“Ship. Road. Whatever.” I waved my hand. “They both take us places. Now, answer the question. Why are you taking me to Onyx?”
“To put it simply, I saw a better deal and took it.”
“Better deal?”
“What would Haran have given me had I brought Prince Sawyer to them? A bag of coin, sure.” Rowan tossed the apple core in front of us and wiped his hands on his pants. “But then I remembered Haran isn’t Bremloc’s only enemy. Lord Onyx and his demonic army have been in conflict with Bremloc for much longer. He’s also way more powerful. I figured if I showed up at his door with you in tow, he’d give me a much better reward than anything gold could buy.”
“Something better than gold?”
Rowan nodded. “A place by his side.”
“Are you in love with him?”
“What? No.” Rowan snorted. “I’ve never seen him. Very few people have. Even fewer actually know how to reach the Shadow Realm. But I do. Or, at least, I believe I do. The realm is hidden behind a magical, protective veil that won’t open for anyone unless Lord Onyx wants it to. So I thought if I had something he wanted, he’d grant me an audience with him.”
“And being by his side would mean you’d get to live in that realm,” I softly said. “Also protected behind that veil.”
He regarded me. “Something like that.”
Why did that sad look in his eyes make my chest hurt? He was a smart-mouthed and cocky criminal who planned to hand me over to the demon lord. Yet, there I sat with a twinge in my heart sympathizing with him.
“A lot of good it will do me now.” Rowan stood from the tree stump and walked a few paces away. “If I show up with you, he’d more than likely kill you, then kill me too for wasting his time.”
“Does this mean we can turn back now? Since I’m just a nobody, there’s no sense in continuing on.”
Rowan’s features softened. “You may not be a prince, but you’re far from a nobody, little treasure.”
That nickname kick-started the butterflies in my belly. And when he smiled a little, still with that soft look in his dark-gold eyes, those butterflies soared higher, traveling through my rib cage and landing on my heartstrings.
“Can you take me home?” I whispered. “Please?”
The leaves rustled from the bush beside me.
Rowan tore his eyes from me to look at it. “Evan, you need to—”
A deep growl cut off his words. Bright-red eyes glowed from within the leaves before a dark shape rose up, towering over the shrub. The outline of its body shimmered like smoke, and it was feathered with a massive beak. Like a demented crow.
I barely had time to grasp what I was seeing before the thing lunged at me.
Something slammed into my side and knocked me off the tree stump. But the hit didn’t come from the monster crow.
“Stay down,” Rowan said in a low hiss, his body covering mine as we lay on the forest floor. “Don’t speak.”
The crow snapped its head from side to side, as if searching for me, before making a croaky cawing noise. It couldn’t see us on the ground? That’s when I noticed the shadows rolling over mine and Rowan’s bodies.
His shadow magic.
He could use shadows to eavesdrop on conversations and apparently control them too, using them as a sort of cloak to conceal us from sight. Abandoning me to save himself would’ve been easy. He could’ve let the monster crow eat me while he escaped. Yet, there he was protecting me instead.
The weight of him gave me a momentary distraction from the scary as hell beast skulking around the tree stump. And as his scent infiltrated my nostrils, something sweet yet smoky, the blood heated in my veins and my pulse quickened.
Oh no.
I recognized the response. I had felt it three other times. Usually, I didn’t realize it until kissing one of them, but I felt it so deeply as Rowan stared down at me, his topaz eyes brighter amongst the shadows. The heat of his body seeped into me, erasing the chill.
Lupin had said I’d have five lovers in this world—maybe more. One of the five was destined to either love me or kill me. Could it be Rowan? He was certainly dangerous. A wild card; his behavior unpredictable depending on his mood. He was the type to screw over anyone for a dime.
The pressure of his hand against my mouth lightened but didn’t move away completely. His gaze lowered to my lips, and my breath hitched. My heart hammered hard against my ribs. Was he going to kiss me?
