Page 43 of Sent To A Fantasy World and Now All the Men Want Me 7

Cheep. The arbordu sat on the windowsill at the end of the corridor.

The window had been propped open to let in the fresh spring air. To let in adorably fuzzy critters too. I approached him, excited to see the tree demon again. But before I reached him, he leapt from the window and ran down the corridor.

“Wait!” I picked up my pace.

He stopped when reaching the corner and looked back at me.

I paused in step. “What’s up, boy?”

He wiggled his butt in that cute way, and I took a step closer. He waited until I was a few strides away before taking off again, his little toe beans lightly thudding against the floor. Like before, he stopped after a few moments and looked at me, as though making sure I was still there.

Did he want to lead me somewhere?

Curious, I followed him down the corridor, then through a set of open doors that led to a vine covered terrace. “Where are we going?”

Pumpkin rose up on his hind legs and pawed the air with his front feet before springing back into action.

“You’re not leading me into some kind of trap, right?”

Cheep.

If that was a yes, I wouldn’t know. But I’d soon find out, I guess. My legs moved on their own, following the cute and fuzzy creature regardless of not knowing where he was taking me.

He led me from the terrace and to a side courtyard, passing patches of yellow and orange flowers, a small pond, and a weathered stone bench that was cracked on the edge, allowing weeds to spring through.

The scenery seemed familiar. A few more steps down a rock path that wound through the overgrown courtyard then told me why. A tree with long, sweeping branches came into view.

The willow tree.

I paused in step, remembering the day I’d stumbled upon Onyx sitting beneath it. He had invited me to sit with him, and we’d talked about books and the draw we felt for each other, one that had started the first time we’d ever met in the dark wood.

Beneath the willow tree, our fated bond had stirred even stronger, propelled by our close proximity and inevitable attraction. The place where that restless ache in my chest had started to calm as our lips met for the first time.

“Since the day I first laid eyes on you, I sensed a fire in you, Evan. A quiet intensity that drew me in. Here I am still, unequivocally drawn to you.”

Onyx’s words, as well as the silkiness of his voice when saying them, had caused my heart to skip a beat. It had been the proof I’d needed to know that he felt our bond too.

As I stood there, lost in that memory, I recalled the intensity of his scent. Cedar and woodsmoke. It had wrapped around me as we’d kissed.

Pumpkin dashed beneath the willow tree and chittered in his adorable way. Blurs of orange could be seen through the long, leafy branches.

“So, this is where you wanted to lead me?” I sighed and stepped forward, moving some branches aside. “I don’t see why you—”

A small intake of air cut off my next words, and the gears in my brain came to a crashing halt, much like my freaking heart.

Onyx sat against the trunk of the tree. And Pumpkin, the mischievous turd, sat on his shoulder.

Cheep.

“Oh. Um.” My voice veered on squeaking. “Fancy meeting you here.”

Seemed the woodsy scent I smelled hadn’t just been in my memory after all. It had come from the demon lord beneath the tree. One currently glaring at me.

“Why am I not surprised?” Onyx said with a click in his jaw. “Here you are, once again being a pest.”

“Not on purpose,” I shakily responded. “I was following Pumpkin.”

The arbordu leapt from Onyx’s shoulder and scurried up the tree. Feeling guilty, maybe? That scheming little rascal.