Chapter Ten #2
“Please have a seat, milord.” Fane jumped up from the table, wiped off his hands, and rushed over to pull out the chair Onyx normally sat in. “I’ll prepare you a plate right away.”
As Onyx stepped farther into the parlor, my body moved on impulse.
I hurried from my chair and closed the distance between us.
The first thing that hit me was the full force of his scent: woodsmoke with traces of cedar.
The second was the heat of his skin as he pulled me in close, lowering his face into the side of my hair.
“Hi,” I whispered, returning his embrace. “I thought you weren’t going to have dinner with us.”
“Neither did I, at first.” Onyx enfolded me in his arms. No space separated us. He ghosted his lips over my earlobe. “Yet, here I am once again. Unable to stay away.”
“I’m glad.” I drew back and met his gaze, my heart squeezing at the tenderness in his expression. “You look nice.”
Better than nice. He looked freaking magnificent, wearing an elaborate long-sleeved black robe and a decorative silver sash around his waist, paired with fitted black trousers and knee-high boots with buckles that matched the sash.
“As do you.” Onyx glided the backs of his knuckles over my cheek. The smile teasing his lips matched the glint in his eyes. “Though, I admit I prefer the way you looked last I saw you.”
I gave him a deadpan stare. “When I was naked and sprawled out on the floor? I’ve been teased enough about that for one night, thank you very much.”
“You have only yourself to blame,” Onyx responded, that gleam in his eyes shining brighter now. Warmer. “For you are much too fun to tease.”
“That’s what I always tell him,” Rowan said, sitting up a tad straighter in his chair.
Eagerness radiated from his topaz eyes as he looked at Onyx.
The kind of unbridled joy seen in kids waking up on Christmas morning.
“You’ll fit in with us well, my lord. One more male to protect and tease our little treasure. ”
“Our little treasure?” Onyx lifted a brow. “You say that as though I’m already one of you.”
“Aren’t you?” Maddox stared at him, arms crossing. “At least, that’s the impression I got earlier this afternoon when finding Evan in your bed.”
Lake’s fluffy ears perked up mid-bite of a chicken leg. Reign grinned.
Onyx tossed them a glance before taking hold of my hand and guiding me toward the table.
One steamy afternoon in bed and a few lighthearted conversations wouldn’t magically fix the issues he had toward love, but I sensed a notable change in him.
As he helped me back into my chair and took the one at the head of the table, there was a softness in his gaze.
Once we were both seated, his boot pressed to mine. A touch that kick-started my heart. Warmed it too.
Dinner resumed with the same enthusiasm as earlier.
Quincy, who’d lost the arm wrestling match before dinner and forced to give up the seat he wanted to Baden, made sure to grab the last chicken leg, earning a series of protests from the other men who’d also wanted it.
“You rotten bastard,” Duke chided him. “I should throw you out to sleep with the pack of Fenrir roaming the woods tonight.”
“Whatever pleases you,” Quincy said between bites, picking the bone clean. “But whether I’m warm in bed or out with the wolves, my belly will still be full of this chicken.”
Duke looked at Reign. “Please take him with you when you leave tonight.”
I laughed.
“I find it maddening that you still intend to leave,” Fane told Reign, the muscles in his jaw clenching. He had moved over to the hearth. “These are no ordinary mercenaries. They’re ruthless in their pursuit of Evan. So why abandon him now? You’re his friends, are you not?”
“We would lay down our lives for the boy without question,” Draven answered. “He’s our prince. However, the other young prince doesn’t have a barrier, nor a powerful demon lord, between him and the ones who wish him harm.”
“Prince Sawyer,” I said, throat tightening.
Reign nodded. “Lyric and Lochlan are watching over him in our absence. The twins are highly skilled, but with Cedric’s ascension to the throne and his ever-growing lust for power, I fear the worst is yet to come.”
“Well, that doesn’t make me feel all warm and tingly.” I rubbed at the center of my chest. “What if Cedric declares war on Haran as soon as he’s crowned?”
“Then I’ll thank the gods that you’re here.” Reign’s mismatched eyes softened. “Under Lord Onyx’s protection where that war can’t reach you.”
His words caused a tightening in my chest. “My life isn’t any greater than anyone else’s, Reign. Why should I be safe behind a barrier when my friends and all the people in the kingdom are left to suffer?”
“Then what would you propose?” Onyx asked, resting his hand at the side of his mouth. “Storm the citadel and use your blue flames to bring Cedric to heel?”
“What?” I balked at the question. “Of course not.”
“But you’re of royal blood,” he said, the firmness in his tone matching the glint in his eyes. “That blood must rage against the idea of allowing a tyrant to rule your kingdom.”
Prickles of heat stung my chest. “Royal blood or not, I don’t really feel like a prince. Certainly don’t have that umph needed to carry the weight of a kingdom on my shoulders or order armies to march into battle on my behalf.”
“How do you know?” Onyx asked. “You’ve yet to try.”
Shock sparked through my bloodstream. Most shocking of all was a tiny part of me was tempted by the idea. Using my powers to overthrow Cedric and giving the throne to the rightful ruler: Prince Sawyer.
Then Bremloc would be free of tyranny and safe. Maybe my men and I could even return to our cottage.
“Enough of this talk,” Maddox said, placing his hand on my thigh. There was a subtle shake in his palm. “War is no place for Evan, regardless of the power he wields.”
“I agree,” Briar added, shooting a glare toward Onyx. “I’m appalled you’d suggest such a thing.”
“What I find appalling is your lack of confidence in him.” Onyx lightly tapped a finger against the arm of his chair. “Stop treating him like a child and see him for the man he is.”
I blew out a breath, feeling ten kinds of awkward.
The clack of boots against the hard floor came from the hall before an unfamiliar male stepped into the dining parlor. Two ram-like horns curved back from his head, and he had varying shades of red and white in his hair. He was also short and small framed.
Like a peppermint twink.
“Apologies for interrupting your meal,” he said with a curt nod. His voice was deeper than one would expect given his small stature. “But the arrangements have all been made with my scouts.”
Ah, the scout captain?
“Thank you, Titus.” Onyx nodded to him. “Give them time to collect their bearings. They’ll meet you near the eastern woods shortly.”
Titus bowed before leaving.
Rowan withdrew his flask and took a swig, brow heavy.
“You’ll join us again someday, Shadow,” Draven told him. Knowing Rowan well enough by now to get a read on his thoughts. Guess it was a perk of… well, being a wallflower. It helped him observe everything around him. “You’re our brother. Now and always.”
“Just don’t do anything too exciting without me.” Rowan averted his gaze to the wall. I caught the tremble in his chin though.
“You’re more than welcome to continue your spy duties here in my realm,” Onyx told him. “You already sneak around my castle in late hours, eavesdropping on conversations between Varys, Koga, and others under my roof.”
“You do what?” I asked, hands going straight to my hips in my signature brat pose. Sitting down kind of ruined the impact of it though. “Get over here right now.”
Rowan glanced between me and Onyx. “Not sure which one of you I fear more right now.”
Lake’s ears perked up as he, too, looked between me and the demon lord. “I’d say Evan. He has the power to withhold our treats.”
Onyx softly coughed. It took me a second to realize it wasn’t a cough at all though, but rather, an attempt to stifle a laugh.
Warmth burrowed into my chest, then branched out and trickled through my bloodstream. “Find something funny, my lord?”
As the demon lord’s gaze locked onto mine, his ruby red eyes appeared to shine brighter. “I suppose I do. You wield incredible power, yet it’s the threat of being denied your pastries that garners their obedience.”
I laughed. “I may not understand anything about being the Hallowed Saint or how my powers work, but baking? That, I know.”
“I’d say.” Duke patted his belly. Crumbs lingered at the edge of his mouth. The glutton had already found the cookies.
“The difference is now you’d have my blessing,” Onyx continued, gaze shifting from me and back to Rowan.
“Become a spy of the Shadow Realm and keep watch with your shadows, much like you did in Bremloc. Report to me of any suspicious dealings. In exchange for your assistance, I’ll begin your training. ”
Rowan appeared dumbfounded. “My training?”
“You wished to learn from me, yes?” Onyx asked him, then smirked over at me. “It’s the reason you captured this little bird last summer and tried to bring him to me. Unless you’ve changed your mind?”
“Not at all,” Rowan said in a rush, so shocked his leg slipped from where he’d had it kicked up on the edge of the table. “I’d love to train with you. To learn all I can.”
I recalled Rowan’s frustration the night of the ball when I was thrown into the dungeon. He’d come to me and tried to take me with him using his shadows. But everything he knew about his magic, he’d taught himself, and he hadn’t learned how to shadow travel with other people yet.
“It’s settled then.” Onyx nodded. “We will begin later this evening once you return from seeing your brothers off.”
The look on Rowan’s face brought tears to my eyes. He had admired Onyx ever since he was a kid and had always dreamed of meeting him. Having been outcast everywhere he went, Rowan thought he could find a home in the Shadow Realm.
And now he had.