Chapter Eighteen
A Demon’s Love
“What did that tomato plant ever do to you?” I asked, hands on my hips.
Oreo stared up at me, tongue poking from the corner of his mouth, and wagged his fluffy tail. Some of the orangey-red juice had smeared across the white streak on his chest. I’d nearly fainted when I saw him, thinking he’d been hurt.
But no. He’d just been attacking tomatoes.
“You mustn’t be so aggressive, little one,” Lake said, kneeling in front of the puppy. He touched the gnawed-on plant and sighed under his breath. “If you wish to eat one, you may, but be gentle with the vine. You’ve made it sad.”
Oreo looked at the plant before pouncing on it, growls tearing through his throat.
I tried hard not to laugh but couldn’t stifle it for long. He was too cute. Lake didn’t share my amusement. He sighed again and watched the tomato massacre.
The morning air chilled my skin, and I drew my cloak closer around my body. It had rained throughout the night and had been sprinkling when I’d rolled out of bed to make breakfast. Just as I thought we’d have another dreary day, the sun emerged and chased away the remnants of dark clouds.
Proof that no storm lasted forever. The sun eventually shone again.
“Rowan told us you spent time with Lord Onyx last night.” Lake stood from the grass and slid an arm around my side, helping block the chilly breeze. “Does this mean you completed the bond?”
A PG-rated way to ask if I fucked him.
“Let’s just say Briar will need to brew me some of the flower juice today.”
When Lake smiled, it showed a peek of his canines. “I’m sure he’s brewing a vial as we speak.”
I groaned. “Awesome. Can’t wait.”
A small price to pay for the time I spent with the demon lord. The intensity and passion had been out of this world. Scorching hot kisses and pleasure that’d crashed into me like a rogue wave.
Onyx had seared himself into a piece of my soul—just as he’d said he would. Even now, as Lake and I strolled through the castle garden, I felt the burn he’d left behind. Leaving me permanently changed.
A breeze ruffled Lake’s silvery hair, bringing with it the damp smell of rain-drenched leaves and traces of meat cooking over an open fire. Probably the warriors at the barracks. Within the smell of smoke came something woodsy. Familiar.
Then again, we were in nature, surrounded by trees and various firepits. It didn’t mean Onyx was near.
“When you said Rowan told all of you that I spent the night with Lord Onyx… does that mean he… um…”
“Watched you and Lord Onyx be intimate?” Lake shook his head. “He only saw the two of you in the kitchen and then travel with the shadows before returning to the room to tell us. But we all assumed the two of you made love.”
I fidgeted in place. “And everyone was… um, okay with that?”
“Aye,” he said without hesitation. “We accepted it like we did when Callum joined our family. Lord Onyx is one of us.”
The reassurance made me less fidgety. Funny how I’d been through it so many times but still let those nerves get the best of me sometimes. I was only human. Albeit one with an ancient, highly sought after and super rare type of saintly magic.
Magic I had seen no signs of. Where had it been when I’d burned the cookies, hmm? Or, more importantly, when Lake had been bleeding out the night of the ball? What good were powers if I couldn’t tap into them?
A crunch of leaves and boot-heavy steps announced Koga’s arrival. His mane of lion-like hair was pulled back in a low ponytail, and he wore a crocheted dark green shawl over his brown tunic. He held a woven basket.
“Good morning,” I greeted him.
He softly smiled. “A good morning indeed. Well, for most of us. It appears we have a casualty.”
Oreo had grown tired of his attack on the plant and lay beside the evidence of his crime. His chubby belly rose and fell with his languid breaths.
“He did that to the tomatoes at our cottage too,” I said, remembering a time not so long ago when Lake had come in from outside, wondering what type of animal had been rummaging around in his garden. “Guess he really likes them.”
“I’m afraid no amount of singing will help it now,” Lake muttered as he regarded the plant.
I patted his back.
As Lake joined Koga and walked with him to examine the carrots and potatoes and pull the ones ready to be harvested, I turned my attention to the castle looming behind us.
The sun reflected off the windows. Some were made of stained glass, and the array of colors stood out against the dark stone surrounding them.
Light bounced off the glass dome of the greenhouse as well.
Was Onyx in there right now, sitting within the trees as he read?
“He goes there to find peace,” Varys had once told me. “It’s home to many plants, trees, and flowers that are unable to naturally grow here in the Shadow Realm. I believe it makes him feel less isolated from the outside world.”
Isolated.
Lonely. Just like the expression he’d made last night while staring at the water basin after leaving me in bed. Strange how I could feel so connected to someone, yet know close to nothing about their personal life.
“Hey, Koga?” I turned to him. He and Lake both paused in their harvesting of carrots, their sleeves pushed up their forearms as they dug in the soil. “How long have you known Lord Onyx?”
“Ever since he was a child,” the demon answered, dusting his hands off on his trousers. “I’m the one who first taught him how to wield a sword, though he was far more interested in books. He used to skip his lessons to sneak off and read.”
I smiled at the detail. It fit Onyx’s regal and intellectual vibe perfectly. “So you were here when the human and demon war started?”
In the time I’d spent in the Shadow Realm, I hadn’t learned much about the war. What caused it? Which kingdom acted first? The answers might not matter now since centuries had passed, but learning more might help me understand Onyx better and why he preferred to seclude himself from everyone.
How had a boy who skipped sparring lessons to read grow into a feared demon lord?
“Aye. I commanded a unit of warriors during the war.” A shadow passed over Koga’s face. “Those were dark days. Ones I’d rather not speak of, if that’s all right with you.”
“Of course,” I said with an instant spike of guilt. “I’m sorry for mentioning it. I was just curious.”
“No apology necessary.” Koga nodded to me. “If our situations were reversed, I believe I’d be curious as well. However, I was a different demon back then and did many things I’m not… well, anyway. What’s in the past should stay there.”
Taking the hint, I let the subject drop. “Those carrots are huge. I bet they’d be good in a cake.”
“Carrot in… dessert?” Koga asked.
Lake’s ears perked up. “The cake with the cream cheese frosting?”
“Yep,” I answered. I’d made it for them a few times back home, and he’d loved it.
Dinner ideas then took over. Beef, potato, and carrot stew with a loaf of rosemary and thyme bread. Carrot cake for dessert. Hearty and delicious. Once they were done harvesting vegetables, we left the garden and made our way back to the castle.
“There you are, love.” Briar stood on the ground-level terrace beside the main courtyard. His smile screamed of mischief as he patted his pocket. “I have something for you.”
I looked at Lake, and he pressed his lips together. My gaze returned to Briar, whose smile had only sweetened. Suspiciously so. “Whatever you’re selling, I’m not interested. Especially if it has anything to do with flowers.”
Briar laughed. “Oh, come now. It’s not as horrible as you make it sound.”
“You’re right, Specs.” Rowan stepped out and joined him on the terrace, his auburn hair falling down his back.
His smirk, however, was the same as always—that snaggle tooth on display and an impish look in his eyes.
“It’s worse. Which is why we should wait for Captain Glutton and the rabbit to finish training before he drinks it. They’ll be sad if they miss it.”
“Do you hear that?” I cupped my hand beside my ear. “That’s the sound of the bread I planned to make you for dinner tonight fluttering away in the chilly morning breeze.”
“I take it back.”
I started laughing. A laugh that broke off abruptly as the scent of cedar and woodsmoke reached me. I whipped my head around in the direction it’d come from, seeing a few scattered trees and grass speckled with wild violets. Onyx was nowhere in sight. The scent had faded too.
Had I imagined it?
“You okay, little treasure?”
“Y-Yeah.” I tore my gaze from the trees and neared the terrace. “Dead muffin walking. Here to accept my fate, but at least I still have my dignity.”
Rowan hung his head and released a raspy chuckle.
I was instantly distracted by his hair. He didn’t wear it like that often: free of the golden cuff that normally kept it pulled to one side.
I found myself reaching for him without making the conscious effort to do so.
His gaze softened as I caught a strand and circled it around my finger.
“I’m thinking of cutting it,” he said. “Easier to manage when it’s shorter.”
“If that’s what you want.” It would be a crime to chop off hair that beautiful, but I wanted him to do whatever he felt most comfortable with. “I’ll love you no matter what. Even if you were bald.”
He flashed his fang-like tooth again. The tenderness in his eyes remained though.
Then came time to seal my flowery fate. Briar cradled my face in his hands and softly kissed me before sliding the vial into my palm.
I pouted at him. So much for keeping my dignity.
It was my own fault though for going and banging the demon lord.
A post-sex tonic was necessary in order to keep myself—and my men—safe.
It ridded the body of any sexually transmitted diseases and also boosted the immune system.
We were all exclusive with each other, so after we had all drank one, no more had been needed.