Page 14 of Sent To A Fantasy World and Now All the Men Want Me 7

“He’s intrigued by you,” a silky voice said from the dark hallway to the left. A voice that sent an instant rush of heat through my body. Onyx stepped into the moonlight coming through the window. “With practice, you’ll be able to summon shadows like him as well.”

“With practice, you say.” Rowan smiled. There was something bashful about it. “Know anyone who can teach me?”

The demon lord was one of the few people my smartass thief-turned-spy spoke to with such respect. His admiration veered on fanboy level. It was adorable.

Onyx regarded him for a moment. Silent but visibly pondering the notion. Without answering Rowan, his attention moved to me.

My breath caught as he stepped more into the beams of moonlight. He was too freaking beautiful to be real. Raven black hair fell to the middle of his back, cascading down the front of his deep crimson robe. Silver thread wound through the sleeves, creating a fancy design that looked like dragon scales. He reminded me of an imperial prince from one of the Ancient Chinese palace romance dramas I’d read and gobbled up like candy.

Did that make me his muffin consort?

“Why am I not surprised?” Onyx’s gaze bore into me. “I ask not to be disturbed and you seek me out anyway. Why are you unable to obey a simple request?”

“I wanted to see you,” I answered, sounding just as meek as I felt. “We… we need to talk.”

A stretch of silence passed before he, finally, emitted a soft sigh. “I suppose I was a fool for thinking you’d stay away. Once a pest, always a pest.”

“Like a gnat,” I said with a nervous laugh, forcing it past my tight throat. My nerves then, of course, triggered one of my legendary rambles. “The more you swat at me, the more I try to fly up your nose or into your mouth. Not that I want to fly in your mouth or anything. I mean, that’s not to say there’s anything wrong with your mouth. I’m sure any gnat would be lucky to find themselves in it.”

Lake softly coughed and touched my lower back.

“But anyway,” I added, fighting my embarrassment, then motioned to the set of windows. “Beautiful night we’re having, huh? All bright and starry and stuff.”

A rasping chuckle came from Rowan before he pulled his mask back over his mouth. The fabric ruffled in his attempt to stifle a second laugh.

“You make a decent point,” Onyx said, his gaze still pinned to me. It was hard to read his expression, as usual. Even his voice lacked emotion. “There are things we must discuss. In private.”

Rowan and Lake exchanged a glance, then a shared nod.

“We’ll leave him in your hands,” Rowan told Onyx before bowing his head. Lake did the same. Both of them kissed me on the cheek before taking their leave, descending the stairs.

They’d said before how our fated mate bond made it impossible for them to wish me harm. Since Onyx shared that same bond with me, they trusted he wouldn’t hurt me either. Just as they trusted in each other.

If only I could be as equally assured. Because as the demon lord’s stare bore into me right then, I could practically see him hurling fireballs at me with his mind.

Abort mission. Abort mission. The team of mini-Evans inside me were all running around screaming—coffee and muffins flying everywhere in their panic.

“Follow me,” Onyx said before turning toward the dark hallway.

I swallowed hard and stepped after him.

What had I just gotten myself into?

***

The night air was cool on my skin—but not nearly as cool as the icy glare aimed my way as Onyx and I stood on the balcony outside his private quarters.

“Thank goodness for railings, right?” I placed my hands on top of it and patted. “A saving grace for clumsy people. I’d hate to go overboard. It’s too high up, and muffins don’t have wings.”

Onyx stared at me. Said nothing.

I cleared my throat and looked away. All of my attempts to talk to him so far had failed. He hadn’t spoken a word since telling me to follow him down the hall. I was running out of ideas. Normally, my rambling mouth managed to get at least a smirk out of him, but not even that had worked.

“Know what this balcony reminds me of? Romeo and Juliet.” When he didn’t say anything—shocker—I feigned astonishment. “You’ve never heard of it, milord? Oh my. It’s a tragic play, you see. Two young people fall in love, only to have that love squashed like a bug. Squashed, like you probably want to do to a certain pest who refuses to leave you alone.”

The muscle in Onyx’s cheek twitched.

I theatrically extended my arm toward the stars. “Demon lord, demon lord, wherefore art thou, demon lord?”