Chapter Nineteen #3
“Be nice to Sir Chub,” I told the puppy. “He’s a great listener.”
Woof. Oreo wagged his tail as he looked at the fish.
Bloop.
I smiled at them. Oreo plopped over and pawed at the water. The chubby fish approached and lightly butted against the pad of his foot.
Something moved from the corner of my eye.
I turned toward the castle. The golden glows of lamps showed in some of the windows, along with shadows of people moving through them, signs that not everyone had fallen asleep yet. One person in particular.
Onyx’s room overlooked the pond. And it was exactly where the movement had come from.
Though a good distance up, I caught sight of him on the balcony, staring down at me.
Longing filled my chest. Probably the closest we could get from now on.
Watching each other from afar. Wishing things were different.
Because my powers are useless.
Setting the throne room on fire? Sure thing.
Baking muffins? Happy tummies all around.
But I couldn’t do the one thing I was desperate to do: save the demon I loved from a life of isolation.
Annoyed by my own inadequacies and in dire need of a pick-me-up, I peeled myself up from the grass, said good night to Sir Chub, and took Oreo back into the castle. Destination? The kitchen. I wanted to drown my sorrows in chocolate cake. Or any cake really.
Just not honey cake.
I glanced at the glass dish holding what was left over from dinner. A single piece. Looking at dessert had never made me so sad before.
“You betrayed me, cake.” I sneered at the slice. “Seems Briar was wrong. I don’t have magical baking hands or whatever. If I did, Onyx would have…”
My throat squeezed, and I shook my head, not letting myself finish the thought. It hurt too much. Knowing I’d have no chance of sleeping if I drank coffee this late, I made a cup of hot cocoa instead and sipped on it as I whipped up a batch of brownies.
“All that sugar before bed isn’t good for you.”
Every muscle in my body froze, as if shot with an ice laser. Slowly, I glanced over my shoulder.
Onyx stood against the wall, his arms loosely crossed. The top half of his hair was pinned back, and the rest fell down his chest, the silky strands brushing over his red silk robe.
“There’s no such thing as too much sugar,” I finally said, though my voice shook, unsteady just like my pulse. “Before bed or otherwise. Pretty sure I’ve developed a tolerance over the years. I can eat an entire platter of frosted sugar cookies and go right to sleep.”
“Asleep in bed with your mates is where you should be at this moment, little bird, instead of fluttering around baking treats.”
“Well, you know me and my late-night snacks,” I responded, holding the mug of cocoa between my palms. The warmth was comforting. But a poor substitute for the heat I wanted to feel—the addictive burn of a certain demon lord.
“That I do.” The edge of his mouth hitched higher.
“Is that why you’re here?” I asked. “Craving something sweet?”
Onyx averted his gaze to the nearby window. Quietly and somewhat resigned, he answered, “Must you truly ask that question?”
A weight settled on my chest. I didn’t need it spelled out for me.
Our bond was too strong for either of us to fight.
It was a lot like two magnets when held too close together, they started attracting, unable to resist the pull.
That magnetic pull had caused me to seek him out earlier that evening in the greenhouse, just as it drew him to me now.
“Do you want some cocoa?” I asked, stepping over to the pot on the stove. “I made plenty. Then you can help me eat these brownies. I added extra chocolate.”
“I shouldn’t stay.” He glanced at me with a look that made the weight on my chest press harder. “Being here with you now is already precarious enough.”
“What are we supposed to do, Onyx?” I asked, my heart barely suspended by the battered strings struggling to keep it in place.
“Certainly not this.” He offered me a sad smile. “Yet, we seem to be unable to stay away from one another. Which is why this is the last time you and I will speak.”
“What do you mean by the last?” I asked as a chill snaked through my veins.
“Today alone has proven our inability to fight our fated bond.” Onyx returned his gaze to the window.
The skin around his eyes pulled taut. “Therefore, I haven’t a choice but to send you and your mates away from the castle.
At first light, Koga will take you to a cottage in the village.
You will remain there for the time being.
Perhaps the added distance will weaken the hold this bond has over us. ”
My heart reached its limit and puttered out like an old engine too tired to keep running. Logically, I knew putting extra space between us was a smart decision. But my soul thrashed at the thought of being parted from him.
“So this is really the end,” I quietly said. For once, there were no tears. I felt too numb to cry. “You and I really can’t be together, can we?”
“We can’t,” Onyx answered. He stepped toward me at the counter and, after a brief hesitation, reached for my face. His thumb ghosted my bottom lip. “If only we could’ve remained in that cave a little longer.”
A strangled sound left me before I buried my face against the base of his throat. Tears finally surged forward, the dam breaking inside of me.
“Dry your eyes, little bird.” Onyx cupped the back of my head. “I’m not worth these tears.”
Grief churned in my chest, deepening as I recalled that dream of Onyx from the willow. How he’d tenderly smiled down at me and said he never wanted to know another day without me by his side.
“You have the power to make it so.”
My body moved on impulse. I rose up on my tiptoes and captured his lips, kissing him as the heartache of what could’ve been clawed at my insides.
“Evan,” he rasped, curling his fingers in the back of my hair. “We… we shouldn’t…”
Onyx pressed me against the counter, pinning me in place as his mouth crashed back to mine. I whimpered against his lips and grabbed the front of his silk robe. Our bond was stronger than I realized. More intense than it’d ever been.
I clung onto his neck and returned his kisses, moaning as he teased my tongue with his. Electric fire spread through my body, burning white-hot. I felt like a man possessed, driven by the fated bond that connected us. It consumed me, body and soul.
With a rough sound tearing through his throat, Onyx broke from the kiss and stumbled backward, lifting a shaking hand to his lips.
I stared at him, shocked. Unsure what had just happened. “Onyx?”
“I…” He took another shaky step away from me. “Gods, Evan, please just—”
An agonized cry broke off his words, and he clutched his chest.
Concerned, I stepped toward him.
“Stay back!” he roared. His voice sounded off. A deep growl lingered beneath his smooth tone.
My entire body froze. Just stopped working. The breaths stilled in my lungs, and my mind whirred like an old TV that lost signal and was now stuck on that staticky black and white screen.
What didn’t stop?
My heart. It slammed against my ribs, the beats fast and hard.
His appearance had changed. Faint red and black shimmers covered his porcelain skin, reminding me of scales, and his features had sharpened. The top of his hair ruffled before two black horns grew from his scalp and curved back.
Horns. Scales.
“Onyx?” Chills prickled at my nape. My gut told me what was happening, but I was like a deer caught in headlights. Unable to move.
His head snapped toward me, and his ruby eyes blazed like an inferno, the red burning bright… before dimming completely. Only black remained, as though his pupils had consumed the irises.
Black leathery wings sprouted from his back, shedding his robe. The material drifted to the kitchen floor in tatters, leaving his upper torso bare. The mark on his chest was no longer red. It had turned black, just like his eyes.
Though nervous, I couldn’t help but find him beautiful. His demon and dragon sides had merged.
A snarl cut through the air, drawing my attention to Oreo.
He crept over from where he’d been curled up beside the table, his ears reared back.
Deep blue flickers moved through the ends of his fur and looked electric, as though lightning coursed through his body.
His teeth had elongated and sharpened, as had his claws.
Onyx’s attention was unwavering on me as he took a step closer.
Before I could take my next breath, Onyx was in front of me, the air whipping around me at the quickness of his approach. His arms came around my waist before shadows swirled around our legs.
A pounding of steps echoed down the corridor, along with worried shouts from Maddox and Lake. The Fenrir pup bolted toward me and Onyx, another deep snarl tearing from his chest.
But none of them reached us.
The shadows engulfed our bodies before the sounds around me faded. A beat later, we were standing in Onyx’s quarters. The only light came from the moonlight streaming in through the balcony doors. The only sound came from my quickening breaths.
“O-Onyx?” I whimpered.
He stared at me in silence, his face cast in shadow and his eyes pitch black. His wings arched behind him, leathery and soft to the touch, like how I’d imagined dragon wings to be. My sense of wonder died in my chest though, being replaced by a bone-deep chill.
There were no signs of my demon lord. The curse had consumed Onyx. A curse he’d tried so hard to fight but fell victim to anyway.
We both did.
That’s when I realized he was right. Fate really was a cruel mistress, bringing us together only for this moment to happen. The asteroid had reached the planet at last.