Page 76 of Myths and Manuscripts
Leo high-fived Dain and they both grinned while Willow and I headed outside. Just because they were moving in didn’t mean we had to spend all of our time together. Except, the two over-eager puppies were following us out the doors and into the city.
Willow laughed softly and pulled me closer. “Let’s go on a date soon. Just you and me.”
My heart raced. We’d spent time together, but never anything official like a date. That felt like a new thing for us and one I very much wanted to experience. Where should we go? My gaze drifted to Leo who was always gobbling up sweets and I suddenly knew exactly where to go.
“Have you heard of the Destroyer’s Bakery?” I slid my armaround her waist. “It’s run by the two most loving people I’ve ever met and has the best food. It’s where I got all the sweets I brought you while you were writing.”
Her eyes lit up. “That sounds amazing.”
I smiled and started going in that direction, but something about the town seemed different. I couldn’t put my finger on what though...
“There are humans here,” Willow whispered in awe. She turned to me, gripping my arm excitedly. “Humans! In the demon village!”
She was right. Humans milled around, talking to demons as if it was no big deal. Some looked a little awkward, but it didn’t seem like any fights were going to break out at least. I nodded at Coco and her mother welcoming a human into Bunny Brews and they waved back with bright smiles. The mattress shop owner was beckoning people to come in and try her magical mattresses unlike anything the humans made, and she was catching more than a few curious people.
It was a subtle change but meant everything.
“Your words did this.” I curled my shadows over her shoulder, brushing softly against her cheek. “Thank you for bringing everyone together. It’s perfect.”
Her smile widened and she leaned against my side. “It is pretty nice, isn’t it? I’m glad the ending worked out. Well, mostly.” She glanced back at Leo who was oddly quiet behind us. “There’s one more thing I wish I could fix...”
Knowing her, she was hoping for a good resolution with his old party members, but I didn’t see that happening. They’d shunned him out of fear, and it was hard to come back from that. Making amends would have been easier if she’d written it in the book, but she hadn’t let them treat Leo like that in the first place. Only this book world’s version of them had done that.
Dain must have noticed us staring, because he steppedcloser. “If you’re worried, don’t be. I already took care of it.”
“Took care of what?” I asked.
“You’ll see.” He gripped his spear tight with a confident smile that looked far too familiar. The last time he’d looked like that was when he’d brought the hero to the castle...
I groaned, running a hand over my face. “Please tell me you didn’t kidnap anyone again.”
Willow laughed. “Oh, please tell me you did. And it better be that horrible party of Leo’s.”
Dain’s eyes twinkled as he nodded at a group of humans slinking into town. Their armor and weapons were so flashy that it had to be Leo’s party, nobody else would be foolish enough to walk into a demon city dressed like that. Another sigh escaped me. Dain better know what he was doing with this little plan of his, otherwise it could ruin the careful peace that looked like it was developing in town.
Willow pulled Leo away from the stall he was looking at and motioned to the newcomers. His entire body tensed up and the cookie in his hand crumbled to dust. Dawnbreaker lit up, ready for a fight. I wouldn’t let it come to that though. I wouldn’t let them crush his spirit again either.
I stormed over to the group, letting my shadows flow around me like a cloak of darkness. “You are not welcome here.”
They flinched and one of them actually dared to point her weapon at me! I snatched it away with my shadows, flinging it safely into the ground. A hush fell over the townsfolk as they gave us a wide berth. This was about to get ugly, and they knew it. I glanced back at Dain, expecting him to step in and deal with this, but he just shrugged. What was he thinking?
“Don’t you want to say hi?” Dain asked Leo, nudging him a bit to get him moving. “They came all the way here to see you.”
And fight me by the looks of it.
Leo’s expression hardened. “You should leave. All of you.There’s no place for you here. You made that very clear.”
The guy in front winced. “Sorry. We just needed time to process, okay?”
The woman I’d stolen the sword from nodded. “Yeah, you didn’t really give us any time. You just showed up all demony and expected us to love it right away.”
“So it’s my fault?” Leo asked softly.
“No, that’s not what we meant,” she said, then sighed and turned to Dain. “We’re doing this all wrong. Can you help?”
Leo frowned at the sneaky bodyguard. “Why would you help them? How do they even know you?”
Dain shrugged. “I might have visited them.”
