Page 85 of Sent To A Fantasy World and Now All the Men Want Me 7

Bonds of Fate

“This isn’t you.”

I startled awake. Candles flickered throughout the dimly lit room, and a fire burned low in the hearth. The sky beyond the set of windows was dark.

Was it night already? Last thing I remembered was leaving the clinic with my men earlier that morning and being brought to our room. I had been like a leech and clung to each of them, needing the closeness. Guess I had fallen asleep and slept the whole day away.

A weight pressed against my legs, one that shifted and expelled a sad breath. Lake was in his favorite spot, asleep by the sound of it. But restless in that sleep.

“He hasn’t spoken a word since he woke from the elixir,” Briar told someone outside the door. “Phantasia says whatever he witnessed was too traumatic for his mind to handle.”

Traumatic? That was one word for it. Since the morning I woke up in Bremloc, I’ve had a few close encounters with death, but every bad thing that had happened to me paled in comparison to the sight of that final vision. Lake. Rowan. Briar. And my cinnamon roll of a knight.

All dead.

My chin wobbled, and I hid my face into my pillow. The sting in my heart felt like a thousand wasps had been set free inside my chest.

Briar said something else, his voice too low for me to make out the words, before the door creaked open wider. Light steps neared the bed, but I didn’t have the energy to look. I’d never felt so numb before. Or so cold.

The bed dipped as someone sat beside me. Slender fingers brushed aside my bangs, then trailed down my cheek. Woodsmoke drifted to my nose, faint yet comforting all the same.

“I know you’re awake, little bird,” Onyx softly said, tracing the line of my jaw. “Although it may be difficult, I need you to open your eyes.”

I kept them closed, worried I’d start crying the moment I opened them.

“Lake tried to encourage him to eat something earlier, but he wouldn’t,” Briar said, his voice closer now. More fragile as well, like he was close to breaking down. “Fane brought him coffee, which he also refused. I don’t know what to do, Onyx.”

Fane had brought coffee? I didn’t remember. Had no memory of Lake trying to get me to eat either. The elixir had really done a number on me.

“What of his powers?” Onyx asked, playing with a strand of my hair. “Do they remain blocked?”

“No,” Briar answered. “The barrier in his mind has been lifted, so the elixir was successful. However, when Phantasia examined him earlier, she said she sensed a deep anguish in his heart.” His voice shook. “One he may not recover from anytime soon.”

“I see.” Onyx slid his hand to my nape, then trailed a finger over to the cuff of my shoulder. “The elixir forced him to face his worst fear. That would take a toll on anyone’s mind. I only wonder what he saw that troubled him so profoundly.”

“If I were to guess?” Briar sighed. “Him losing one of us. Either us dying trying to protect him from those seeking his power… or from Evan causing our deaths himself because of his power.”

There was a brief silence, filled only by the faint crackle of the logs in the hearth.

“He worries he’ll become like Saint Vera,” Onyx said, his voice thick. His hand trembled as he slid it over my skin. “Such a silly little bird. You could never be like her. How many times must I say it?”

My eyelids fluttered open, bringing the demon lord into view. He affectionately stared down at me. Concern mingled with the warmth of that stare though, visible in the slight tightening around his ruby eyes.

Briar stood beside him, wearing a similar expression. “Good evening, love.”

I tried to say something, but no words came out. A grating rasp sounded instead. My throat was too dry.

“Here.” Onyx grabbed a cup of water off the bedside table and held it to my lips. I took a small drink, then a bigger one. Never had water tasted better. “Good boy. Drink as much as you need to.”

“Evan?” Lake shifted on my lap and sat up, peering at me with tired eyes. He perked up when seeing the cup in Onyx’s hand. “You should eat something as well.”

My stomach growled, like a ravenous bear coming out of hibernation and ready to devour everything in sight. I was suddenly so hungry that I could’ve sworn I smelled food nearby.

“I hoped your appetite would return by this evening,” Onyx said before standing from the bed and nearing the small table near the hearth. He returned with a steaming bowl filled with something that made my stomach growl more viciously. “I made rice porridge. You seemed to enjoy it the other night.”

The gesture touched me just as much as it had when he’d cooked it for me last time. Only a few days had passed since then, but there was a notable difference in him. In both of us. A bond that had solidified.

Onyx gathered a spoonful and pressed it to my lips. I accepted the bite, my eyes watering as I ate. The porridge was easy on my stomach and tasted delicious. Warm and comforting. Just like the demon who made it for me.