Chapter Sixteen
Rain Showers and Cryptic Red Flowers
Rain tapped against the windowpane in the small parlor. I curled up in an oversized armchair and watched the drops fall, mug of coffee between my palms and a blanket over my lap. Aside from the occasional rumble of thunder, it wasn’t too scary. Mainly steady rain and short gusts of wind.
“I like storms. It’s proof that beauty can be found even among the chaos.”
Thinking of Lord Onyx, I sank deeper into the cushion and snuggled into the blanket. I’d only seen a glimpse of him at breakfast. Our eyes briefly locked before he’d accepted the cup of tea Fane made for him and then left again. Preferring to be cooped up in his room on this dreary day.
Was he sitting by the window watching the rain fall too?
“You’re thinking of him, aren’t you?” Lake asked. He sat in front of the hearth, whittling by firelight. The wooden charm was about the size of a quarter. “I recognize the ache in your chest. It was the same one you had for Callum before he joined us.”
“I really can’t keep anything from you, can I?”
He tossed me a smile over his shoulder. “No.”
Oreo lay sprawled out beside him, his black tail gently swooshing across the rug. The two of them had ventured outside before the rain hit earlier so Lake could visit the garden, then the puppy had run off some excess energy by dragging me down the castle corridors.
It was how we’d found the parlor. A cozy little room filled with books and with a view of the willow where Onyx and I had shared our first kiss.
There I go thinking about him again.
The demon lord consumed my every thought. The eye-fucking he’d given me at dinner the previous evening hadn’t helped at all. Only made it worse, in fact. There I sat the following afternoon consumed by him still.
“What are you making?” I asked to distract myself from that insufferable demon.
“A charm for Oreo.” Lake held it up to the light before lowering it and carving again around the edge. Silver bangs fell over his eyes as he concentrated. “I thought it’d be nice for him to wear.”
“Can I see?”
He nodded and stood from the rug, coming to sit on the cushion with me. The round charm had thin lines engraved around the outside and a sort of emblem in the center. “The symbol comes from my homeland and means ‘protector.’ Fitting for him, I think.”
“I think so too.” I touched the engraving, admiring all the defined dips and stunning craftsmanship for something so small. “It’s perfect. Maybe we can use a strip of leather to fasten it into a collar.”
“Or one of Callum’s boot laces.”
I laughed.
Lake stared down at the charm, slowly running his finger along the grooved surface. “One day, I’d like to have my own shop where I can sell trinkets like this. Perhaps be like my father and work as a carpenter as well.”
My sternum squeezed.
It was the first time Lake had expressed a dream of that sort.
Maybe because, until coming to the Shadow Realm, he hadn’t envisioned any sort of future for himself that didn’t involve him being confined to the shadows and forced to stay hidden from everyone.
But here, he didn’t have to hide. He could freely walk out in the open without fear of who saw him.
“Yet, I know it’s a silly dream.” He peered over at me, his purple eyes catching the gray light of the overcast day. “This isn’t our home.”
“Don’t say that. Your dream isn’t silly.” I cuddled against Lake’s side and laid my head on his shoulder. “How about we build your shop next to my café? I’m thinking of calling it the Brewed Muffin 2.0. You’ll need a name for yours too. Lake’s Hard Wood has a nice ring to it.”
He breathed out a sound that was close to a laugh but still too rough.
“I’m serious,” I said softly. “I know this realm isn’t our home, but Bremloc isn’t either. Not anymore. Not while Cedric is on the throne and telling everyone I’m this evil mastermind who tried to poison the king.”
There was also the headache of being the Hallowed Saint and being hunted by Nocturne because of it.
“While I’m sad to have lost our cottage, I…” Lake turned his face into my hair. “I enjoy being here, Evan. The land. The people. I’ve never known such peace.”
His way of saying he didn’t want to leave. Part of me didn’t want to leave either. Which made me feel guilty when thinking of all the friends not with us.
“I like it too,” I confessed, feeling like I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Because while I missed our friends in Bremloc, I’d made other friends in the Shadow Realm.
As Lake returned his attention to the wooden charm, I finished my mug of coffee and then browsed the shelves in the parlor.
Books were the best escape from things I’d rather not think about.
Many of them had a thick layer of dust, not having been picked up and shown the love they deserved.
Then again, one of them looked like a book on the different types of monstrous insects.
So maybe some had been forgotten with good reason.
I shuddered and moved to another shelf. A line through the dust led to a book bound in brown leather. Proof that someone had looked at it recently. Carefully, I pulled it off the shelf and flipped it open.
Fancy handwriting on the inner cover drew my eye.
My darling Onyx.
Never forget how deeply you are treasured. I loved you with your first breath and will continue to love you long after I draw my last. Should you ever be lonely, hold these stories close to your heart and know I’m with you.
Prickles of… something… attacked my chest. Now with a slight tremble in my hand, I turned the page. It was a storybook.
The first story revolved around a girl who found a seed and planted it, causing a weeping willow with shimmering branches to sprout from the soil.
Another detailed a voyage across the sea and spoke of a mysterious island filled with hidden treasure.
No coordinates could locate the island, as it constantly changed location.
And then I came across an illustration of a familiar flower.
The red spider lily.
There was another handwritten note scrolled across the top of the page.
May you find your lily one day, my dearest love. Just as I found mine.
A boom of thunder rattled the window and almost made me drop the book.
“Evan?” Lake glanced up from his seated position on the rug. One hand rested on Oreo, who’d been startled by the sound as well. The puppy hadn’t bit him this time at least.
“I’m okay.” With my nerves rattled, I returned the book to the shelf. As much as I wanted to read the story, it felt like an invasion of privacy. “Maddox and the others shouldn’t be out in this.”
The weather hadn’t hindered my knights from their training with the warriors. Come rain or shine, they took to the field.
“I’m sure they’re taking precautions,” he said.
“They’ll catch a cold.” I forced myself to step farther away from the shelf. The book would, no doubt, haunt me for the rest of the day. “Or they could get struck by lightning. Hell, they could slip in the mud and accidently fall on their sword.”
A raspy laugh came from the corner. “They’re not clumsy like you, little treasure.”
“I spy with my little eye…” I pointed at the shadows. “An eavesdropper.”
Topaz eyes and a glimmer of auburn hair appeared within the swirls of darkness before the rest of Rowan materialized. “You love it.”
“I do,” I admitted, stepping toward him. The man looked hot as hell, wearing a sleeveless black shirt that hugged his upper body and trousers that did the same to his ass and thighs. “I love knowing you’re with me. Protecting me from the shadows.”
Rowan caught me around the waist and tugged me closer. “I’ll always be around to protect you. My services don’t come cheap though.”
“Oh?” Smiling, I turned my face against his neck. Spicy notes lingered in his hair. “What do I owe you?”
“Buttery biscuits covered in that spicy sausage gravy is a good start.” He slipped his hand under the back of my shirt and lightly skated his fingertips up my spine. The lighting in the parlor made the deep gold of his irises pool like honey. “Followed by dessert.”
“You don’t like dessert.”
“I do if you’re the one on the menu.” Rowan dropped a kiss to my earlobe, then softly nibbled it. “I’ll savor every bite.”
A knock came at the open door.
“Pardon the intrusion,” Varys said before stepping into the parlor. He smiled at me and Rowan before turning to Lake. “I hoped we might have a cup of tea together.”
Lake’s silver wolf ears lifted in interest. “I’d like that.”
Emotion welled in my throat. For so many years, Lake had been isolated from the world. Even after the others and I had come into his life, I still sensed a longing in him. Bonding with Varys—making a friend who understood him on a level none of us could—helped him not to feel so alone.
Yet another reason why leaving this realm would be upsetting. Lake would lose the only true safe place he’d had since his father was killed.
“Stay with our human and protect him,” Lake told Oreo, scratching his ears.
The puppy answered with a soft woof. The rainy weather was making him sleepy.
After putting away his whittling tools and cleaning up the small pile of wood shavings, Lake kissed me and left the parlor with Varys.
“Our pup’s made another friend,” Rowan said, staring after them with a warmth in his eyes he rarely showed. “Duke might get jealous. There goes his chess buddy.”
“He’ll survive.” I snorted. “I’d say you could play chess with him, but you cheat too much.”
“Not according to Lord Onyx.” Rowan grinned. “He thinks I’m clever to use my shadows to move the pieces across the board.”
Something occurred to me. “Why haven’t you asked him to help you yet?”
“Help me?”
“With your magic,” I said. “That’s the whole reason you Evan-napped me last summer, remember? So you could use me as a peace offering to come here, get in his good graces, and learn from him. We’ve been here for a week and you haven’t talked to him about it.”