Page 35 of Sent To A Fantasy World and Now All the Men Want Me 7

“Your manner of speech is odd.” He dropped the rinsed rice into a bowl, then retrieved a pot that hung from a rack along the wall and filled it with water, carrying it to the stove. “I feel as though I only understand half of what you say.”

“That’s about half more than what I can understand of you,” I countered, wondering what he was cooking so late. Everything about him was a freaking mystery.

Onyx’s gaze wandered back over to me. “I know little of your life prior to your arrival in Bremloc. My scouts reported to me on all happenings around the kingdom, and your name often came with those reports. News of this strange boy with golden hair and eyes like emeralds who appeared one day and began making quite the stir among the people. Yet, nothing before then.”

“I made quite the stir, huh?” I snorted. “Coffee gets everyone talking, I guess.”

“That’s beside the point.” He set the pot on the stove and flicked his hand, using magic to light the burner before salting the water. “Where did you live before arriving in Bremloc? And how were you able to conceal yourself from Nocturne all this time? With their ability to track your life force, they would have been able to find you even from across the sea.”

Seemed the day to have the whole ‘I was sent here from another world’ conversation with him had come a lot sooner than I’d anticipated. Which left me with two options.

Tell Onyx everything. About my old life in a contemporary world, meeting Lupin, waking up in the field outside the dark wood, and all that happened after, leading me to that very moment with him in the castle kitchen.

Or…

“I’m a muffin of mystery, what can I say?” I sidled up to him at the stove. There was a ton of crap he hadn’t told me yet either, so it was only fair for me to keep some details to myself. For now. At least until I knew where our relationship stood. “If you’re good, maybe I’ll tell you one day.”

“If I’m good?” He peered down at me.

“Yep. Which will be difficult for you, I know. So, there’s a chance you might never know the truth. How unfortunate.”

The side of his mouth crinkled. Almost a smile but not quite. He waited for the pot of water to come to a boil before adding the rice.

“Need any help?” I drummed my fingers on the counter. The long stretch of silence had amped up my nerves again.

He shook his head. “Just stand there and look pretty. Isn’t that what you told me to do the morning I offered to help with the muffins?”

Warmth flooded the center of my chest at the memory. “A lot’s happened since then. New powers, my uncle’s death, and being attacked by an adorable tree demon.”

And falling for another, much more stubborn demon.

“Speaking of your powers…” Onyx added some ginger and garlic to the pot, and the aroma made my mouth water. “I spoke to Phantasia on your behalf. She is well-versed in magic of all types and can help you tap into your powers. To understand them.”

“Really?” I asked, taken aback by the offer. “Why would you want to help me with them? Aren’t you worried I’ll use them against you?”

“No.” His answer came without hesitation. “You are no threat to me nor anyone else in my realm.”

“That’s not what you said on the balcony,” I mumbled, still sore by his accusations. “You thought I was sent here as a ploy to destroy you or whatever.”

The demon lord seemed amused but said nothing. The jerk.

I took it as another good sign though. If he was truly suspicious of me, he wouldn’t be offering to help me with unlocking my powers.

“What are you cooking anyway?” I asked, needing a distraction from all the confusion.

“Rice porridge.” His expression softened. “My mother used to cook it for me when I was a child.”

I brought to mind the painting I’d seen of his parents while roaming the castle once. His mom had been beautiful. Silver hair and red eyes. Eyes she’d passed down to her son. Not only her eyes either. Also a love of reading… and how to cook rice porridge, it seemed.

“Why are you making it right now?” I asked, trying to figure him out. “Had a late-night craving for it?”

“The porridge is for you,” he said, seemingly self-conscious. “You drank a lot of ale at dinner, and it has upset your stomach. This will be easy on your body and help calm any nausea.”

He was making it… for me? Damn if the shock didn’t nearly make me fall over.

But then that shock turned into something else. A type of frustrating perplexity I didn’t know how to process, especially not while hungover.

“I don’t understand you, Onyx.” I scrubbed my hands over my face, rubbing at my eyes, then my temples. “You act so cold toward me. You throw up a wall any time I start getting too close. But now you’re cooking me porridge and being so freaking sweet I don’t know whether to thank you or cry.”