Chapter Sixteen #3
The tension in the room pressed down on me from all sides, and I squeezed in closer against Lake’s side. He had sat beside me on the couch, instead of sitting in front of me like he usually did, sensing I needed the closeness.
“Speak, demon,” Maddox said, arms crossed as he stood against the mantle. “Why have you summoned us here? Evan said you wished to discuss something of importance, yet we’ve sat here in silence as you drown yourself in wine.”
“Rein in your temper.” Onyx sat with a goblet in one hand and the other resting on the arm of his chair, the finger with the ring lightly tapping. “I’m in no mood for it this evening.”
“You’ve yet to see my temper,” Maddox said, squaring his jaw.
“And you’ve yet to see mine,” Onyx countered in a clipped tone, the red in his irises flashing brighter. “Pray that you never do, Captain. A demon lord’s wrath is formidable enough, but when combined with the fury of a dragon? I’d have you dismembered before you could take your next breath.”
My heart knocked against my ribs, torn between wanting to ease the tensions between them and also wanting to chime in and demand that Onyx start talking.
“Pardon me, but did you say dragon?” Briar asked, his hazel eyes twinkling. An indication of his own excitement. “What Quincy said is true then? You have the blood of a dragon.”
Oh my god. I’d totally forgotten about that.
One morning, not long after he and the others arrived in the Shadow Realm, Quincy mentioned rumors about Lord Onyx and asked if he had dragon scales.
I could almost see his goofy grin when he learned the truth.
He’d rub it in all our faces. Or get so excited he had a stroke.
“Was Quincy also right about the scales?” Callum asked Onyx. He’d plopped down on the floor, resting his arms on his raised knees. “What about turning into a full-size dragon? Can you do that too?”
“Only pure-blooded dragons can transform,” Onyx responded without a lick of emotion. His hard gaze remained on Maddox.
“I’ve read about the dragon kingdom, of course,” Briar said in a rush, his excitement building. “But have never met one for myself. Very few humans have. They keep to their realm.”
“They still do.” Onyx tapped his finger again.
“They’re self-righteous creatures who think everyone else beneath them.
King Ryu banished my mother from the dragon kingdom, his very own daughter, when she chose my father as her mate.
He didn’t wish for his royal bloodline to be tainted by demons.
As you can imagine, they hold no love for me of this realm. ”
“I can relate.” Rowan toyed with the golden cuff keeping his hair in place over one shoulder. “My father threw me to the wolves when I was too young to fend them off. Been on my own ever since. No one ever wanted me either ’til I found my little treasure.”
“Here’s to us outcasts.” Onyx lifted his goblet.
Rowan did the same with his silver flask before both took a drink. The center of my chest squeezed. They had grown closer over the past few days. A closeness that was evident to everyone around them. It made me happy but also sad.
Because Onyx said he was cursed. A curse that would, somehow, tear us apart.
“Enough talk about dragons.” Onyx blew out a breath and rose from the armchair. “However boorish he may be, Maddox was right. Delaying this more than I already have will only complicate matters further. Best to explain it all and be done with it.”
“Explain what?” Lake asked, still holding me around the waist. My sweet wolf.
Onyx lifted a hand to his chest, his gaze becoming distant. “My curse.”
“You’re cursed?” Briar sat forward on the cushion, hazel eyes alert. Those eyes then widened. “That red mark on your chest…”
“Is a sign of that curse, yes.” With a solemn air coming over him, Onyx stepped over to the balcony doors, peering through the glass. “One that will soon consume me lest I rid myself of the one thing that can bring it to fruition.”
His brittle voice poked at the most sensitive place in my heart. I’d never heard him sound so… broken.
Our fated mate bond twisted inside me, like a hot poker between my ribs. I stood from the couch, desperate to pull him into my arms. To comfort him.
A hand closed around my wrist, stopping me from going any farther.
“Stay back,” Lake told me, his purple eyes on the demon lord. “I sense… something stirring in him. A deep-seated rage.”
Onyx released a dry laugh before looking at me over his shoulder. I didn’t see anger though. His eyes held so much pain that I could practically see his heart breaking right in front of us.
“Your wolf isn’t wrong,” he said through gritted teeth. “I’d burn the world in this very moment if I could. Rage against the fateful hand I’ve been dealt. One that will never allow you and I to have the same happiness you have with your other mates.”
“Why not?” Briar asked. He placed a hand on Maddox’s shoulder, as though in an attempt to keep him in place.
“Allow me to tell you a story.” Onyx turned from the balcony, his once agonized expression smoothing into one of indifference as he looked at me. “And after you hear it, you’ll finally understand why there’s never been a happy place for us.”