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.
