shifted his gaze to the same corner. “Those men of yours never let you stray too far from their sight.”
The smell of black cardamom strengthened before Rowan materialized and stepped from the shadows. A golden cuff held his auburn hair in place over one shoulder, and his bangs, too short to pull aside, curtained around his eyes.
“Hey, you.” I wiped off my hands before meeting him on the other side of the counter. “How long have you been hiding in the corner?”
“Since the pup kicked me out of the room.” He tweaked my cheek, not one to be overly affectionate in front of people we didn’t know well.
“Lake kicked you out?”
“Yep.” Rowan hopped up on the counter near the stove, bringing one knee up as he leaned against the back wall. “He and Duke are playin’ chess in the parlor.”
“You cheated, didn’t you?” I put my hands on my hips. “Using your shadows to move the pieces across the board? No wonder you were kicked out.”
Fane found that amusing. “I consider that to be strategic. One must use whatever advantage they possess to win. Besides, nothing says magic is against the rules.”
“I like you, demon,” Rowan told him. “You’re the only one who gets it.”
“Don’t encourage him, Fane.” I checked the loaves of bread proving in the warming drawer beneath the stove.
Almost done rising. Once done, I’d glaze with an egg wash on top and pop them into the stone oven.
I couldn’t wait to use that beauty for the first time and see just how golden and perfect it made the crust.
“You made bread?” Rowan salivated. “I’ll just take one of those loaves for my dinner. Nothing else needed.”
“What you need is a good spanking.” I wagged a finger at him. “One of these days, Lake is going to—”
Rowan nipped at my wagging finger.
“Hey!” I yanked my hand back, out of reach from his chompers.
“If you don’t want me to bite it, don’t stick it in my face.”
The two of us stared at each other before laughing.
Fane looked toward the open window, but I caught a curve to his lips. Further proof of his growing trust in not only me but my men as well. Looks like he’d forgiven Rowan for that comment about his shiny horns and how they’d fetch a nice price to the right seller.
Not that Rowan would do that. He was a butthead but wouldn’t actually hurt someone who didn’t deserve it.
With the potatoes boiling, bread proving, and pork chops marinating, we had time to kill before dinner, so I decided to brew a pot of coffee. Fane had placed the beans in a container on the counter, and I inched my way over with a barely restrained eagerness.
The kitchen, although super nice with plenty of ovens, counter space, and a treasure trove of ingredients, was more medieval in style and function than the one in my cottage.
Energy crystals and runes powered everything, but appliances were simplistic.
No fancy mixers, high-powered burr mills, or brewing machines.
Not a problem. Before opening my café, I’d made coffee the old-fashioned way in Briar’s clinic plenty of times. Grinding the beans with a small mill and pouring hot water over a strainer and into a pitcher. Easy peasy.
“I can place a fire rune to keep it hot, if you’d like,” Fane offered once I’d finished making it.
“That’d be great.” I smiled at him. “Thank you.”
He nodded and reached toward the pitcher, tracing a design on the glass with his fingertip. Once placed, it glowed dark orange with an outline of red.
“So cool,” I said, bending down to admire it.
“It’s rather hot, I’d say.” He looked at me like I’d lost my mind.
Once again, the expressions from my old world went right over someone’s head. I stifled a laugh and grabbed three mugs.
“None for me.” Fane shook his head. “I never acquired the taste. Too bitter.”
“Suit yourself.” People were allowed to dislike coffee, even if they were wrong. I poured a mug for Rowan and gave it to him black—the only way he’d drink it without adding rum—then doctored mine with cream and sugar before taking that first miraculous drink.
Rowan dangled his leg off the edge of the counter and sipped from his mug. His shoulders stilled, and he froze with it at his lips.
“Everything okay?” I asked, worried I’d made it too strong or maybe not strong enough. Had I lost my ability to brew delicious coffee in just a matter of days?
The coffee gods have forsaken me.
“It’s… good.” As he looked at me, his topaz eyes misted over. Softly, and in a somewhat broken voice, he added, “Reminds me of home.”
My sternum squeezed. Rowan used his feisty attitude and snark as a crutch to hide deeper, more vulnerable emotions. For him to show that emotion? He must’ve been hurting. Like me, he had finally found a place he belonged too, only to have it ripped from him.
I stepped up to the counter, between his legs, and rose up on my tiptoes to smooth away his dark auburn bangs. He bent forward, and I kissed his forehead. Then I held him like that, both of us unmoving.
“I know it’s not the same,” Fane gently said, “but you can build a home here, in this realm. You can find happiness here, if you open your heart to it.”
“Something tells me we won’t have much of a choice.” I nuzzled Rowan again before stepping over and checking on the boiling potatoes. They were nearly done. “Even if Lord Onyx said I could leave, there’s nowhere for me to go.”
“Milord cares for you.” Fane regarded me with a curious expression, as though trying to figure me out. “When he asked me to venture to the market and buy the coffee beans for you, I admit it took me by surprise. He’s never requested something like that of me.”
“Probably because I told him I was going to start a riot if I didn’t get a coffee fix,” I said, reverting to humor instead of thinking too deeply on his implication. Didn’t want to get my hopes up.
“No. I’ve known him long enough to see it’s more than that.” He glanced toward the open window. The sun had dipped below the horizon now, welcoming a glimmer of stars across the darkening sky. “You’re special to him. I believe he hoped the beans would make you smile.”
Something warm filled the space between my ribs.
“That doesn’t sound like a ruthless demon lord to me,” Rowan said, slouching back against the wall. “Stories make him out to be a formidable warlord. Then again, even the mightiest and surliest of males fall victim to my little treasure.”
I rolled my eyes, earning a toothy grin in response.
“The stories you’ve heard hold merit. Many years ago, Lord Onyx used to be ruthless.
” Fane’s voice dropped, as if he were lost in thought.
“Men trembled in his presence without him needing to utter a single word. Armies bowed down to him, some surrendering before the fighting even began. Demons respected him but feared him more. He’d set fire to anyone who dared disobey or question him. ”
“What changed?” I asked, coffee mug between my palms to warm them. The change of topic brought on a sudden chill.
“He did. Or so I’m told. I didn’t know him back then. Only heard stories.” Fane grabbed a skillet for the pork chops. “What he used to be is of little consequence though. He’s different now. The Lord Onyx I know is kind and a far cry from cruel.”
“A shame.” Rowan hopped down from the counter. “Between Nocturne hunting Evan and a kingdom wanting him dead, we could use someone formidable. Someone who’d crush an army with the snap of his fingers.”
Fane expelled a breath. “I said Lord Onyx no longer ruled with an iron fist, not that he couldn’t. The power that made armies cower still exists inside him. And I believe, should the need arise, he’ll set it free once more.”
“We can only hope.” Rowan took another drink from his mug before pinching my cheek. “I’m gonna check on the pup. Don’t trip and fall into the oven while I’m gone.”
Before I could smack him, he dashed away and vanished into the shadows.
“He’s so mean to me,” I mumbled.
“But he loves you.” Fane grabbed the bread from the warming drawer and set the platter on the counter. “His mouth says one thing, but his eyes say another. Even when taunting you, his affection for you lights him up from the inside.”
Tiny flutters surrounded my heart.
After placing the bread in the stone oven, I found a pot for the green beans while he got to work on the pork chops. The potatoes were mashed, then mixed with butter and milk and seasoned with salt, pepper, and a touch of garlic.
“You said you’ve worked here for fifteen or so years?” I asked, doing mental math. He nodded. “How old are you?”
“I just celebrated my fifty-eighth name day.” He focused on the pork chops, basting them as they sizzled in the skillet. The aroma was mouthwatering.
“What?” I examined him closer. Smooth dark skin—not a single wrinkle in sight. “But you look so young.”
“Because I am.” Fane gave me a look, visibly confounded. “Nina and I are the youngest in the castle. She will celebrate her fiftieth name day come summer.”
“So, demons really don’t age?” I asked incredulously. “Lord Onyx said he’s three hundred years old.”
“We do age,” he answered. “Yet, it’s very slow compared to a human. The average demon lifespan is a thousand years or more.”
I couldn’t imagine living that long. Watching empires rise and fall.
Watching the people I loved grow old while I stayed the same.
Lupin had never revealed his age, but he’d dropped a few hints that he’d been around for a while.
He had made his husband immortal to prevent him from aging. So they could be together forever.
Made me think of the men I loved. All were human apart from Lake. As far as I knew, he healed faster than humans but aged the same. But what if Lord Onyx did join our family? He’d have to watch all of us grow old without him.
“Sounds kind of lonely,” I eventually said. “Living so long.”
“To some, I suppose.” Fane frowned at the skillet. “Especially if a demon were to make a friend who was human. It may feel… lonely once the earth reclaimed them. Perhaps even a little sad.”
“If you made a human friend.” I lightly bumped his arm. “Guess it’s a good thing I’m just an annoying blabbermouth, huh?”
“A good thing, indeed.” He softly smiled. “Now, about the green beans. Must we truly add bacon?”
I laughed.
What the future had in store for me, I couldn’t say. But as Fane and I continued with dinner preparations and chatted about our favorite meals to cook, I felt I’d made a friend. One I’d miss the day we finally left the Shadow Realm.