Chapter Three #2
I had the urge to laugh but not the capability. I was too creeped out. Bob glided closer. His legs were mainly for show, as his feet didn’t exactly touch the floor. The tips of them kind of brushed across it.
“Amazing,” Rowan said in awe, staring at the creature. He reached out a hand. “Look at ’im.”
Bob’s form flickered before he neared Rowan, losing all interest in me. He stopped in front of Rowan’s outstretched fingers and hunched lower, his lopsided head becoming more so as he turned it. Something about the sight made me think he was just as curious about Rowan as Rowan was of him.
“He’s intrigued by you,” a silky voice said from the dark hallway to the left. A voice that sent an instant rush of heat through my body. Onyx stepped into the moonlight coming through the window. “With practice, you’ll be able to summon shadows like him as well.”
“With practice, you say.” Rowan smiled. There was something bashful about it. “Know anyone who can teach me?”
The demon lord was one of the few people my smartass thief-turned-spy spoke to with such respect. His admiration veered on fanboy level. It was adorable.
Onyx regarded him for a moment. Silent but visibly pondering the notion. Without answering Rowan, his attention moved to me.
My breath caught as he stepped more into the beams of moonlight.
He was too freaking beautiful to be real.
Raven black hair fell to the middle of his back, cascading down the front of his deep crimson robe.
Silver thread wound through the sleeves, creating a fancy design that looked like dragon scales.
He reminded me of an imperial prince from one of the Ancient Chinese palace romance dramas I’d read and gobbled up like candy.
Did that make me his muffin consort?
“Why am I not surprised?” Onyx’s gaze bore into me. “I ask not to be disturbed and you seek me out anyway. Why are you unable to obey a simple request?”
“I wanted to see you,” I answered, sounding just as meek as I felt. “We… we need to talk.”
A stretch of silence passed before he, finally, emitted a soft sigh. “I suppose I was a fool for thinking you’d stay away. Once a pest, always a pest.”
“Like a gnat,” I said with a nervous laugh, forcing it past my tight throat.
My nerves then, of course, triggered one of my legendary rambles.
“The more you swat at me, the more I try to fly up your nose or into your mouth. Not that I want to fly in your mouth or anything. I mean, that’s not to say there’s anything wrong with your mouth.
I’m sure any gnat would be lucky to find themselves in it. ”
Lake softly coughed and touched my lower back.
“But anyway,” I added, fighting my embarrassment, then motioned to the set of windows. “Beautiful night we’re having, huh? All bright and starry and stuff.”
A rasping chuckle came from Rowan before he pulled his mask back over his mouth. The fabric ruffled in his attempt to stifle a second laugh.
“You make a decent point,” Onyx said, his gaze still pinned to me. It was hard to read his expression, as usual. Even his voice lacked emotion. “There are things we must discuss. In private.”
Rowan and Lake exchanged a glance, then a shared nod.
“We’ll leave him in your hands,” Rowan told Onyx before bowing his head. Lake did the same. Both of them kissed me on the cheek before taking their leave, descending the stairs.
They’d said before how our fated mate bond made it impossible for them to wish me harm. Since Onyx shared that same bond with me, they trusted he wouldn’t hurt me either. Just as they trusted in each other.
If only I could be as equally assured. Because as the demon lord’s stare bore into me right then, I could practically see him hurling fireballs at me with his mind.
Abort mission. Abort mission. The team of mini-Evans inside me were all running around screaming—coffee and muffins flying everywhere in their panic.
“Follow me,” Onyx said before turning toward the dark hallway.
I swallowed hard and stepped after him.
What had I just gotten myself into?
***
The night air was cool on my skin—but not nearly as cool as the icy glare aimed my way as Onyx and I stood on the balcony outside his private quarters.
“Thank goodness for railings, right?” I placed my hands on top of it and patted. “A saving grace for clumsy people. I’d hate to go overboard. It’s too high up, and muffins don’t have wings.”
Onyx stared at me. Said nothing.
I cleared my throat and looked away. All of my attempts to talk to him so far had failed. He hadn’t spoken a word since telling me to follow him down the hall. I was running out of ideas. Normally, my rambling mouth managed to get at least a smirk out of him, but not even that had worked.
“Know what this balcony reminds me of? Romeo and Juliet.” When he didn’t say anything—shocker—I feigned astonishment.
“You’ve never heard of it, milord? Oh my.
It’s a tragic play, you see. Two young people fall in love, only to have that love squashed like a bug.
Squashed, like you probably want to do to a certain pest who refuses to leave you alone. ”
The muscle in Onyx’s cheek twitched.
I theatrically extended my arm toward the stars. “Demon lord, demon lord, wherefore art thou, demon lord?”
Another cheek twitch before he averted his eyes to the view before us.
Tough crowd.
Expelling a breath, I leaned against the railing and propped my cheek up on my hand.
Vast mountains rose in the distance, the peaks illuminated by moonlight.
The moon wasn’t all that shone; fluorescent plants and trees painted the landscape, glimmering in shades of neon green, light purple, and periwinkle.
“It’s really pretty here,” I said. “Even more so at night. Everything seems to come alive.”
No response from the wall of ice beside me. Not that I actually expected one. If my attempt at the thespian life didn’t faze him, I doubted much else would.
I sighed and returned to surveying the ground below us.
And then I paused. There was a pond straight ahead, one with colorful fish swimming beneath the surface and surrounded by trees with glowing leaves.
The tips of my ears got hot. It was the same pond I’d run to last night after fleeing the throne room.
I had sat on the bank and curled my knees up, wrapping my arms around them.
Onyx had a perfect view from his balcony. Had he watched me from this very spot?
I looked over at him, finding him staring at the same pond.
God. He really was beautiful: skin like porcelain and peach blossom eyes. Eyes I had peered up into as our bodies melded together, consumed by both lust and the fated mate bond fusing our souls.
As though sensing my attention on him, his gaze flickered over to me.
“Onyx…” The breath stilled in my lungs before stuttering out like an old, puttering truck engine at the end of its life. No more silly diversions. It was time for me to broach the subject I’d been desperate to avoid. “We should talk about what happened last night. About what you saw.”
“Your blue flames,” he said, his indignant tone matching his expression. “I’ve seen that power once before and will never forget it until my dying day.”
“I know it must’ve been a shock, and I’m sorry.” My heart thumped hard against my ribs. “You have every right to be mad at me.”
“What reason could I possibly have to be angry with you?” he asked, jaw tightening. “It’s not as though you deceived me from the moment I first welcomed you into my realm.”
Yep. He’s pissed.
“I wouldn’t say I deceived you, per se.” I focused on the railing and smoothed my palm over it. “More like… I omitted certain details. Tucked them away for a while with the intention of telling you at a later time.”
“Certain details,” he repeated, tone dry. “Such as you being the Hallowed Saint?”
My heartbeat faltered before righting itself. Any response I had stuck in my throat.
Although nearly imperceptible, a trace of hurt touched his eyes. “Why did you keep it from me? Did you not trust me with your secret?”
“I’m sorry.” Guilt weighed heavily on my heart, tugging on the strings keeping it intact. “I planned to tell you eventually but didn’t know how. Then, my powers decided to awaken and explode from me last night, nearly setting you all on fire.”
“Awaken?” Onyx furrowed his brow. “Are you saying they were dormant until last night?”
“Yes and no.” I took a steadying breath. “Briar thinks I’ve been infusing magic into my food all this time, but I had no clue I was doing it. It’s why the king didn’t die the night of the ball. My coffee counteracted the poison by purifying it.”
“I see.” His jaw clicked. “Things are certainly making more sense now. You being the saint is the real reason why the mercenaries of Nocturne were hired to capture you, isn’t it? Not because of a grudge against your father as you once claimed.”
“Y-Yes.” A weighted knot twisted in my belly.
“I once believed you to be incapable of lying. You’re much too horrible at it.” His gaze narrowed. “But I was mistaken. You managed to fool me.”
“Not maliciously though,” I told him. “King Silas did have a grudge against my dad for breaking the treaty. There was just more to the story I didn’t tell you.”
“It was a calculated deception nonetheless.” His nostrils flared. “You intentionally misled me to hide the truth.”
A stretch of silence passed between us. We stood side by side on the balcony and faced the surrounding landscape. Toads croaked from the pond, and wolf-like howls echoed in the distance, coming from the dense forest where demons freely roamed.
“Shocking that mouth of yours isn’t flapping,” he said after a while. “You’re rarely this quiet.”
“I don’t know what to say,” I responded, my voice rough. Desperate to make things right between us but not knowing how. “Only that I’m sorry for not telling you sooner.”
“Apologies mean very little.” His gaze narrowed at the sky. “Trust is hard to mend once it’s been broken.”
Hot prickles stung my chest. “I never wanted to upset you.”