Chapter Twenty #2
The concern in his voice confused me. Why would he be worried? Pumpkin scurried off me and leapt from the bed, his paws thudding against the floor in his retreat. I blinked a few times and tried to lift my head, but it felt too heavy.
“Easy, love.” Briar appeared beside Maddox holding a streaming cup. “Phantasia said you may be disoriented when first waking.”
It took my brain a moment to process my surroundings. Candlelight flickered across the walls, and there was a distant murmur of voices. The feather bed beneath me molded to my body like a memory foam mattress, so damn comfortable, as was the pillowy red blanket draped over me. I was in Onyx’s bed.
Onyx.
Flashes of pitch-black eyes and horns filled my head. Teeth that sank into my neck and the brush of dragon wings.
“Onyx!” I flung upward, only for everything to start spinning around me. Softly groaning, I plopped back down against the pillow. “What… what happened?”
“The curse is no longer with him,” Briar said, sitting beside me. He helped me sit up a little as Maddox fluffed my pillows and propped me against them. “Drink this. It will help you regain your strength.”
He pressed the cup to my lips, and I sipped. The tea tasted citrusy with a subtle sweetness. But I didn’t want to drink tea right then. I wanted to see Onyx. To see with my own eyes that he was okay.
“Your heart flutters so quickly,” a smooth voice came from the foot of the bed. As Onyx stepped forward, candlelight kissed his pale skin. Pumpkin sat on his shoulder. “Like a hummingbird’s wings.”
“Onyx.” Tears burned behind my eyes. Maddox kissed the back of my hand again before he and Briar moved aside, letting Onyx approach me. I reached for him, a tear slipping free as he grabbed my hand. “How do you feel?”
“I should be asking that of you.” Onyx sat with me on the bed. He brushed aside my bangs, his touch featherlight and delicate, as though he feared I’d break. “You’ve slept the day away. A habit of yours, it seems.”
The last was spoken with a subtle curve of his lips. His eyes were guarded though.
“Other than a bit of grogginess, I feel fine,” I said, then smiled as Pumpkin inched off his shoulder and came to curl up in my lap. “What happened? My memory’s fuzzy.”
“In truth, my memory is also clouded.” Onyx lowered his gaze to my hand and lightly traced the pad of my fingertips with his. “But I remember your voice, little bird. You said you loved me. A calm then washed over me, followed by an indescribable warmth. You… you saved me.”
My smile felt shaky on my lips. The relief almost made me cry, but I held back the tears. I’d cried enough over the past few days. “See? Everything sorted itself out, just as I said it would.”
One of his eyebrows arched. “Not without complications. I nearly killed you.”
“Nearly being the keyword there.” I reached up and poked his nose. He wiggled it in response, his serious expression unchanging. I smiled again, this one steadier. “So I passed out afterward?”
“Yes,” he answered. “You used a lot of power breaking my curse. It weakened you. We summoned Phantasia right away, and she reassured us you’d recover with some rest. The more you use your power, the less time you’ll need after to regain your strength.”
I glanced toward the window. The sun had sunk below the horizon, leaving only a faint light in the distant sky. I really had slept the day away.
“There’s more,” Onyx added, drawing my gaze back to him. “Phantasia made a discovery while examining you.”
“Oh god, what is it?” I asked, suddenly worried my power had done something weird to my body. Turned me into an alien muffin with an antenna growing out of my head. I slapped a hand to the top of my scalp just to be sure.
All clear. Just a mop of messy blond hair. Good.
Onyx seemed amused.
“Look at your chest, love,” Briar said from a short distance away.
I peered down, expecting to see a third nipple or something. Instead, I saw… smooth, flawless skin. Confused, I ran a hand over my ribs. “My scars. They’re gone.”
“You healed yourself.” Briar came to sit on the other side of Onyx, resting a hand on my leg. Pumpkin perked up before bouncing over and playfully attacking his arm. “I have a theory.”
“Of course you do,” I said with another smile. “Let’s hear it.”
“Each of the other saints had a power unique to them, yes?” He pushed his glasses back, brow furrowed in thought. “Combat. Prophecy. So on and so forth. And if I’m right… your special gift has presented itself. Healing.”
“Healing?” I asked. “I thought my power was in my food.”
“All of it is connected, I believe,” he said, excitement building.
He was too cute. “Ever since the day we met, I’ve seen the way you care so deeply for everyone around you.
That love has manifested in the meals you make for us and, now, is the foundation for your saintly powers.
Yet, it goes beyond simple purification.
You heal the soul, shedding light on the darkest depths of a person’s heart. ”
Onyx clasped my hand tighter, the corners of his eyes taut.
“Furthermore,” Briar continued, “I believe that once you fully harness your power, you’ll be able to soothe those afflicted by mental scars and also, perhaps, have the ability to heal physical wounds as well.”
My thoughts raced. Me? Some sort of healer?
Another round of tears surged forward. “So I’ll be able to help people? Not hurt them?”
Briar’s gaze softened, and he lightly rubbed my leg. “Yes, love. But you don’t need me to tell you that. Just look at what you’ve done for your demon lord.”
My demon lord. I smiled at his wording, vision blurring.
After a pat to my knee, Briar stood and grabbed Maddox, who’d been standing against the wall, and the two of them left the bedchamber, joining the others in the main sitting room in Onyx’s quarters. I caught Lake’s rough laugh, as well as Rowan spouting off to Callum.
They must’ve wanted to give me time alone with Onyx. Those men could be sweet when they wanted to be. It was also a relief that they didn’t seem to hold a grudge against Onyx for what he’d done while consumed by the curse.
Onyx settled in closer to me, propping his back against the pillows and bringing me to rest against his side. I curled into him, hooking a leg around his and placing my hand on his chest. Like mine, his lacked any markings or scars.
“It’s really gone,” I shakily said, touching the place where the deep red mark had been.
“It is.” Onyx grabbed my hand and pressed it to his cheek, peering down at me with tender ruby eyes. “Because of you. A little bird I love with my entire heart and soul.”
My breath caught. Did he just…
“Pretty sure I’m still asleep,” I said, the center of my chest achy but fluttery too as nerves and happiness swirled together. “The Onyx I know would never say the forbidden ‘L’ word.”
“The Onyx you knew was only a facade, little bird.” He touched my jaw. “An existence built around fear. But no more. I wish to finally step into the sun and revel in its warmth. To hold you in my arms and never again let you go.”
“Sounds perfect.” Another tear slipped free, and he caught it with his thumb. “There was a happy place for us after all. We just had to fight for it first.”
And I’d keep fighting for it. For all of the men I loved.
Until my last breath.