Tempting Fate

‘Damn, he had a gorgeous laugh...’ Emy thought.

When Emy entered the pantry, they were on a lunch break. She didn’t have any plans for lunch that day. She had a cookie in her purse and would have just taken coffee when she had seen so much food on the table. That is from a well-known restaurant. Emy turned to face Reed, standing in front of her.

“Shall we eat?” Reed asked, smiling.

“I’m not hungry,” Emy said. But, in reality, she was drooling just from the aroma of the food on the table.

“Do you have no appetite or simply refuse to eat with me?” Reed asked.

“Same,” Emy said.

Reed chuckled. Reed turned his back on Emy and Avery, and Jasmin entered the pantry just in time. It astounded them at the amount of food on the table.

“Wow, a lot of food...” said Avery.

.....

“Let’s eat, ladies,” Reed said.

They were seated on the other side of the table. “Is this your treat, sir?” Avery asked.

“Yeah, just eat a lot, okay?” Reed said.

Jasmin turned to Emy, who was preparing coffee. “Join us, Miss Emy,” Jasmin urged.

Emy turned to face them and smiled slightly. “I’m not hungry. Start eating.” Emy said as she swiftly fled the pantry.

“What’s the matter with her? She said that she was starving earlier.” Avery asked.

“Perhaps she’s still furious over what I did earlier. Give me a minute, and I’ll talk to her,” Reed said. “Just eat, okay?”

Avery and Jasmin both nodded. Reed stepped out of the pantry and instantly sought Kyra. He spotted the coffee she had made on her table, but she was not there. Reed heard the cubicle in the restroom. He smiled and dashed to the restroom.

Emy was seated in the toilet bowl. She was checking her Instagram account. Lorie is her sole friend, aside from Avery and Jasmin. She considered snapping a selfie and sharing it on her Instagram account.

It stunned Emy when she walked out of the cubicle and saw Reed standing at the door. He was gazing at her. Her body shifted closer to Reed, and he held both of her shoulders.

“Tell me; you don’t want to eat because of me, huh?” Reed asked.

Reed took a long breath to calm himself before entering the restroom. Emy was the first woman to try something like that. Emy has repeatedly stomped on his kingly ego. No one has ever rejected him, no one has ever hung upon him, and no one has ever disregarded him as a human woman does.

“I told you I didn’t feel like eating,” Emy said.

He set Emy free. He raised his hand, and Emy heard the door lock.

“You’re not leaving until I figure out why you’re like that,” Reed said. “Why did you suddenly turn cold to me when we were OK last night?”

“I responded to you earlier. I don’t want us to have any problems at work. What do you suppose they’d think if they found out... ” Emy was astonished. She isn’t in a relationship with Reed. Therefore, nothing should be a problem.

“Know what?” Reed asked.

Emy bit her bottom lip and took a deep breath. Emy was ready to say anything when she heard something outside.

“What’s happening outside?” Emy asked, hearing Jasmin’s voice. She rushed up to the front door.

Emy was astonished when she noticed a shadow towards the back of the pantry. She placed Jasmin’s umbrella on her table and dashed into the pantry. Food was all over the floor. Even the seats and tables were skewed. Emy noticed Avery and Jasmin floating in the air, unconscious. Emy’s eyes widened as she recoiled. It even frightened her as she slammed into the hard object. Emy recognized Reed and looked at her. Reed held her shoulder.

“Stay behind me, Wifey,” Reed urged.

Emy said nothing and instead walked behind Reed. Three shadows loomed in front of Reed. Relax, Reed stood there looking at them.

“You guys again?” Reed asked.

Shadows raced in, waving a black sword that appeared to be formed of smoke. Emy saw the shadows approaching Reed and quickly fled behind Reed to join her two friends.

“Avery wakes up, Jasmin,” Emy said.

Reed moved fast to avoid the sword. When he kicked a shadow demon, he snatched its sword and stabbed its body. The two then ran to Reed at the same moment. He used the sword he was wielding as a shield, allowing the attack of the two shadow demons to miss. He instantly kicked each of their legs together, causing the shadow demons to collide. Reed immediately rose and attacked one of the shadow demons with the sword while the other choked and stabbed the blade with its body. Both shadow demons vanished at the same time.

Reed looked at Emy. “Are you okay?” Reed asked.

“Avery and Jasmin... What happened to them?” Emy, who was afraid and weeping, asked.

Reed wrapped his arms around Emy and stroked her back. “Don’t worry. They passed out.”

“Are you sure? Perhaps...” Emy thought. “What exactly are those?”

“Take a deep breath and relax. I’ll take care of these two and explain afterward. Relax, please.” Reed said.

Emy took a deep breath and wiped the tears from her cheeks. Reed smiled. “First and foremost, I must clean up the mess,” Reed said.

Everything returned to normal as Reed lifted his hand. Even the food is nicely arranged on the table. The mess on the floor vanished as if nothing had happened. Reed gazed at Emy while holding the heads of the two women lying on the floor.

“When they wake up, they will have no memory of what happened,” Reed said.

Emy nodded instead of responding. Emy noticed the weird light emanating from Reed’s palm, and the two awoke a few seconds later. Avery was the first to stand.

“Damn, why am I on the floor?” Avery asked, surprised.

“Oh, my god...” Jasmin said before leaping to her feet.

Emy glanced at Reed and realized he didn’t want such a look. Reed winced, holding his head.

“What happened? Why are we on the floor? “Avery asked.

“We don’t know, that’s why...” Emy looked at Reed. “We rushed here after hearing your scream. What happened? ”

Jasmin and Avery held their heads. “Damn, I remember nothing.”

“Me, too,” Jasmin said.

“Perhaps you’re simply hungry; keep eating,” Reed said.

Avery and Jasmin continued to eat. Reed rose and was going to walk out of the room, clutching Emy’s hand. Reed came to a halt and turned to face Emy.

“Where are you going?” Emy asked, letting go of Reed’s hand.

Reed gave a little smile. “You have to eat. I’ll leave first so you can eat. I’ll come back when you’re finished. ” Reed instantly turned away from Emy and walked out the door.

Emy instantly felt a sting in her chest. She was guilty of what she said to Reed.

“Where is Sir Reed going?” Jasmin asked.

“He didn’t say,” Emy said.

“Come on, Miss Emy, eat. It’s a waste of food when Jasmin and I don’t finish,” Avery urged.

Emy bit her bottom lip as she looked at the door, then moved over to the table and sat on the opposite side of it.

——-

The door unexpectedly opened, surprising everyone. Reed stepped in with a look of rage on his face. Former King Eldron scowled, and the other generals seated in front of the large table looked at him.

“We didn’t expect you to arrive,” Devin said.

Reed chuckled. “A shadow demon has infiltrated the human realm. Do you know who was responsible? ” Reed asked Devin.

“Would you please sit down first?”

Reed’s father said it was the previous king, Eldron.

“There’s no need,” Reed said, looking around at the eight generals seated in front of the table. “What type of meeting is this?”

“There is no meeting going on, King Reed. They’ve come to pay a visit to the previous king. ” Devin said.

“You speak of the shadow monster, King Reed. What have they done to the human world? ” a general said.

“What is the shadow demon up to? Don’t they assault and kill? That’s all they know how to do. ” Reed said.

The general did not speak again. Reed looked at Devin. “I want you to know why shadow demons are assaulting me in the other world.”

Eldron sprang to his feet and grabbed Reed’s arm. “Son, let us chat for a minute.”

They moved closer to the window. They left everyone at the table with Devin. Reed turned to face them before turning to face his father.

“Nothing to talk about, father,” Reed said.

“Something to talk about,” Eldron said. “I’m not sure what you’re doing in that world. I know you’re looking for someone to be your future queen, but why? Why isn’t Princess Eve the.... ”

“She’s not fit to be queen, father,” Reed said. “I’m sure you can see it, but you’re clouded.”

“What do you want in a queen?” Eldron asked.

“Father,” Reed stated, “I’ve found her.”

His father’s eyes widened. “Have you seen your chosen queen?”

Reed smiled as he nodded. “I need to show her who I am. But the shadow demons are sabotaging my plans. They are frightened of the woman who will be my queen. ”

The past king sprang to mind. “All right, I’ll be the one to inspect the shadow hunter emerging from the tunnel.”

.....

“I’m going,” Reed said. “If there’s an issue, send Arson; I trust him more than Devin.”

“What are you saying? You are his cousin,” Eldron said.

Reed just touched his father’s shoulder. Then he turned away and did not say farewell to his general. Eldron contacted the generals right away.

Devin saw the former king was smiling. “It appears you had a nice talk with the king.”

“The king has seen his future queen,” Eldron said.

What Eldron stated stunned the generals. Devin silently smiled at what the previous king said.