Chapter 9 #2
It was risky, but my instincts were telling me it was the right move.
He’d been worried about me with the other dragon.
He’d given me a dagger for protection. He’d demanded I tell him who hurt me.
He was clearly invested in my safety. And while it might stem purely from a demon’s possessive nature over his property, it could help me do what brought me here.
It could endear me to him. No one was more important to my plans than this male in front of me.
Resting my cheek on the arms I’d laid across his massive chest, I stared at him, noting the way his pupils expanded. They’d done the same thing before he kissed me, so I now identified it as desire.
Guess demons and humans weren’t so different after all.
“I wasn’t aware that the other sectors…that other women were treated well.
I’ve only known suffering and starvation.
” He stared but didn’t speak, so I went on, “It’s always been that way, fighting to survive, and I never thought it could be any different.
So while I’m glad they aren’t being subjected to a similar fate in other sectors… ”
“It hurts to know your females are suffering,” came his gravelly deduction.
Tears pricked at my eyes, but I managed to nod and dispel the emotion. Thinking about how women were treated always made me think about my sister who suffered the worst kind of fate, one I now faced as well. But unlike her, I was prepared for it.
“Is it true that you changed the treaty terms with your human sectors?”
Onyx’s muscles contracted before he expelled a breath. “It is. At Iris’s beckoning,” he grumbled, but something nagged at me. I detected dishonesty in what he said. I was slowly learning his tells. He’d done it because he also thought it was the right thing to do.
How interesting.
I hadn’t spent enough time with him, but I got the sense that despite hating humans, Onyx didn’t go out of his way to harm them either. If anything, he’d prefer not to deal with them at all given the option, so it was odd I was here.
“Why have you never claimed a human before?” I asked, worried about pushing my luck but desperate to know. “Iris mentioned you hate us.”
Another sigh. “I have my reasons, Maze. As you’ve seen for yourself, humans are greedy and deceitful. They can’t be trusted.”
It wasn’t exactly an answer, but I hadn’t expected one.
I ignored the pain in my chest when I thought about how I was there to prove him right.
I could argue that the same could be said about demons, but I wouldn’t risk insulting him.
I’d lose the opportunity to learn more about him, so I redirected.
“Is that the reason you aren’t bonded to Iris, because she likes humans and wants to end human enslavement?” I prodded. “Or perhaps you are bonded already. I don’t know your customs, but she’s never mentioned it.”
His eyes flew down to me in confusion, then he laughed. His chest shook so hard I would’ve fled the bed if not for his arm around me. The sound was so foreign I didn’t know what to make of it at first. A smile split my face as he failed to smother his chuckles.
I couldn’t be sure what made him laugh, but I quite enjoyed the sound of it.
His amusement transformed his face in a way I never expected.
He was truly a handsome devil. More beautiful and masculine than any man in my sector.
More beautiful than any demon I’d encountered here.
And when he smiled, it made him look younger, kinder, and the farthest thing from my captor.
The flutters in my stomach were back.
“Is that what you thought, that Iris and I were—” he coughed through another laugh. “Oh, I can’t wait to see the look on her face when I tell her.”
I lifted my head, eyes narrowed on him. “Why is that funny, demon? Iris is lovely and kind and an incredibly strong female. Too good for you some might argue.”
He bit his lower lip, snickering despite every effort not to. “That bloody cheek, it’s going to get you in trouble one day.”
I suddenly realized that I’d forgotten myself. This was the leader of the Sky Demons. His laughter might’ve given the illusion of intimacy, but he could still have my tongue cut out for any reason, least of all for insulting him.
Shit.
“I—”
He chuckled a little more and dragged me closer so our mouths were inches apart.
His fierce blue eyes dropped to my lips before a hand wrapped around the back of my neck in another possessive hold.
“You’re right, little Moon Beast. She’s all those things.
” One side of his mouth was lifted. “But she’s also like a sister to me. ”
My brows stitched together. “A sister?”
His voice softened. “Yes, and I already have my hands full with a cheeky little thing whose mouth will likely cause trouble wherever she goes.”
“Who—”
Onyx went rigid under me before he was gone. I was suddenly laid out and covered in blankets without understanding how or why it happened. I hadn’t seen the massive beast move.
The door to his room opened, and I heard the distinct voice of a demon I hoped never to cross paths with again. Not if I could help it. I sat up and caught a familiar silver gaze from the opening in the door. The eyes of an unapologetic killer.
Void.
“Am I interrupting?” the demon teased, his eyes on me.
The muscles in Onyx’s strong back moved in agitation, not amused. “Eyes on me, Void. What is it that couldn’t possibly wait until tomorrow after I rested?”
“Vektor is requesting an audience with you. He has information he thinks will shed light on what occurred in the Borderlands and our suspicions earlier this week.” Void might be speaking to Onyx, but despite my demon’s warning, his violent gaze never left mine.
“Not to worry, I can keep an eye on the little human while you’re away. ”
The menacing snarl that erupted from Onyx was so loud that Void’s eyes snapped back to him in blatant shock. I got the impression that the other leader was rarely surprised, and certainly not to the point of showing it.
“Must I remind you why you’re not to be around humans, or will we need to have it out until it’s beaten into that thick skull of yours?
” Onyx threatened, his voice summoned from the very pits of the underworld.
“She’ll come with me, and not until I’ve rested for a few days.
I think I’m at least owed a week of rest before I’m dragged into another mindless Vektor theory and ramble.
Not to forget the messy business of the Dragon Border Alliance appointment meant to take place any day now. ”
“I don’t think—”
“I wasn’t asking. Let Vektor know I will see him when I’m better rested and can stomach his presence. Oh, and make sure he understands that if his information proves as useless as the last, he’ll be stripped of his titles and exiled. Am I understood?”
I brought my knees to my chest, feigning fear to conceal my interest.
I was surprised that Onyx planned to bring me along.
Based on Void’s visible reaction, I wasn’t the only one.
He wanted to argue, but whatever expression Onyx wore silenced him.
Instead, he sent his fiery distrust my direction every chance he got.
Onyx was quick to catch on and moved to block Void’s view of me.
I’d been careful to avoid the terrifying demon over the last week.
I didn’t want to come under his scrutiny.
I knew a clever beast when I saw one, and Void was the cleverest of the bunch.
Well, after the leader whose bed I was now in.
The sadistic demon would enjoy my interrogation, one I wasn’t likely to survive, and Onyx just gave him every reason to be suspicious.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
I wanted to suggest staying with Iris for their meeting, but if I spoke up and Onyx didn’t punish me for my impudence, Void’s suspicions would grow. So I stayed silent and waited for the other demon to leave.
When he finally did, I scrambled to the edge of the bed. “I can stay with Iris when the time comes to meet with him,” I offered quickly.
Onyx stilled, and his eyes dropped to where I was prostrated on my knees. He stared at me as if he’d only just realized I was there. “No. You will come with me.”
“Do humans normally accompany dem—leaders to these meetings?”
His head tilted, the move oddly animal like. “Are you questioning my judgment, little beast?”
That nickname made my cheeks burn for some reason, and none of my training eluded to why.
“Just trying to understand how it is you do things here,” I clapped back before I could stop myself. “If you saw the way he was looking at me—”
The powerful leader snarled. “How was he looking at you?”
Surprised, I froze. “I only meant—”
“How was he looking at you, Maze?” he demanded again, his voice doing that weird thing it sometimes did when he was angry. Like it wasn’t him but a beast who spoke.
My body tensed in alarm. “Like I’m the enemy.”
“Are you?”
I wasn’t prepared for the question, and my muscles contracted in a panic, prepared to spring away and escape.
I needed to be very careful with how I responded.
“If I was, would I still be alive? You don’t strike me as the sort to miss the enemy in his bed.
But what do I know? I’m just a weak, fragile human. ”
Okay. Fuck. Not what I planned to say. The farthest thing from it, actually. This damn mouth of mine. My carefully curated personality broke to pieces the second his predatory eyes landed on me and I felt the need to defend myself.
Now I was a dead woman walking.
I itched to grab the dagger next to his bed, but after seeing how fast he moved—or rather, not seeing it at all—I’d be lucky to see my own death coming.
I braced myself for his rage but startled when Onyx threw his head back and laughed. The sound echoed off the walls for nearly a minute before he crossed his arms and smirked.
“True,” he finally agreed. “But you’re wrong about one thing, Maze.” My brow rose in question, and his smirk intensified. “You’re the farthest thing from weak and fragile.”