Briar drew back with a tired smile. “Nothing happened with him as of now.”
“Has he said anything?” Maddox asked, arms crossing over his broad chest.
“Not yet,” Briar responded. “I woke him, but his lethargy will take some time to fade. An effect of the sleeping spell he used. Any questioning will have to wait until his mind’s had the chance to clear.”
“How long will that take?” Rowan asked before drinking more of his tea.
“Anywhere from hours to a day or two. It varies from person to person. I’m to examine his condition again in the morning.”
My tension eased even further. Things were okay. For tonight, at least. I found my coffee mug and took a drink.
“Your hand.” Briar neared Lake and gently took hold of his wrist, upturning his palm. “What happened?”
“An accident is all,” Lake responded. The bite marks had faded significantly, but it was still pink and slightly swollen. “Nothing to worry over. It’ll be healed come morning.”
“The Fenrir was here earlier,” Maddox announced. “Yoyo.”
Coffee almost shot from my nose.
“Oreo,” Briar said, adjusting his glasses. “Will you ever remember the name our Evan gave to the creature?”
Maddox sneered. “Yoyo. Oreo. The name matters not. He’s still a demon and should be treated with caution. Not as a pet.”
“Ah.” Duke nodded. “That must be the reason for the ruckus we heard earlier between you and the wolf. The demon returned.”
“A demon who bit Lake,” Maddox said, jaw tensing.
It occurred to me then that while he’d been worried about me being around a demon, some of Maddox’s anger had also been because Lake got hurt. Further proof that they loved each other. The realization brought warmth to my chest.
“I think Oreo was checking on me,” I said. “Once seeing I was okay, he left.”
“I see.” Duke shifted his gaze toward the window. Baden looked at him, then did the same, both suddenly interested in the occasional flickers beyond the glass.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. “The two of you are acting weird.”
“There are rumors,” Quincy said before being shoulder checked by Baden. “Ow.”
“Rumors?” I set my coffee down on the counter. “About what?”
Baden examined the contents of his mug, while Quincy shot him another look and rubbed at his arm.
“Put it out of your mind.” Duke’s face became grim. “The rumors hold no merit. Merely fools speaking out of their asses.”
“Are they the same ones Roth mentioned?” I pressed. “I heard him say there might be someone else in the kingdom using magic to control demons. Not that I was eavesdropping or anything.”
“You’re a rotten liar, Ev.” Callum shook his head, a slight curve to his lips. His eyes, however, were apprehensive. “Captain Braun filled me in on the rumors on the way to meet with Maddox. He believes them to be rubbish as well.”
“Because they are,” Maddox said in that snarly tone I knew well.
“I’m still clueless.” I glanced between all of them. “Someone mind telling me what’s going on?”
“They’re about you, little treasure,” Rowan said, having switched out his tea for the flask of rum instead. “The guards who captured the mercenary won’t stop yapping about what they saw. Which was you, being saved by a demon.”
The hair prickled on my nape. “Okay. So?”
“So.” Maddox exhaled through his nostrils. “Word of it has spread throughout the castle and among the ranks of knights. In our experience, demons are bloodthirsty and violent beasts who kill without thought. They would never come to the aid of a human.”
“Unless it were being controlled,” Baden added.
