Page 61 of The Demon King's Destiny

Chapter 15

Six months later …

Evelyn sat hunched at the small table, positioned where the walking trail opened to the meadow.The small piece of furniturehad remained since she first conjured it, though, the candles were nolonger lit.There was no point in lighting them.

There’d been no correspondence from Marrok this month. Or the last. She hadn’t heard from him since the last day of fall, hadn’t seen him since late summer.

He’d missed their planned meeting half a year ago. True to his word, however, he had managed to leave a short note telling Evelyn to attempt summoning him once each month. If it was safe enough, he would sleep and dreamwalk to her. He didn’t tell her what to do if it wasn’t safe, not that she could help him.

The month following his first missed meeting, Marrok left another note, apologizing and instructing her to try again after the next lunar cycle. Then another note came. And another. Four months of letters scratched on parchment, but no Marrok. In each instance, he left his letter atop the table weighted down by a solitary rock.

She’d taken to going to bed early to increase her chances of seeing him. Marrok must have been sleeping during the day because she’d never crossed his path. She feared his recent absences meant he wasn’t sleeping for long enough stretches to reach her.

Evelyn mourned the time she could have had to get to know Marrok. She worried constantly. His letters had assured her he was alive and well. Four months in a row of messages helped assuage her fears, though she questioned his assertion of beingwell.

When she found nothing last month, she convinced herself it wasn’t the end of the world. Evelyn knew he was facing something far more important than scribbling her a line or two.

She’d left him a note of her own. With her heart heavy, she’d left him only a handful of words, unable to come up with anything of more substance.

Evelyn knew he was alive because she could garner his emotions from time to time, as recently as this afternoon. It felt like Marrok was struggling more this week. Thankfully, she sensed no insanity. The bulk of his feelings swung between fury and frustration.

This morning, she could sense profound sadness to the point his melancholy had become her own. So potent was his misery, Evelyn’s resolve started to weaken. She believed it had something to do with feeling his emotions because she never thought of herself as one to give up.

Each time she arrived in the clearing, she did the same thing. She checked for evidence Marrok had been here. If he hadn’t, she explored what the dreamworld allowed her to explore and occupied her mind with other tasks.

She also tested her powers here. She could make items appear, such as the table. She could manipulate her clothing, something she’d subconsciously been doing her entire life. Only once beforehad she shown in the clearing wearing what she’d wore to bed.

These were tricks she could perform only in her sleep. Elementals didn’t have such magics in the waking world. No one did. That didn’t mean her natural talents weren’t improved. Far from it.

During training these long months, her father noticed she’d grown stronger, attributing it to her transition into adulthood. Evelyn suspected it had more to do with the fledgling bond she shared with the King of Sundari—a bond her father knew nothing about.

Every waking and sleeping moment, Evelyn faced the arduous task of controlling her emotions. She’d done well remaining positive most of the time. The lack of a note tonight was another punch to the gut.

Emotionally exhausted, questioning if she should take steps to find him in the waking world, she rose from the chair and entered the forest. There was no point sitting there like a lovesick fool.

As she strolled towards her destination, she pictured what Marrok’s reaction might be to what she’d created for them. Shortly after he’d been awoken by blade again, Evelyn had done something for Marrok. Or, really, had fulfilled his pseudo request.

Just into the woods, there was an area where the canopy was sparse and the soft purplish-blue moonbeams illuminated the forest floor. It was enclosed by a circle of trees with just enough space between for a large bed.

A bed not designed for sleeping.

The idea had seemed brilliant at the time, as a sort of amorous way to greet him. She’d added the softest of bedding, imagining tumblingonto it, pinned under his weight.

Ruefully, she doubted they’d be able to share it any time soon. Like the table, she left it here, knowing he would eventually come to her. Eventually may as well have been forever.

Standing mere feet away from her creation, she leaned against a large oak and took in the romantic setting. The moonlight shone on the duvet, making the white material appear to have a blueish tint.

It was an oasis in woods. She liked the idea of it, the feel of this place. Here she found some level of peace, thinking of it as theirs.

The back of Evelyn’s eyes started to burn. Her lids closed and she pictured Marrok’s chiseled physique. She remembered every cut and slope of definition in his upper body, the bright amber shining from his eyes as his hands and mouth brought her to the height of pleasure.

In the dreamworld, Evelyn felt safe and brave enough to explore her sexuality. She was ready to take the next physical step with Marrok, to share something she knew they both desired, to feel the intimacy lovers shared.

More than that, she wanted to hold him and know he was unharmed. She wanted to tell him she would wait an eternity for him—if she could live that long.

The blood exchangecreated a tenuous connection betweenthem.If Marrok’s assertions were correct, the connection was but a fraction of what it would be when they met in the waking world.

A tear slipped free and she clumsily wiped it away. Crying would do her no good. She blinked several times, regaining her composure.

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