“Do you want me to leave?” I asked, finally breaking the silence. My voice sounded loud in the quiet room.
Onyx kept his eyes on the basin of water. “Yes.”
That one word was like a punch to the chest. Part of me had expected it, but it still hurt. “Okay.”
This is what we agreed on, I reminded myself. Just a night of sex and nothing more.
So why did my heart hurt so much?
I got out of bed and retrieved my clothes from the floor in a daze. My eyes stung as I fastened my pants and smoothed down my tunic. Not sure where my shoes went, but I didn’t want to stick around searching for them. Because I recognized the burning in my throat. The last thing I wanted to do was cry in front of him.
I walked toward the door, my heart like lead in my chest. I stopped when reaching it and turned to look at him. He hadn’t moved from his earlier spot.
“Um, so I guess I’ll see you later,” I said, the wobble in my throat making my voice thick.
He didn’t respond. Just kept staring at the water basin without a trace of emotion on his face.
I opened the door.
“Wait,” he softly said. My breath caught. “You haven’t walked this part of the castle before and don’t know your way back. Follow the shadows. They’ll guide you to your room.”
Although confused, I didn’t question him. Because one tear had slipped free and another wouldn’t be far behind. I steppedfrom his room and shut the door behind me, then stood in place on the other side, trying to pull myself together.
If I returned to my men with puffy, tear-swollen eyes, Maddox might very well hunt Onyx down. This was the exact situation he’d worried about: my feelings getting hurt.
Dry your eyes, dammit.I wiped at my cheeks.
There was a waft of air beside me.
And then my soul almost left my body.
A shadowy…thingstood in front of me. Probably six and a half feet tall and looked to be made of dark smoke. The shape was human. Kind of. Proportions were off: massive shoulders and lanky limbs. It turned and went down the corridor, then, as if realizing I wasn’t following, turned back around and waited. Eerily so.
“R-Right,” I said and stepped toward it.
Stranger things had happened to me, I guess. One thing was for sure: the shadowy entity made me forget all about my achy heart. By the time we reached the door to the room I shared with my men, my eyes were bone dry.
“Thank you,” I told the creature.
The shadows of its body swirled before dispersing.
I took another steadying breath, then crept into the room. Oreo lay on the rug in front of the fire and lifted his head to look at me. I waved, hoping he wouldn’twoofand wake the others, before tiptoeing to the washroom. There was the soft pad of his paws as he followed. Like a guard pup, he faced the door as I shed my disheveled clothes and washed up.
Once I was clean and smelling like citrusy soap, I dried off and crawled into bed. Maddox lifted his arm and welcomed me against his side.
“How long have you been awake?” I whispered.
“For a while,” he answered, just as soft. “Rowan checked on you with his shadows and said you were downstairs making a pie.”
“Cobbler,” I corrected… and then felt a burn in my throat. It reminded me of Onyx. “You can have a slice tomorrow. It’s pretty good.”
“I have no doubts.” Maddox kissed my temple and tightened his arm around me. “Good night, sweetheart.”
“Good night, big guy.”
If he suspected anything, he didn’t mention it. A small blessing. Lake repositioned himself and found his favorite spot on my lap, while Briar turned over and slid his arm around me too. Callum snored on the other side of him, and Rowan was kicked back on the window bench, his chest rising and falling with slow, even breaths.
I fell asleep quickly despite the eventful night.
