Chapter 27 Onyx #2
Was that genuine surprise? Obviously, Valac was after more than Lucifer, given Onyx was in a damn cell. “He’s hunting me, Dante, and Ash too, asshole. We’re all slated for permanent death. Why the fuck do you think I’m here with you?”
Luc’s face twisted, a mix of bereft and agonized. “I—I had no idea.”
Onyx’s anger flared, and for a brief flash, he couldn’t think or see. “Stop acting like you care! You treated us like shit for over a thousand years, and before that, you used us. Fuck you, Lucifer. You don’t get to act like we’re on the same side.”
Even if they worked together to get out, they weren’t allies. They would never be.
Luc cast his attention to the floor. “I do care, Onyx.”
He snorted. “Because now you need me. You have no one, and you’re grasping at straws.”
“No.” Luc lunged forward and grabbed Onyx by the shoulders. Onyx struggled to throw him off, and Luc’s grip tightened. “I do care. I love you.”
With all his inhuman strength, Onyx wrenched from Luc’s hold and slapped him across the face. “You’ve got some way of showing it. You stole my magic. The most integral piece of who I am. You kept me prisoner. That’s not love.”
“I’m sorry. I had to do something. I couldn’t let things get worse. It all got out of hand.”
“So what if your plan to find mates on Earth didn’t work out? That’s no excuse to treat us the way you did.”
“You’re right. Fear seemed like the only way to bring demons in line once magic infected Earth. But I was wrong.”
Onyx shoved Luc in the chest. “You were the one to infect humanity with magic and damn us all in the first place!”
Luc’s eyes flared, red flames dancing dangerously. “I wasn’t. I never fathered a half-human child. I only said I did.”
“Bullshit.” Why would he claim to be the one to damn them if it was a lie?
“It’s not bullshit. It’s the truth. The Eternal Realm was bound to retaliate for the creation of witches.
I was responsible for the fall, therefore, I was responsible for anything that happened by default, even if the child wasn’t mine.
What would throwing the rightful father to the wolves have accomplished? ”
Onyx’s mind reeled. Could that be true? There was no way.
Luc didn’t put anyone before himself. He wouldn’t claim to be the father of the first magical human to protect some other demon from the Eternal Realm’s scorn.
Being the one that led them to Earth wasn’t the same as being responsible for destroying the balance of magic and mortality in the universe.
Fuck, it hardly mattered now. Onyx’s resolve hardened. “Maybe I’d believe you were that selfless if you’d acted like it even once in the last millennia. Attacking Ash and Dante’s mates the first chance you got tells a different story. Your words are empty.”
Luc scrubbed a hand over his face. “I’m not proud of hurting them. I let anger rule me.”
Onyx scoffed. “Oh, you’re not proud? That makes it all right.”
“What do you want?” Luc advanced, grabbing Onyx once more. “What can I do to prove that I’ve changed and that I’m ashamed? I was wrong. How can I atone for my mistakes?”
Onyx’s pulse thudded in his ears, his breaths uneven. He should pull away, but didn’t. “It’s not my job to tell you how to make up for everything you’ve ruined.”
Luc gripped him harder, smoke tinging the air. “Fine. Then what can I do to earn your forgiveness? Tell me that. I can’t die like this.”
“Like what? Reaping what you sowed?”
Luc released him like he’d been burned. “No. Alone. I can’t die alone.”
Onyx staggered into the wall behind him. Luc’s words cut so deep it was a wonder Onyx didn’t bleed. “Alone? You’re upset you have no one? You drove everyone away!”
Luc winced, but Onyx didn’t stop, his shouts bouncing off the stone walls. “You’re the one who left me behind. You took everyone! You had the love of hundreds and pissed it all away, and you have the audacity to tell me you have no one?”
Luc’s brow furrowed, frown lines cutting his sharp features. “I didn’t leave you behind. I didn’t take anyone from you.”
Onyx screamed, eyes clamped shut. His fire raged, coating his skin as his demonic features sprang forth, wings hitting the walls. There was so much fury inside him, he might never burn out.
Hands clasped his upper arms, pushing through his burning blue fire.
Onyx choked, and his eyes popped open against his will.
Luc held his stare, no sign of the pain he must feel as Onyx burned him. “How could I have left you? You’re here with me.”
Onyx shook his head, fire snuffing out. Luc’s grip tightened. “I asked you to stay with me in the Eternal Realm. Begged you. You chose searching for your mate over me.”
“I didn’t choose my mate over you. We all longed for our fated loves. We couldn’t stay in the Eternal Realm. It wasn’t an option. Falling to Earth never meant leaving you behind. You wanted your mate too. You were coming with me.”
“No, I wasn’t. I didn’t need a mate. All I needed was you, Ash, and Dante. I fell because you were leaving regardless. If I hadn’t come, I’d never have seen you again.”
“What do you mean you didn’t need your mate? You’re saying you didn’t want to leave at all, even if it meant never being granted your partner?”
Onyx’s eyes burned, and he willed himself not to cry. Luc’s expression softened, and Onyx couldn’t take it. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. It’s what I said back then. I told you all this.”
“I thought you were putting on a brave face by saying you only needed your brothers and not a mate.”
Onyx trembled. “See? You didn’t listen. I couldn’t stand losing you. Come on, Luc. It’s not as if you’d have stayed in the Eternal Realm if I hadn’t given in and followed.”
Luc seemed to mull this over seriously. “True. I fear nothing could have held me back once the idea to fall took root. But I never wanted to leave you behind. It was always the four of us going.”
But it wasn’t. Fuck, why bother arguing?
Luc left. Onyx followed, and the gesture was completely lost on his brother.
Luc’s disregard ran so deep he hadn’t realized what was happening in front of him, too blinded by his own narrative to see Onyx as someone with differing goals and desires. Even when he voiced them out loud.
Luc pulled Onyx into a tight embrace, and Onyx stiffened in shock. “Let me find a way to put things right. I’m sorry you gave up so much for me, and then I…I failed you in every way. But I’m glad you followed. I’d be heartbroken to never see you again.”
Onyx should’ve recoiled from his brother’s touch. It had no right to soothe something inside him. He didn’t trust Luc’s words, but he longed for them to be true more than anything.
The desire pulled him apart.
Was this soul-destroying yearning for another’s love how Luc felt about mates? Onyx could understand the agony driving him to recklessness. To fall from the Eternal Realm. To destroy everything he loved.
Onyx couldn’t help clinging to the possibility that Luc told the truth—loved him deep down—no matter what it cost him.
Luc pulled Onyx closer. “I won’t let you die here. I’ll get you out, little brother, and if I survive, I’ll never take you for granted again.”