Page 113 of Sent To A Fantasy World and Now All the Men Want Me 7

“Release him!” Maddox sprang up from the floor and lunged at Onyx, only to be hit by an unseen force and sent flying back toward the door.

Lake and Callum charged toward us next and were met with the same fate. Callum crashed into the couch, while Lake slammed into the bookshelf against the far wall, releasing a pained grunt that shattered my heart.

“Stop!” I screamed.

Onyx sailed backward, his feet skidding across the floor before he righted himself.

I thought Rowan may have used his magic, but my redhead gaped at me. That’s when I felt the tingling in my hands. As I glanced at them, shock seized my chest. Instead of the sparks I’d seen before, it was a blue fire that traveled over both hands and up to my wrists.

Onyx released a deep roar before springing toward me again.

Shadows slithered around his legs and stilled his movements. That time, Rowan had used his magic. He kept Onyx in place despite the demon lord thrashing around and baring his teeth, his eyes so dark there were no whites to be seen.

“Mine!” Onyx roared, flapping his wings and trying to break free. Rowan’s shadows slithered up and wrapped around them as well, restraining him further.

“I’ve got you, love.” Briar appeared at my side. He rested his palm over my neck, and a warm glow emitted from it. He could heal minor wounds without elixirs and tonics. The ache from where Onyx bit me eased instantly.

Callum and Maddox lunged toward Onyx and pinned both arms behind his back, securing his wings as well. Lake joined them, forcing Onyx to his knees. Along with Rowan’s shadows, they had subdued him. The demon lord’s eyes remained on me, following my every movement like a predator studying its prey.

“I gave you my word, Onyx,” Rowan said with a shake in his voice. The shadows swirled up Onyx’s legs and traveled higher to his waist. “You made me swear to protect Evan at all costs. To kill you if I had to.”

It took me a moment to realize what he planned to do.

The Bone Crusher. The most powerful skill in his arsenal.

“No!” I stepped around Briar, panic filling my chest. “Don’t do it, Ro, please. There has to be another way.”

“Look at him, sweetheart,” Maddox said in a grief-stricken tone. “He’s no longer the male you love. The curse has claimed him. He will remain this way until either you’re dead at his feet or he’s dead at ours. But death is the only way to free him now.”

I touched the side of my neck. Recalling the sharp sting of Onyx’s teeth. Maybe I was wrong, but there had seemed to be hesitance in him. He’d had plenty of time before the others arrived to easily rip out my esophagus with his bare teeth or crush my windpipe with a single hard squeeze.

Which told me hope wasn’t lost. The curse had awoken, but I had to believe there was still a piece of him left, however buried it may be.

I stepped toward them.

“Stay back, Ev,” Callum warned.

The moment I moved, Onyx had tensed and tried to shake them off, his lips parting to show the teeth he wanted so desperately to sink back into my flesh. Despite the threat to his own life, like Rowan and his shadows, he still hadn’t taken his eyes off me.

“He’s little more than a beast now, Ev,” Callum said, glancing at Onyx. “Tearing you apart is all he wants.”

But I sensed that the male I loved was still in there. Fighting against the curse.

As I approached, my knights tightened their hold on Onyx. Lake stood behind him, hand in Onyx’s hair to keep his head still—probably so he couldn’t thrash around and bite any of them or jab them with his horns.

“Hey, you,” I said, kneeling down in front of Onyx. I kept a ruler-sized gap between us in case he tried to lunge at me.

But he didn’t. He only stared at me with those menacing black eyes. Growls rumbled in his chest, like a caged beast.

“You warned me so many times, but I didn’t listen.” There was a pang in the pit of my stomach as I said the words. “Guess I was selfish too. You said being with me was like finally feeling the sun on your skin, but that’s because you helped me find an inner fire within myself. A confidence I never really had before.”

His nostrils flared as he watched me. But I got the feeling he was listening. Understanding, if only a little.

“I love you, Onyx.” I reached forward and placed my hand over his heart. The second we touched, he growled low in his throat. “Even when you’re stubborn and insufferable. Even when you tease me with that mischievous smirk. I love the moments when you show that kind heart you claim not to have, and I feel so… at home when you wrap your arms around me.”

Onyx breathed heavily through his nose and leaned toward me. Or tried to. Lake yanked him back again.

“But most of all?” Tears welled in my eyes as I traced the edges of the tattoo-like mark on his bare chest. The remnants of the curse that had already been unleashed. “I love the way you make me feel. Like I’m flying. Being with you is exhilarating and addictive. Loving you is an adventure I refuse to let end before it even really began.”