“Because a person sees it before they die?” I speculated, based on what Briar had told me.
“One legend claims so, yes.” He nodded. “Other stories say the lily represents rebirth and new beginnings. Then you have the demon belief: that it symbolizes two souls who are destined to be together. What all stories have in common, however, is whomever sees the lily is forever changed in some way.”
“What do you believe?” I asked.
“That the lilyisa death omen,” he answered. “But not a literal death. It’s a death of the soul. A bittersweet union of two people that will only end in tragedy.”
I had been right. Love was unpredictable and messy, and it scared him.
“How do you know it will end in tragedy?”
“My mother claimed the red lily led her to my father,” he responded with a frown. His gaze trailed to the book on the side table. “As a young boy, I found the story romantic and dreamed of finding my own… lily… someday. But now I see it for the curse it is. When my mother died, my father became a shell of the person he once was. Her death destroyed him.”
I turned more toward him and brought one knee up, curving it on the cushion. “And that’s what worries you? Opening yourself to love only to have that love ripped away?”
“Should there be a more profound reason?” he asked, frown deepening.
I almost laughed. “Every time you give your heart to someone, you take a risk that they could stomp all over it andtoss it back at you. It’s called life, Onyx. Nothing is guaranteed. Certainly not happiness.”
“That’sLordOnyx to you, little bird.” There was a subtle twitch in his lip. A sign I had managed to reach him, if only a little, within his heavily defended fortress.
“You know, if we’re going to play that game, you technically have to refer to me by my title too.”
“Oh?” He arched a fine brow. “What, pray tell, is your title?”
“Lord of the Muffins.”
“Absolutely not.”
I laughed. It felt good to do so. In the beginning, I’d been so tense around him. On edge. But as the days had passed, I’d grown more comfortable in his presence. Though he still was unhealthy for my heart. The beats thudded hard against my ribs each time our eyes met.
He dropped his gaze to my knee. It curved beside his thigh. “I should escort you back to your men.”
“Or we could stay and talk for a while longer,” I said. “I still need to convince you that I’m not a curse.”
“Ah, but you are.” He looked at me, and I was relieved to see the soft smile in his eyes, even if it didn’t show on his lips. “The sooner you admit defeat, the happier you’ll be. Then you can spend more time pestering those men of yours.”
“Tonight, I’d rather stay here and pester you.”
Onyx exhaled a breath and rested his hand on my knee. “Said like a true pest.”
We stayed like that for several quiet moments. Quiet, but not uncomfortable by any means. Flames crackled against the burning logs, and a night wind swept through the branches of the oak tree outside the window.
“Tell me more about your mom,” I said, shifting closer to him. “Did she love books too?”
“She did. It’s a love she passed down to me.” He glided his palm over my kneecap. “What of your mother? You say you have no memories of her?”
I nodded. “All I have are a few stories. When I went to Exalos, a mage named Xavier told me about her. He was her childhood friend. He said how she loved to cook and dreamed of opening her own café. Guess I got that from her.”
“Exalos used to be demon territory,” Onyx said.
“Really?”
He nodded. “The land is rich in mana and helps magical beings like demons thrive. Because of the plentiful mana source, the mountains are home to many powerful crystals and gems. It’s why the humans waged war and eventually took it from us. They coveted that power.”
“Sounds about right,” I mumbled. “Mankind is the worst sometimes.”
“Demons can be just as wicked,” he said. “Violence begets violence. After several centuries of war, one of my ancestors realized we’d only know peace if we created a home outside the realm of man. So, he ventured deep into the dark wood and found the point richest in mana, then used spatial magic to create a tear in the veil and place the Shadow Realm.”
