They were the demon stallions I’d met a few days ago. At first glance, Ghost’s appearance had taken me by surprise too. His black mane was wispy and matted, and bits of bone and muscle could be seen poking through his shiny black coat, as though he were in the stages of decomposition. Like a zombie horse.
“He’s not horrid,” I said, putting my hands on my hips. “You be nice to my handsome boy. He’s gentle and sweet.”
“Handsome?” Quincy gave me a wide-eyed look. “Are we talking about the same creature? Becausethat—” He tapped the window. “Looks like a thing of nightmares.”
“Ah.” Duke clapped him on the back. “That’s merely your reflection in the glass.”
I hung my head and laughed. No matter how much my nerves were amped up, those boys had a way of making everything lighter.
Maddox leaned in and kissed the top of my hair. Then, softly, he murmured, “We’ll continue our talk later.”
I got the feeling he already had a sense of what was happening with Onyx. Maddox had been with me since the very beginning. The first man I kissed in this world. The first one I ever loved. He’d been by my side as Briar and the others joined us and recognized the signs probably as well as I did.
“Yeah,” I responded, voice tight. “We’ll talk later.”
I just hoped I wouldn’t lose him because of it.
Chapter Seven
Boys’ Day Out
Sunlight broke through the thin, wispy clouds. Different hues of blue stretched across the sky, darker in some places and lighter in others. I breathed in the fresh air as we exited the castle. It smelled of spring. Felt like it too, with a crisp breeze but warm beneath the sun.
What wasn’t warm? The icy glare Maddox and Callum aimed at the two warriors accompanying us. They were elite warriors: Lord Onyx’s most trusted.
Seraphina and Borus were both armed with battle axes that clanked as they walked.
“They’re allowed to have weapons but not us?” Callum whispered to Maddox. “Tell me again why we’re supposed to believe they mean us no harm?”
“It’s just a precaution,” I said, sandwiched between them. “This is theirrealm after all.”
“Not to mention the years of conflict between our kinds,” Briar added. He walked in front of Maddox. Our captain was protective over both of us. “If the situation were reversed and demons were visiting Bremloc, you’d insist on carrying a weapon as well.”
“The healer speaks true,” Seraphina said in a firm tone. Her moss-green hair was cut short, and her yellow eyes popped against her gray skin. Most notable was the horn jutting from her forehead. It reminded me of a unicorn. “The relationship between us is far from cordial.”
“Aye.” Borus gave a curt nod. He was a boar-like demon with two short tusks and a long, braided beard. “While we hope for peace, we will strike you down if we must.”
“Okay, none of that,” I cut in before Maddox and the knights could puff up their chests and counter that threat with one of their own. “We’re having a nice stroll through the castle courtyard right now. Look. Pretty flowers.” I motioned to the colorful ones sprouting from the soil around a stone bench. Then noticed something… strange about one of them. “Um. Are those teeth?”
“Oh my.” Briar vibrated with excitement as he approached the patch near the overgrown bench. “It’s carnivorous.”
“Like a Venus flytrap?” I asked, tiptoeing behind him, then peeking around him to get a closer look. However, it looked nothing like the plant I mentioned. This one looked like a mix between a purple tulip and a sunflower, but with a line cutting across the middle with tiny rows of teeth poking out. “What in tarnation?”
Then, the freaking unthinkable happened: the thing started swaying from side to side.
“It’s moving by itself?” I exclaimed, horrified.
“Indeed, it is,” Briar said, his earlier excitement surging higher. He was totally nerding out. “How extraordinary.”
The… er, extraordinaryflower opened its mouth wider and snapped down in a chomping motion.
“You woke it,” Seraphina said from the side of the stone path, hip cocked and her arms crossed. “And now it’s hungry.”
I glanced over at her in horror.
She smirked.
“Does it like muffins?” I glanced down at the small basket over my arm. Leftovers from breakfast. I always came prepared.
