Page 98 of Sent To A Fantasy World and Now All the Men Want Me 7

My throat burned, and my chin did that annoying wobble that always signaled an incoming snot fest.

Oreo whined low in his little chest before rushing toward the bed and jumping on top of it. He shuffled over and wedged himself between me and Callum, licking my cheeks. Then he slapped Callum with his poofy tail.

“Hey,” Callum complained, moving the puppy’s tail aside. “Enough of that. Back to the floor you go.”

The Fenrir pup growled, and then, as though to spite him, he curled up on my lap and whacked Callum again with his tail.

Maddox watched the scene unfold with a slight curve to his lips. “Good boy, Yoyo. Protect our muffin. Use your teeth if you must.”

Callum sneered at his captain, then at the puppy. “Since when do you take his side? Have you forgotten all the times I let you chew on my boot laces?”

Oreo released a soft woof before sticking his butt in Callum’s face.

I laughed. It helped alleviate some of the hard pangs in my chest. Temporarily anyway. They soon returned though.

“What happens now?” I asked, staring at my hands. “Onyx is like all of you. We’re bonded. It’s not like I can avoid him. And I don’t want to. He’s…” My eyes stung. “He’s part of our family.”

“No. He’s not.” Maddox breathed out. “Nor will he ever be.”

A tear finally slipped free, quickly followed by two more from the other eye. Oreo whined and licked my cheek again.

“Best not tempt fate, love,” Briar told me. “You and Lord Onyx shouldn’t be left alone together. Not until we find a solution.”

“The solution is to leave,” Callum spat in a tone ringing of a raw desperation. “To place as much distance between Ev and the demon as possible. We can take advantage of Nocturne’s retreat from the dark wood, pack our things, and march out tonight. Only Stryder remains. While it’s not ideal, facing him is preferable to the demon lord should the curse awaken. Stryder, at least, is human.”

“You forget, although human, he’s highly skilled in magical attacks,” Maddox countered, dropping down onto the window bench. Sitting but definitely not relaxing. His muscles were too tense. “I still believe their departure from the barrier is a ploy to lure us out.”

“Even if it weren’t a ploy, where would we go if we left?” Briar sighed as he sat in the chair nearest to the hearth. The logs were cold, only ashes remained of the fire that’d kept us warm throughout last night. “You remember what Reign and Draven said. Word of Evan has traveled beyond the capital. No city will be safe.”

“No city around here anyway.” Rowan pushed from the wall and sauntered over to the window, his gaze fixed outside. “Solynia is as far south as we could go. News wouldn’t have spread there.”

“Solynia?” I perked up, surprised. “As in, where you’re from?”

“The very place,” Rowan answered, his mouth hitching up in the corner. “We could hunker down in my old stomping grounds. I know the area like the back of my hand.”

“No,” Maddox said, putting an end to that idea on the spot. “Traveling that far would be too great a risk. We’d need to pass through cities along the way, at least for supplies.”

Briar rubbed at his jaw. “Unless we sailed there.”

As the three of them discussed how we’d find a ship, and also someone to sail said ship, I felt conflicted. Seeing the place Rowan grew up would be exciting, as would visiting lands I hadn’t seen yet. But they were forgetting one very important thing.

“Nocturne would easily be able to track me the moment I stepped foot from this realm,” I reminded them. “I’d be like a magical beacon that would lure them right to us. Like chum in shark-infested waters.”

“True.” Briar rubbed his lips together, visibly mulling over something. “However… while working with Phantasia, I’ve tinkered around with crafting another protection stone. One that might hide your life force once more and shield from magical attacks.”

“I thought you said another stone wouldn’t work,” I said with a frown. “The mercenaries are like hounds with my scent and would still be able to track me.”

“Well…” Briar pushed his glasses back up his nose. A sign of his excitement. “That was before I knew just how powerful many gems are in this realm. Much like the Phoenix tears with supreme healing abilities that saved Lake from the brink of death, there are stones and crystals here that contain properties beyond what I’ve worked with in the past.”

“You can craft another stone?” Maddox asked him.

“Possibly.” Briar shifted forward in his chair. “I’d need time to craft one, of course. Not to mention, finding the right gem first. But at this time, I see no better option.”

A short silence followed, his words hanging in the air around us. Words that implied leaving the Shadow Realm wasn’t as impossible as it’d once seemed.

“If we do leave, my sister may be able to help us,” Callum said, sounding so hopeful. “Penny has traveled all over with her guild and might know of someone who has a ship we could use.”

Conflicting emotions stirred in my gut. Hope that we could someday leave the Shadow Realm and see our friends again—and for Callum to reunite with his family. But that hope clashed with a deep sadness as well.