“To explore,” he explained. “Not to be confused with the other word you’re so fond of: escape.”
I feigned a gasp. “I would never.”
“Keep it that way. Milord would be awfully cross with me otherwise.” He motioned to the two demons behind him. “They’ll be accompanying us.”
“Hi.” I waved at them. “I’m Evan.”
The female tipped her head. “You may call me Seraphina.”
Moss-green hair clipped the top of her pointed ears, and she had a greyish skin tone, like chimney smoke. Her yellow eyes, the shade of a dandelion, had slitted irises that reminded me of a cat. One horn jutted from her head like a unicorn. Most notable was the axe strapped to her back.
Which I was sure she’d use on anyone who dared to say the unicorn thing out loud.
“Borus,” the male said, his voice rough. Small tusks jutted from both sides of his mouth. He appeared to be a sort of boar-like demon. No hair—on his head anyway. Along with his super-hairy arms, he had a dark beard that was braided into three sections. Unlike Seraphina, he didn’t have an axe.
He had two axes. The kind that could easily cut someone in half.
“This is Lake,” I told them, looping my arm through my wolf’s. He regarded them cautiously.
Seraphina and Borus bowed their heads to him.
“Shall we head out?” Fane ushered us toward the door. “The day is wasting away.”
The five of us left the room and made our way down the corridor. The castle, even in the daylight hours, held on to the cold, desolate, and haunting atmosphere from the night before.
Onyx had said a dwelling reflected the soul inhabiting it… so was this a reflection of his feelings? A bleak emptiness. Kind of sad if so.
“Is there a ballroom?” I peered up at a cobweb and shuddered when I saw a huge spider crawling across it.
“Yes,” Fane answered. “Though it never sees any use.”
I instantly thought of a gothic ball with Halloween décor covering every inch of the place and seasonal bangers like “Monster Mash” booming from an orchestra.
“What about a greenhouse?” I asked.
“Yes. It’s filled with all sorts of plants, some that will take a bite out of you if you get too close.”
“Cool.” I smiled. Briar would’ve geeked out big-time over it. “Are there secret passages? Like hidden doors behind paintings or statues that you move a finger or something to open a wall? And before you say a word, I am in no way, shape, or form asking this for escape reasons. Simply curiosity.”
Fane didn’t look like he believed me. “Keep rambling on with all these questions, and if there is a secret door, you’ll soon find yourself thrown behind it and locked inside for the foreseeable future.”
“Rude.”
Lake smiled and linked our fingers. He must’ve known Fane’s threat was empty.
I was a muffin on a mission. As we moved around the castle during the tour, I mentally mapped out doorways, which direction we turned down hallways, and noted any windows with reachable latches. I had no intentions of staying there for long. One way or another, Lake and I would reunite with our family.
Sure, leaving the barrier of the realm would alert the mercenaries to my location, but what if we were in just as much danger, if not more, staying there? Onyx seemed like a nice guy who genuinely wanted to help us. But it could be a trick, an attempt for us to lower our guard before he swept in and did evil demon lord stuff. His comment about hating the royal family kept rolling around in my head.
Yep. Best to stay alert and have an escape route mapped out just in case.
After being shown a small parlor that was most definitely haunted, at least by deadly arachnids, we descended a grand staircase and reached the entry hall. The two demon guards slash possible muffin assassins opened the large set of doors.
Sunlight flooded in, chasing away the shadows and eerie chill in the air.
“We get to go outside?” I asked, excited.
Fane glowered at me. “Milord is giving you the benefit of the doubt by allowing you to leave the castle. But heed my words, human. Any suspicious behavior and you’ll be dragged straight back to your room.”
