This was going to be a long fucking night.
Chapter 13
The Black Mountain Wolves were a strong pack of over five hundred. Very few could contend with them. Not only were they terrifying, but so were the dragons who allied with them. Attacking them in their territory was the same as attacking the Sky Demons. It meant war. But after learning what I had these past few weeks, I was prepared for anything.
My instincts were telling me that tomorrow I’d find a fight, and while it would normally amuse me, with Maze, I was on edge. She was vulnerable to a king desperate for leverage.
It was a half-hour trek in the dark to the cabin we kept nearby. It’d give me time to finally tell Maze everything—to gently upend her entire existence without sending the beauty running into the forest like a monster was chasing her.
Because if I wasn’t careful with how I explained everything, she’d think the worst of me. She’d never believe the ruthless leader of the Sky Demons was her strongest ally. Hers in every sense of the word should she want me.
Fuck me.I had no idea how to do this. Talking wasn’t a strength of mine, certainly not with females. Iris was sure to drive that point home any time we argued. Giving orders? That was something I excelled at. Snarling and growling? Some people—mostly Blade—would argue I was an expert. Females? Doomed to fail every time.
I’d need to channel that twat twice in one day. It was lucky no one was around to see it but her. I’d have no pride or authority left if any of our warriors witnessed my verbal downfall at the hands of a Moon Beast.
Maze was the first to speak as I struggled to gather my thoughts. “Why did you lie?”
Normally it’d bother me to be accused of such things, but it was the truth. She and I both knew it. “Because whether or not you believe it, Maze, I’m on your side.”
Her steps were measured, careful, avoiding loose rocks and raised roots, but her sharp eyes never strayed from mine. “I didn’t anticipate you, Onyx. Or Iris,” she said as if it pained her to admit. Then she laughed, but it lacked amusement. “Everything you’ve done, everything you continue to do, it’s fucking everything up.”
My teeth gritted, angry with myself. I’d been the monster of her nightmares. The reason she grew up starving, hurting, and held captive. How would I ever keep her?
But she continued walking with her face aimed at the moon and her eyes closed. A brief moment of respite in a world of pain. Her skilled movements with her eyes closed proved I wasn’t wrong about her; she was a lethal little thing.
Strong,the rumbling dragon in my head agreed.
“You make me want to hope,” she admitted in a soft whisper. Shock struck me, then confusion.Hope?“Hope can be an unbreakable chain, tying us down and holding us captive to the things we want most. But it can also be a guiding light, an escape from our fear and the terrible unknown. Funny, huh?”
She wasn’t asking me, she was talking to herself, and the pain she wore burrowed deep inside my chest. A barbed, vicious thing that burned and ached. The last time I’d felt anything close was when my mother was killed, and I’d forgotten how destructive this sensation was. Enough to make any words I might’ve said to her die in my throat.
“I’m about to be a little stupid, aren’t I?” As if deciding something, she locked eyes with me and said, “I’m exactly who that asshole says I am. I was sent to collect information about you. To start a war between the factions.” Her voice was drowned out by the sudden wind, but I had dragon hearing so I caught every word.
“You’re a Rebel,” I stated with confidence, inching closer to her heat and scent without realizing it. But she noticed, and her head canted in curiosity. “I suspect your leadership sent you to get close to me and my brothers. Perhaps to even kill one of us? Or someone within the castle grounds at the very least.”
Her eyes widened, but it was quick. Mist under the great heat of the sun—there one second, gone the next. But again, my dragon abilities meant I caught every millisecond of shock. “So you knew that I was a Rebel?”
It was hard not to scoff, but I refrained. I didn’t want to insult my little beast. It was everything she fought for. The femalesshe protected, the life she sought, the purpose it gave her, those things were to be respected however misguided they were.
My little Moon Beast was a warrior.
“You knew everything and you still haven’t killed me?” she probed after another silent second stretched between us, my stupid arse fumbling for a response. “Why not?”
An impish grin tilted my mouth. “Disappointed I haven’t, little Moon Beast? That’s quite the death wish you have there.”
Her face did that cute thing where it scrunched together, her nose twisting adorably in place. “It doesn’t make sense. You haven’t asked any questions or demanded information from me. You lied for me toyour people. You brought me to that weird dragon king meeting and to meet with Vektor. And now you’re taking me to whatever is happening tomorrow, knowing who I am.”
“You’re clever, Maze. What do your instincts tell you?”
Great. Good going, Onyx. Be a patronizing prat and taunt her instead of answering the bloody question.
But she surprised me with a smile. It wasn’t forced; this one was genuine. For some unknown reason, this female found me amusing. A sentiment very few but Blade and Iris shared, and only because those two enjoyed my silent misery.
“I’d argue that you’ve lost your mind, but you don’t strike me as the type to let something like that guide your choices. I get the sense you’re in complete control at all times, even when you aren’t.”
Growling, I paid attention to the path ahead. I’d smile again if I wasn’t careful. “You’d be correct.”
“Can I ask you something?” Her arm brushed against mine and the touch was electric, sending my pulse skittering into another hopeful staccato.
