“Haunted?” A glimmer of humor returned to his eyes.
“At least by spiders.”
When he laughed, the musical sound settled over my heart. Made it ache. Once realized, the fated mate bond awoke feelings in me that’d been dormant. The longer I spent with him, the stronger those feelings became—a deep longing that couldn’t be soothed.
“The place needs a little love,” I said.
“A little love,hmm?” Onyx’s brows pulled together. “You believe that’s enough to chase away the cobwebs and bring warmth back to these icy walls? What if this is all they’ve known? All they’ve ever been?”
My sternum squeezed. I got the feeling we weren’t talking about the castle anymore.
“I have matters to attend to before your companions arrive.” Onyx turned toward the main path, throwing his icy walls up once more. “Come. I’ll escort you back to the kitchen.”
Chapter Two
Home Once Again
Dark-purple and orange hues painted the horizon. I sat on the stone ledge of the fountain in the courtyard and stared at the fading daylight. The sky had stayed overcast for most of the afternoon even after the rain passed, with the clouds gradually thinning and dispersing in time for sunset.
Lake hadn’t returned.
“Where are you?” I drew both legs up and wrapped my arms around them.
His absence caused an anxious knot in the pit of my stomach.
After Lord Onyx had escorted me to the kitchen, I’d found Fane and helped him make lunch. I’d been too nervous to eat much though. Too nervous to do anything other than pace back and forth, look out the window, and pace some more. Nail biting might’ve been involved too. Enough so that Fane had threatened to tie my hands behind my back to spare my poor fingers from the assault.
Footsteps had my heart rising in my throat… only for it to deflate when I caught sight of the warriors leaving the training field. One of the demons nodded to me while the others glared, wariness radiating from them.
I offered a small wave, which none of them returned.Sigh.
As the sun descended toward the mountains, taking more of the light with it, I took a deep breath and tried to stay positive. That lasted all of two seconds before my worries flared back up.
What if Stryder and the other mercenaries from Nocturne had attacked Lake and the rest of the party as soon as they’d stepped from the protective barrier around Onyx’s realm?
A wet drop landed on the top of my head. The sudden cold had me slapping at the spot on impulse and peering up at the branch above me in time for another drop to fall and hit beneath my left eye.
“Well, that’s just rude.” I wiped at my cheek. “First muffin batter and now you. That’s twice in one day I got a surprise squirt to the face.”
A lightthudsounded from behind me. I flipped around on the ledge and nearly tumbled sideways into the fountain. The rain that day had created a nice little puddle that wouldn’t have been pleasant at all to topple into.
Woof!
I jerked my head in the direction it’d come from, seeing nothing at first. But then, black pointed ears showed on the other side of the ledge. Ears that soon sprang into motion, moving around the perimeter of the fountain and closing the distance between us.
Woof, woof!
“Oreo?” I hopped off the ledge as the body attached to those ears rounded the corner and came into view. All-black fur with the exception of a white streak going down his chest. “Hey, boy!”
The Fenrir pup slammed into me and licked at my neck, jaw, and cheek. Everywhere he could reach. His poofy tail wagged up a storm.
“I missed you too,” I said with a laugh, running my fingers through the silky fur of his back. “Where have you been? I’ve been here for several days, you know. My feelings are hurt you didn’t come see me sooner.”
Oreo wiggled his furry little butt and yapped. He sat on his hind end and continued to wag his tail. Piercing blue eyes metmine, and one of his ears flopped while the other stood straight. Just like it had the first time I’d met him.
“Yep. You’re cute as ever.” I petted the top of his head. His tongue jutted out and his eyes briefly closed. Proof of his trust in me. “The bestest boy in the whole world.Yes, you are.”
As I used the kind of cutesy voice you spoke to babies with, his tail whooshed faster and hewoofed again before rewarding me with more cheek licks.
