Chapter 11 #2
Mind link? I’d never heard of it. Was that another device they used? Maybe I’d chance asking him at some point.
Onyx exhaled a tired sigh and led me the opposite direction of his room. We made it out to a courtyard, but it was an area I’d never seen before. A massive stretch of barren land met my glance everywhere I looked, its purpose not immediately clear.
My demon turned to me, jaw clenched and arms folded.
“There are things we need to discuss, but it’ll unfortunately need to wait.
We can’t discuss anything out here, and certainly not tomorrow in Black Mountain.
But we will discuss it. Until then, I’ll need you to trust me. If I could leave you behind, I would.”
“Why aren’t you?” I found myself asking. “I could stay with Iris if you’re—”
“No,” he said with all the authority of someone who commanded armies. “I won’t let any harm come to you, trust that much, but I can’t let you out of my sight.”
“Because you believe what that asshole said? Vektor, was it?” I asked, surprised when my chest burned with guilt and regret.
Because I was a spy. Worse, I’d planned to assassinate one of them if given the chance. Now I wasn’t sure what I’d do. I needed to know more about my sector before I made any hasty decisions.
The powerful male in front of me stepped closer and tipped my chin with a finger so our eyes met.
“Because I know far more about the people you call Rebels and leaders than you do. I know what they’re willing to do to their people to feed their own power and greed, little Moon Beast.” His thumb passed over my bottom lip, his striking eyes a deep current I could get lost in.
“When we return, you and I will speak at length with Iris, and you’ll understand what I mean.
You might not trust me, but you trust her, yeah? ”
“Yes,” I breathed the truth of it for the first time, mouth moving against his thumb. The relief it gave me to acknowledge my faith in Iris was worth any consequence it earned me.
His gazed dropped to where my mouth met his thumb. “Good. That’ll have to be enough for now.”
Despite everything I’d been taught about dragons, I wanted to trust Onyx and Iris.
It wasn’t a coincidence Iris reminded me of my sister.
It wasn’t a coincidence Onyx chose to save me when he’d been given every reason to kill me.
In that hopeful part of my heart I’d buried with my sister, it felt like fate.
My throat was dry, and I was overcome with the sudden urge to kiss him, but Onyx backed away before I could.
After setting the duffle bag on the ground, his shape throbbed and pulsed.
The sky above us crackled. Lightning streaked across the cloudless expanse out of nowhere.
Oddly, it reminded me of the wind that happened in Onyx’s room that first day.
My eyes went to the sky before they fell and a huge beast straight out of my nightmares appeared in front of me.
The massive creature had all black scales with hints of metallic blue when it moved, four powerful clawed legs, and tapered, leathery wings.
The many colors of dusk along its dark, looming shape struck a haunting visage.
It took all the air in my lungs. I’d never felt so small staring at something until this moment.
The beast was easily half the size of the castle, larger than I ever imagined them being. Any time I caught sight of them in the sky, they didn’t seem so large. But this creature in front of me couldn’t be replicated by imagination or dream.
Even as terrifying as it was, when it cocked its head to one side and huffed at me through flared nostrils, I smiled and found the ginormous beast nothing short of adorable. Whether it was shock or stupidity, I couldn’t be entirely sure.
Should I be worried about myself for finding this huge monster cute? Probably.
The air throbbed with power as the beast lowered its horned head and breathed over the earth.
Dirt kicked up around me in a mystical vortex, sparkling in dusk like magic, and I watched it in awe.
Luminous blue eyes broken apart by black and barely-there slivers of silver settled on me as I chased the sparkling twister with an excited stare and soft smile.
I wanted to laugh, or maybe cry. I thought the first time I saw a dragon in person, I’d want to run away. But in front of Onyx’s beast, unrecognizable emotion rose into my throat and my heart beat hard and fast. Not with fear, but with excitement.
His dragon I wanted to touch and understand. I wanted to rub my cheek over its fierce scales and sense the enormity of its power against my skin. His dragon, like Onyx’s intense ocean eyes, was a current I couldn’t escape. A current I didn’t want to escape.
Then the creature slowly stretched out its wing. A deep, familiar voice rumbled through my head. It wasn’t exactly his. It was closer to those times when he was angry, but I recognized it immediately.
Come here, little Moon Beast. Use my wing to get onto my back and find a comfortable place to sit, Onyx growled.
Was he in my head?
We call it a mind link, came his voice again.
“Well, that’s not weird and invasive or anything,” I mumbled petulantly, and the great beast huffed again, throwing my platinum hair back in a whipping gush.
I smirked, risking more sass. Brave or stupid, only time would tell. “Rude. Iris spent an hour doing my hair, my Liege, so you’ll owe her an apology if you destroy all her hard work.”
His large dragon eyes glinted, but the huff this time was much softer. Just get on my back, Maze.
Heart thundering, I walked over to the massive beast in overt fascination and swallowed my fear. This wasn’t a demon like the ones I’d been taught to fear. This was Onyx.
My power will keep you anchored to my back no matter how I fly. You’ll never fall, and it will also protect you from the storms I summon, he explained as I carefully navigated his surprisingly sturdy wing to reach his back.
Safe from the storms he summoned?
But if you’re afraid, you can cling to me, he added.
It was weird to have a creature this size taunting me, especially when it was all in my head—an experience I never thought would feel normal or fun, but it did.
Scoffing, I finally reached the top of his wing. “I won’t be afraid.”
The beast huffed in a very Onyx way. We’ll see about that.
A growl rumbled in my throat. “Very little scares me, demon,” I replied firmly, daring more cheek than I ever had.
I couldn’t deny it anymore; I felt safe with him.
I wanted to put my faith in this snarly but gentle leader.
He’d done something no one, not even Jona, had done.
He’d protected me. He hadn’t hurt me or taken anything I hadn’t freely given, and as much as it went against everything I’d been told about dragons, he was an honorable male.
More so than any of the men in my sector.
The beast’s head swung back to look at me. I got the sense my sass amused him. So much emotion glowed in his metallic dragon eyes in this form. I couldn’t explain it. It felt different when he looked at me in this form. Wild but pure. Feral but tender. Possessive but reverent.
He snatched up the duffle bag with his large mouth and dangled it in front of me. I grabbed it, and as soon as I sat down and settled into a comfortable position on his back, he pushed off the ground and we soared into the sky.