The bedchamber was a decent size, spacious enough for a table and several chairs, along with a king-sized bed and one of those cushioned benches slash trunks that sat at the foot of it, but we were still crowded together. Apart from me and Rowan,the smallest of the bunch, and Briar, who was tall but slim, they were all big guys.
“Here is fine,” Maddox said, gaze trailing to the door. Sacrificing comfort for what he perceived as safety.
So stubborn. I sighed.
“Gratitude for the meal, love,” Briar told me before sipping his tea. He and Lake sat together on the small love seat, warming themselves by the toasty fire.
“You’re welcome,” I responded. “Fane made the eggs and rice.”
Quincy paused mid-chew and glanced down at his plate. Then, as though deciding it was too delicious to waste, made by a demon or not, he swallowed and shoveled more into his mouth. Not that it would be poisoned or anything. Silly knight.
“You were there with him, thief?” Maddox asked, expression sobering. “In the kitchen with the demon?”
“Demons,” Rowan said from his perch on the window bench. “Plural.”
Maddox stopped chewing. Guess the muffins were only a temporary remedy to hold off my captain’s protective tendencies.
“Stop glaring or you’ll make me fall for you.” Rowan eyed him over his mug. Couldn’t see his mouth, but I knew he was smirking. “Relax. No harm came to your little muffin. I was with him the whole time.” His eyes shifted to me.
No words were needed for me to know his thoughts. Maddox would, most definitely, lose his shit if he learned one of those demons had been Lord Onyx.
“Captain?” Baden wiped at his mouth and straightened in his chair. He, Duke, and Quincy sat at the table near the hearth. “I thought we might patrol the castle today. Get a feel for the land.”
“And the warriors,” Duke added. “Learn their movements and routines.”
Maddox nodded to them. “The demon lord says we’re guests here, but I have doubts as to his true intentions. Especially after his claim about Evan being a prisoner.”
“A guest who can’t leave,” I mumbled. “Geez. Get it right.”
He briefly closed his eyes, as if silently praying to the gods to give him strength because I was undoubtedly testing his last nerve. The tight muscle in his jaw relaxed as I poked him, though, and his eyes opened, shining with the smile he refused to give me.
“Speaking of the demon lord,” Quincy interjected. A grain of rice lingered at the edge of his upper lip. “I forgot to ask last night. Is he as hideous as the stories claim? Winged, horned, and skin like dragon scales?”
I blinked in surprise. Yeah, whoever made up that story obviously had never seen Onyx. The man—er, demon—was hotter than molten lava. And I got the feeling he was as destructive too.
“I vaguely recall him from that day in the dark wood,” Baden said. “Black hair and red eyes. Pale skin.”
Quincy shuddered. “You recall his face? I was too preoccupied with all the bloodthirsty demons around us to notice.”
“Aye.” Duke drank from his mug and wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. “The lieutenant was bleeding out. We all were. Our little prince jumped in front of a damned fully-grown Fenrir to save the captain. Thought my heart would give out. I barely remember anything else.”
My gut soured at the memory of that day. All of my knights had come to my rescue… and had nearly died because of it.
“No horns or scales,” Lake said. “He’s handsome actually.”
All eyes moved to my wolf, and his ears lowered. He was no longer nervous around the knights, but he wasn’t fond of the attention aimed his way. An introvert through and through.
“Handsome?” Briar pondered for a moment. “I suppose he is. Although, it could be an illusion. If he’s as powerful as I’ve heard, he could use a glamour and appear however he wishes to.”
Powerful. Yet, he’d calmly sat while Maddox and Callum had sneered at him in the parlor last night and puffed out their chests, tempers blaring.
A bird landed on the small ledge outside the window. Chubby with blue and orange feathers. It pecked at its reflection in the glass before flying away. Blue sky showed beyond the window with mountains in the distance. A far cry from the nightmarish realm I’d envisioned before seeing it for myself.
Maybe, like the realm, the lord ruling over it was different too. Misunderstood.
Thuds came from outside, like swords against shields. The warriors must’ve been in the training field.
“Don’t you think it’s strange?” I asked. “I didn’t grow up in Bremloc so maybe I’m wrong here, but I’ve only heard about you fighting low to mid-level demons. The slimy worms with teeth, crows, and other animal-like ones. Not warriors with weapons like the ones out there now.”
