Knox (Monsters of Veridia #1)

Chapter 10

Chapter

Ten

When they arrived at his apartment, Adrian paid the driver, and they made their way upstairs. The familiar smell of cooking wafted through the hallway as soon as he opened the door. Evelyn stood in the kitchen, humming to herself while stirring a pot on the stove. The TV was on, its volume low but enough to catch snippets of a news report.

Evelyn turned to them with a warm smile. "Just in time for lunch! Lovely to meet you all. I’m so glad that Adrian is finally making some friends who share his hobby."

His hobby?

Adrian gaped at his grandma, then shook himself out of his stupor.

"Grandma, these are Lyrian and Zev," Adrian introduced the newcomers, trying not to drown in the absurdity of the moment.

"Lovely to meet you both," Evelyn said. She seemed so genuinely pleased that Adrian had brought 'friends' home that Adrian found it difficult not to wince. He’d never been very good at socializing offline. His brother, Grant, had been the popular one, the athlete with the big birthday parties and all the dates. Never Adrian.

"Take a seat," Evelyn said. "Lunch will be ready soon."

Adrian’s eyes flicked to the TV screen where a news reporter was speaking animatedly. His stomach dropped as he recognized the footage from earlier—the chaos on the bridge, people panicking and shouting.

"You’re quite famous," Evelyn remarked, pointing at the screen.

Adrian’s heart skipped a beat as he saw Lyrian’s figure standing atop a car, singing to calm the crowd. The camera zoomed in on Knox struggling against Caelen before showing close-ups of frightened faces now serene thanks to Lyrian’s song.

The reporter’s voice cut through his thoughts. "Witnesses describe a surreal scene where a man with an angelic voice appeared to pacify what seemed like dark apparitions attacking civilians."

Evelyn glanced at Adrian with a raised eyebrow. "Care to explain?"

Adrian sighed, rubbing his temples. "It’s complicated, Grandma."

"Well," she said, turning back to her cooking with a shrug, "whatever it is, you’ve got half the city talking about it."

Lyrian looked amused as he watched the footage of himself singing on screen. "Not my usual audience," he remarked lightly.

Zev smirked. "You always did know how to make an entrance."

Knox remained silent, his eyes fixed on the screen where Caelen’s face loomed large—calm, composed, and disturbingly charismatic as he spoke to reporters.

"We need to be careful," Knox muttered finally, more to himself than anyone else.

Evelyn began setting plates on the table. "Be that as it may," she said firmly, "you all need to eat."

Adrian felt a pang of gratitude for his grandmother’s unwavering practicality. No matter how bizarre things got, Evelyn always knew how to ground them back in reality—at least for a little while.

Evelyn placed a platter of sandwiches on the table, each one carefully cut into neat triangles. There were cucumber and cream cheese, ham and mustard, and egg salad—all of Adrian’s favorites. She also set down a bowl of mixed greens tossed with a light vinaigrette and a plate of freshly sliced fruit.

"Dig in," she encouraged as she took her seat.

Knox reached for a sandwich but his gaze remained on Lyrian and Zev. "How did you both end up here?"

"Probably the same way you did, which is to say I have no idea how." Lyrian leaned back in his chair. "We found ourselves in the middle of an incredibly noisy club last night. Quite disorienting."

Zev nodded. "But it wasn’t long before we received several offers from… enthusiastic hosts."

Adrian raised an eyebrow at that, but a small smile played on Lyrian’s lips. "Humans are so eager to offer shelter when they find you charming enough."

Adrian suppressed a groan. Of course Lyrian and Zev would have had people falling over themselves to host them. The siren was elegance and grace personified, and there was something strangely alluring about Zev’s darker beauty as well. The intensity of his smile made people want to do things they absolutely shouldn’t.

Adrian wasn’t tempted by either of them, but that was probably because his mind was still reeling from the encounter he’d had with Knox.

Unaware of Adrian’s thoughts, Zev nodded to the television.

"A little while ago, we saw Caelen in one of those picture boxes," he said. "We knew where we had to go."

Lyrian’s expression grew serious. "During the chaos on the bridge, I noticed Caelen drawing power from the crowd. The more people believe in him, the stronger he becomes."

"That’s why he was playing the savior," Zev said. "The people of this world have no idea how horrible he really is."

"They would know if they read the recordings," Knox said between two bites of his sandwich.

Lyrian leaned in curiously. "What recordings?"

"Tell him, Adrian." Knox shot Adrian an expectant look.

"Uh…" Adrian licked his lips. "Your story is a novel in this world. You’re considered fictional characters." Was that a tactless thing to say?

Lyrian and Zev didn’t seem offended. Intrigued, if anything.

"Listen to that," Zev said. "I knew I’d be remembered, but not that I’d be remembered even in another world."

"You’ve got quite a lot of fans," Evelyn pointed out. "Adrian is always talking about your story with his friends on the internet."

"Oh, I know I’ve got fans." Lyrian grinned brightly. "But to be interdimensionally famous…! You must show me this story—and what is this internet?"

"It’s a computer thing," Evelyn said as if this explained everything. "It can be very convenient. I’ve found so many recipes on there. Like that Thai coconut chicken noodle soup Adrian loves. I should make that some time this week."

Lyrian nodded along as if this was all very interesting and absolutely understandable. "You must," he encouraged her. "It sounds delightful."

Adrian’s appetite had vanished, however.

He couldn’t imagine showing the internet to Knox and the others. What if they found the fanfiction? The raunchy fanart? The memes? The blog posts in which Adrian dissected their lives?

With a sinking feeling, Adrian remembered the blog post Knox had read earlier.

At this point, he should just delete them all before they could cause more harm.

As if he could ever make himself do that…

"Excuse me," Adrian said, pushing his chair back from the table.

Knox looked up, concern flickering in his eyes. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, just need a moment," Adrian replied, forcing a smile.

He walked into his room and took in the disarray. Evelyn had cleaned up the glass shards, but the weight of the mess surrounding him pressed down on his shoulders. The carpet was entirely ruined, clothes were strewn about, and small objects lay scattered across the floor. He moved carefully around the damage from the storm.

Focusing on something familiar, he powered on his laptop and opened the webnovel. The screen lit up with the latest chapter of Monsters of Veridia . His mind wandered back to Knox’s words about the author possibly being a magic user.

Could that be?

A notification popped up on the edge of his screen. An email from his brother. Adrian deleted it without even fully reading the title. Something about how sorry he was, no doubt.

Bullshit.

Adrian didn’t have time for this.

Quietly seething, he opened a chat window to ask his friends what they thought about Knox’s theory regarding the author of Monsters of Veridia , but both were marked as offline. He sighed, closing the chat window and opening a new tab.

He typed in keywords related to the bridge incident and hit search. Headlines blared across the screen. Many articles were what he had expected: discussions about whether videos of what happened on the bridge were AI-generated, a media stunt, or some Russian / Chinese ploy to sow chaos. But there were also many headlines like these:

"Shadow King Saves Civilians from Bridge Collapse!"

"Villain turned hero? The incredible story of the Shadow King!"

"Witnesses Describe Unbelievable Scene of Magic and Mayhem!"

These articles were painting Caelen as a savior, not understanding the danger he posed.

The doorbell rang suddenly, and then again, jolting Adrian back to reality.

He returned to the living room to find Evelyn at the door’s intercom, her brow furrowed as she squinted at the small speaker.

"Who are you? I can’t quite understand what you’re saying." Her voice was tinged with frustration.

"That’s quite the crowd." Zev stood by the window, frowning. Adrian joined him and looked outside. His breath caught in his throat. A crowd of paparazzi had gathered on the sidewalk, cameras flashing and reporters shouting questions. They must have followed them back from the bridge.

"They’re here because of us," Adrian said, running a hand through his hair. "Or rather, because of you guys."

Evelyn shot them all a puzzled look. "There are a lot of reporters out there."

"Get away from the intercom. Don’t open the door. And stay away from the windows too!"

"But they are reporters." Lyrian approached the window in spite of Adrian’s warnings—and Zev hadn’t moved an inch either. "If we talk to them, we can tell them how dangerous the Shadow King really is. I could sing them a song about his crimes! Something catchy!" He seemed very enthusiastic about this idea.

Before Adrian could stop him, he opened the window and leaned out. The next moment, his voice cut through the chaos, drawing immediate attention from the reporters below.

"People of this world," Lyrian began, "listen carefully!"

Lyrian began to sing, his voice rich and melodious. The lyrics flowed smoothly, almost hypnotically:

"In shadows deep where darkness lies,

A king of fear with cruel disguise.

Beware his charm, his treacherous grin,

For evil lurks beneath his skin."

The reporters stood transfixed, their cameras still flashing but now capturing a different kind of spectacle.

"Deceitful savior, do not trust,

His heart is cold, his soul unjust.

He’ll turn your hope into despair,

Beware the darkness in his lair."

Adrian found himself captivated. He glanced at Zev, who stood motionless, his eyes locked on Lyrian as if entranced by his friend’s song.

Knox watched from a distance, his expression unreadable but tense.

Lyrian continued, his voice rising and falling with an almost hypnotic quality until his song was sung.

The reporters stared up at the windows, microphones and notepads forgotten. The magic in Lyrian’s voice seemed to hold them spellbound even after the last note had rung out.

Evelyn had moved closer to Adrian. "That boy has quite the gift," she whispered.

Adrian nodded absently and exhaled, realizing he’d been holding his breath.

Lyrian closed the window gently and turned back to face Adrian and the others. "Let’s see how that goes," he said with a small smile.

Evelyn grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. "Look at this," she said, motioning them all over.

Lyrian’s performance was being broadcast on every channel. The siren’s song echoed through the living room once more, captivating the news anchors just as it had the reporters outside. Each station replayed the footage, accompanied by excited commentary and scrolling text about the mysterious singer.

"They’re eating it up," Adrian muttered, both impressed and worried.

Lyrian smirked, leaning casually against the wall. "Of course. No matter the world, humans can never resist a good tune."

Zev watched with a thoughtful expression. "Let’s hope they actually listen to the lyrics instead of just dancing to them."

Knox remained silent, his eyes narrowing as he studied the TV screen. "We need to be ready for Caelen to retaliate," he finally said.

Adrian felt a knot of anxiety tighten in his stomach. Knox was likely right; the Shadow King wouldn’t take this lying down—and there was no telling how the masses would react in any case.

He pulled out his phone and quickly navigated to his favorite message boards.

The notifications were overwhelming—dozens of new posts from people discussing Lyrian’s performance. Adrian scrolled through them rapidly:

"Did you see that guy singing on TV? He was amazing!"

"Guys! Is this really happening? Are we living in the best time-line?"

"Who is he? And what was that song about?"

"I think he was warning us about the Shadow King! This is insane!"

"Help me! Should I fangirl over Caelen or Lyrian? THEY’RE BOTH SO HOT."

"Why not both? Life is short, don’t cut corners!"

"You’re right! I will draw them together!"

Of course the online discourse was led by horny people. At this point, Adrian wasn’t even surprised. Exasperated, but not surprised. Why did no one seem to understand that this was serious?

"What are you seeing on your little rectangle?" Knox asked.

Adrian nearly jumped. He hadn’t noticed the incubus approach. "It’s called a phone, and I’m checking on people’s reactions."

"What are they saying?" Lyrian asked.

Adrian considered telling the siren that there was going to be a lot of fanart showing him fucking the Shadow King, but he decided against it. "Give me another minute," he said instead.

Leon was still conspicuously offline (what was he doing while the internet was on fire???), but Daniel had a green light next to his name, so Adrian sent him a quick message.

"Are you seeing what’s happening on the forums?"

Within moments, Daniel’s response popped up. "Forget the forums. Check the main page of the Book Nook."

Curiosity piqued, Adrian switched tabs and navigated to the Book Nook’s homepage. The usual reviews and recommendations had been pushed aside by a glaring announcement at the top of the page.

"THE SHADOW KING TO APPEAR AT FAN CONVENTION IN GREENWOOD TOMORROW!"