Chapter 19 - Willow
Willow
The moon was out in full as we walked back to the castle, illuminating our path in the kind of soft light that made every moment feel more magical.
Not that we needed much help there. My body was hyperaware of Thorne now, every brush of his finger against my skin or bump of his shoulder against mine sent sparks through me.
I glanced sideways at him, appreciating the beauty of his shadows dancing across the ground like they were trying to merge with the night itself.
He was supposed to be a terrifying villain, but all I saw was a man who’d spent the past hour digging around in the dirt with me while I gardened until it was too dark to see clearly anymore.
He’d seemed content watching me work and was so much more at ease than when I’d seen him in the library. Like the further he got away from other people, the happier he was. A warm, fuzzy feeling filled my chest. We were more similar than I thought.
“You’re staring.” His voice had the same low, grumbly tone it always did, but hearing it now made my stomach flutter.
“Sorry.”
I took a deep breath and clamped down on my emotions.
Not wanting to run away from these feelings and letting myself get lost in his shadowy vibes were two entirely different things.
I had to keep a clear head until this book was finished.
Then we’d see where we stood. Maybe we’d end up together, happy with the wonderful story we’d written.
Or maybe we’d realize there was nothing connecting us anymore.
Thorne laced his fingers through mine, tugging me closer. “I didn’t say that you staring was a problem. I just wanted to know what was on your mind.”
“Well, right now I’m thinking about how much I like your hands covered in dirt.
” I grinned, brushing my thumb across the back of his dirt-stained hand.
“I bet you’d make a good apothecary. Or at least, you’d probably be good at the gardening part.
You wouldn’t need to interact with anyone and you could be as grumpy as you wanted in total silence, just us and the plants. ”
Our steps had taken us all the way back to the castle already and he paused just outside the door. “Is that a job offer?”
I laughed. “Yeah, sure. We can always use the help.”
He glanced back at me with a look full of longing, far more serious than I’d intended my joke to be.
He closed the distance between us, pulling me against his chest and kissing me with enough passion to make my head spin.
I clung to him, breathless and hot. His hair tickled my cheek, blocking out the moonlight like a veil.
It was just him and me.
Somebody cleared their throat, and I jumped back to find Dain standing in the doorway, staring at us. Okay, so it was me, Thorne, and apparently Dain too. Heat burned across my cheeks as I stepped into the castle.
Thorne groaned. “You have terrible timing. What do you want?”
Dain slammed his fist against his chest, standing tall and proud. “Welcome home, My Lord.”
“Welcome home?” I laughed, letting the awkwardness of getting caught making out on the Demon Lord’s front stoop wash away.
“You’re always so serious, but since you’re back, I’m guessing things didn’t go well with the hero?
” I patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about it.
I’m just glad you’re back in one piece and nothing bad happened. ”
“It was a difficult task,” Thorne said as he moved past us. “Failure was expected.”
“But I didn’t fail.” Dain shook his head, frowning at both of us. “I would never leave a job unfinished. I told you I’d get the hero, so I got the hero.”
My mouth dropped open. “Wait, you really brought the hero here??”
“You could start a war!” Thorne’s shout echoed off the stone walls as he turned his glare on me. “I just can’t leave you alone, can I? How could you send him to kidnap the hero after everything we’ve learned about the humans?”
“Hey, you told Dain to go after the hero first.” I crossed my arms, staring Thorne down. “And besides, kidnap is a strong word.” I turned to Dain, smiling at him. “You didn’t kidnap him, right? You just asked politely and he came here with you of his own free will?”
“Oh, no. I definitely kidnapped him.” Dain grinned proudly.
“I threw him over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes and just walked right out of their camp with them none the wiser. Honestly, those humans are far too overconfident. None of them would expect a demon to just walk in and grab their hero. It was easy.”
I shrank in on myself, wishing I could hide in the shadows like Thorne. “You’re joking, right?”
“I never joke about kidnapping.” Dain puffed out his chest. “I just threw a cloak on, pulled the hood up, and said I had an important mission for the hero. They led me right to him.”
Thorne’s shoulders stiffened. “Where is he?”
“The dungeons, My Lord.” Dain’s frown deepened. “Well, at least that’s what I told him. You don’t actually have a dungeon though. I was pretty surprised, so I just stuffed him in the coldest room.”
I let out a breath. “See? It’s fine—”
“Show me.” Thorne’s voice was low and commanding, leaving no room for arguments. This was the side of him the author had envisioned, I bet.
Dain marched towards the end of the hallway where the sconces were barely shining and something suspiciously sword-shaped was leaning against the wall. It was wrapped in a thick blanket secured with a belt, but I still recognized the amber gem in the pommel.
“Is that the holy sword?” The fantasy lover in me wanted to rush forward and unwrap it. “I’d give anything to hold it, just for a minute.”
Dain shook his head. “I wouldn’t advise that. The sword was pretty upset the whole way here because it couldn’t seem to repel me with its magic.”
“Well obviously not,” I said, “that’s only for monsters and dark magic. It’s got a few other spells we probably don’t want to see though.”
The sword rattled against the wall like it had some snappy retort.
It was one of my favorite characters in the book, so a big part of me wanted to unwrap it and damn the consequences.
It was the holy sword of all things! Excitement rushed through me, but Thorne shook his head and nudged me towards the door.
“We’re here for the hero, remember?”
My shoulders drooped. “Fine, fine. But I get to talk to the sword later.”
“Deal.” Amusement colored his voice as he opened the door to reveal a man with blonde hair pacing the room like he was a beast locked in a cage. His bright white armor and amber eyes signaled he was none other than the hero himself.
“You really did it.” My mouth fell open, staring at Dain. I had assumed he was a bit silly and maybe not very good at his job, but now I was seeing him in a whole new light. “You’re actually pretty skilled, aren’t you?”
“Of course, I am.” His back straightened. “The Demon Lord wouldn’t have appointed me as your bodyguard if I wasn’t.”
I didn’t have the heart to tell him that that was probably a spur of the moment decision without much thought behind it.
Thorne wasn’t the type of guy who got to know people easily.
Now wasn’t the time to bring that up though, not when Thorne was glowering at the hero like he was a bug he wanted to squash.
“Vile monsters!” The hero reached for a sword that was no longer at his hip, flexing his hand awkwardly before lunging to the other side of the room like he wanted some distance between us.
“I’ll defeat you and save this world, once and for all.
You never should have brought me here, not unless you’re ready to die! ”
Thorne sighed and turned back to Dain. “Take him back.”
“But My Lord, we haven’t even questioned him yet.” Dain motioned for me to get closer. “You said you needed to talk to him, so talk before the Demon Lord, in his infinite mercy, sends him away.”
The hero clenched his hands at his side. “I’ll never talk. Not even if you torture me.”
“Whoa, nobody’s torturing anyone.” I held my hands up. “I just want to ask you a few things. You know, have a friendly conversation.”
“No, he’s going back.” Thorne’s shadows filled the room. “Now.”
“See reason, My Lord,” Dain pleaded.
I nodded. “We already kidnapped him, so we might as well get something out of it. Just let him stay the night.”
Our conversation devolved into us arguing about the pros and cons of kidnapping a hero.
On the pro side, I’d be able to get all the information I wanted for the book.
But there was a pretty big con: his people would probably consider this an act of war and would try to get him back by any means necessary.
That hadn’t seemed to bother Thorne before, but now that he’d seen how badly the demons were treated here, he probably didn’t want the humans anywhere near them again.
Which was fair, but it wouldn’t help me finish the book.
Cinder poked her head inside the room, completely ignoring all the excitement as she hopped over to the hero, who had sat on the stone bed at some point and was staring at us with a blank look on his face.
“Uhhh, do I get a vote?” The hero raised his hand like a school kid.
“No!” We all said it at the same time, and I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurd situation.
I took a deep breath to calm down and smiled at him. “Sorry. What were you going to say?”
He gave me an exasperated look. “That I actually agree with the Demon Lord. Send me back. I promise I won’t mention this little visit and I’ll save the invasion for later. Tomorrow maybe.”
Thorne shook his head. “Well now we definitely can’t send him back. He’s going to invade my lands either way.”
I bit my lip, hoping that didn’t mean he planned to deal with the hero permanently or something. I should probably talk to him in private before anyone decided something we couldn’t come back from.
“Come with me.” I tugged on his sleeve, pulling him into the hallway and lowering my voice. “If you want me to finish this book series, then I need to talk to the hero.”
“Really?” He raised an eyebrow at me.
“Yes, really. He’s the main character! Don’t you think we should ask him about the books? See what his plans are and all that?”
“His plans are to kill me.” He stared at the holy sword, leaning down to pull the belt tighter like that would prevent it from overhearing us or something. “I thought you were trying to find a better ending for me.” His voice lowered. “For us.”
“That’s not fair and you know it. Of course I’m trying to find a better ending for you, but to do that, I need him. So we’re going to talk to him and that’s that.”
“But he’s my enemy.” He gave me a look that screamed I was being really dense, but I wasn’t about to give in.
“So what if he is?”
“So, this is dangerous, Willow. I can’t protect you if an army storms this village.”
Ah, so that’s what he was so worried about.
Now that he’d taken on the role of a protector, this whole situation probably felt a lot different to him.
He couldn’t just cast the area in darkness and do whatever he wanted anymore.
He had to keep his people, and me, safe.
I understood his point, but the hero was literally in the next room!
I couldn’t let this opportunity pass me by.
I tapped my finger against my thigh, watching the holy sword struggle against its bindings. “What if he agrees to tell his party that he’s on a mission and will be back soon?”
“And how will you get him to agree to that?”
“That’s a problem for tomorrow.” I forced a smile that hopefully looked far more confident than I felt. “Let’s sleep on it and see where we’re at in the morning. After he gets some rest and eats a hot meal, I’m sure he’ll be more open to our plan.”
Thorne snorted, but didn’t say anything else as we walked back into the room. The hero was having a staring contest with Cinder while Dain nudged the bunny closer.
“Uhh, what’s going on?” I asked.
“The demon bunny has found its newest prey.” Dain smiled grimly. “And she’s not going to let him go.”
Cinder puffed up her fur and produced three little balls of red flames in the air. The hero leaned back, but then Cinder sneezed, and sparks flew up like sparklers and ruined the whole scary bunny vibe. I laughed and pet her soft fur. She deserved a carrot or two for lightening the mood like that.
“Let’s all get some sleep.” I shooed Dain and Thorne out of the room, hoping that everyone would be more reasonable in the morning. “You’re safe here, hero. So please, rest.”
He glanced at the stone bed and barren room. “Right. It feels very safe and cozy in this dungeon.”
“It’s not a dungeon.” Exasperation colored my voice. It had been a long day and this was not how I’d wanted to end it. “I promise, you’re safe here. I give you my word.”
“And how can I trust that? The Demon Lord is in charge here.” The hero leaned down, staring at Cinder as she flipped her ears. “And is this bunny really dangerous?”
“No, she can even stay here and keep you company if that helps.” I put on my best smile again and said the only thing that might actually help this situation.
“You can trust me because I’m the Demon Lord’s consort.
My promise means something. So if I say you’re safe here, then you’re as safe as a well-sealed tonic. ”
His mouth dropped open. “Wait, Demon Lord! When did you get married?”
The hero’s voice was loud enough to reach Thorne down the hall who called back, “I didn’t!”
“My spies are terrible,” the hero muttered, gazing at me with newfound wonder. “I can’t believe he married a human and we didn’t even know about it. Hmmm...I’ll have to work on our spy network when I get back. Oh, and congratulations!”
The last part was also shouted loud enough to make Thorne grumble and moan, muttering something about annoying heroes.
I pressed my lips together to stop from laughing.
I’d loved the hero’s personality as a reader, and he seemed to be exactly the same in the flesh.
Wary when needed, but also happy and genuine, making the best out of any situation.
Even congratulating his enemy on getting married.
I could work with that. Maybe I could even get the information we needed without starting a war.
“Sleep well,” I said as I walked out the door. “Cinder will keep you safe.”
The bunny hopped up on the bed with the hero and snuggled closer to him even as he tried to jerk away.
After a moment, he pet the bunny’s head with a smile.
Yup, this was all going to work out brilliantly.
I’d have to congratulate Dain on a job well done.
Never in a million years did I think I’d get the chance to talk to the hero.
Now I just had to patiently wait until the morning.