Suddenly, her mouth was on mine, kissing away the words and worry I’d carried with me since scenting her as my mate. “Separate, we might be broken, Onyx…but maybe together we’ll finally become whole. I’m yours in any way you’ll have me.”
Fear rose into my throat. “If I mark you, there’s no going back, little Moon Beast. You’ll be mine. You’ll live for centuries, the same as dragons. Even if you grow to hate me, you’ll never be able to escape me. Not truly.”
Her laughter eased the tension in my chest. “Promise?”
A chuckle left me, and I stared at her.
I couldn’t believe that this perfect, beautiful, and frightening human of vengeance wanted my mark, but I was selfish enough not to care if it was pheromones or temporary madness that made her say so. I wasn’t kind. I was ruthless, and I’d mark herif only to ensure she had my strength and fast healing to protect her from today forward.
Funny how every thought I’d had about prolonging things was turned on its head the second she looked at me. Only Maze could make the fearsome leader of the Sky Demons weak-willed and completely at her mercy.
My female tilted her head, baring her neck to me. My insignia was branded on her already, as it was with any Tribute brought to us. My eyes gravitated to it anytime I stared at her, hating the mark, wishing I could remove it. Wishing I’d never been the reason she was branded like cattle. But now I could make it new with my bite.
I groaned at the thought, my cock throbbing back to life. Then I drove my fangs into the crest and fully claimed my mate.
Chapter 16
Standing at the edge of a cliff atop Black Mountain, I stared at the vast sea as it disappeared into the horizon. The absolute beauty of endless water in the midday sun stole a couple beats of my heart.
I never imagined I’d see anything like it, not after I was taken captive by the Sky Demons. I never thought I’d become something changed, something new and better, or that I’d be looking forward to a future when I’d thought for so long I’d never have one. But here with salt in the air and the gentle crash ofwaves against the sheer drop of this mountainside, hope was in every beat of my heart.
I yearned for the promise of tomorrow.
Power tickled across my flesh. I’d discovered the sensation shortly after Onyx bit me. It was foreign but somehow familiar, like it’d always been meant for me. I couldn’t explain it, but after Onyx and I had sex the first time—which was only the start of a long night because we couldn’t keep our hands off each other—I knew deep down that I was always meant to be his.
He’d saved me in so many ways, and for the first time since I became a Rebel, I listened to my heart instead of my head. It felt right to choose a future with him. I didn’t want to fight it anymore. I wanted to embrace the feeling the demon gave me and trust the promises he made. It might be a dream, but if so, I never wanted to wake up.
My fingers absently traced the fully healed bite mark on my neck. Onyx’s vow, his promise—his mate claim, as he called it. The healed bite glowed silver whenever I caught its reflection, and it was on full display in the outfit he’d chosen for me. Onyx wanted them to see the bond we’d forged the night before, and I was plenty happy to make sure they did.
I might not know what it all meant, but one thing was clear: I didn’t see a future without Onyx. If surrendering myself to him was the price I paid for the freedom of my people and an opportunity to claim vengeance against the leaders we trusted, I wouldn’t regret it.
My shoulders were left bare aside from a black pendant hanging from a chain, the heavy metal stopping above my cleavage. It was carved into the same insignia as the dagger he’d first given me.
Onyx had worn this necklace every day since I first laid eyes on him, but he’d made me wear it shortly before we left, saying it was extra insurance. With the smile it gave him to see mewearing it, I couldn’t find it in me to argue. If I were honest, I’d wear whatever he asked, not because I thought it was my duty, but because I wanted to be marked by him in every way I could.
The corset top he spent far too long picking out of theinsufficientcollection of clothes Blade packed was a tight fit on my chest, but it didn’t hinder movement like I feared it would. I did, however, wonder why Blade packed clothes for me at all, when originally only Onyx was meant to go. Had he known his brother would take me? I might’ve underestimated his cleverness, or Iris had a hand in it.
The latter seemed more likely.
Even the dagger I’d left in Onyx’s room was packed. The sight of it gave me a great surge of affection and relief—the leader’s first kindness despite knowing I might be an assassin. It proved he was my ally from the start.
What I learned was that his insignia was a warning to anyone who crossed me. Protection in his absence, though I never knew it. Which explained why so many dragons were visibly staggered by the sight of me holding it, and it was just another reason to trust him.
Onyx explained that the dagger was made of a special metal dragons were vulnerable to, and if done right, I could penetrate the spots where their scales were the thinnest to disable the shift and paralyze them. Perhaps even cause them to bleed out.
I’d attached the dagger to my hip, happy to be in a pair of pants rather than a transparent skirt. Onyx insisted on it. From the way he spoke, he expected a fight today and didn’t want me left vulnerable.
My dragon had been on edge since the two calls he took that morning on the device Iris called a mobile—communication from before the Fall, I was told.
One call was from his brother, Blade, whose voice I’d easily hear over one of Onyx’s storms. But Onyx stole away before Icould overhear what the call was about. The other came an hour later, from someone I didn’t recognize by name, but the voice sounded familiar for some reason.
All I did know was that Onyx clearly respected him. It was in his tone when he greeted the mysterious Rook. The call was short and in a language I didn’t understand. After, he was quickly back on the phone with Blade, his name the only recognizable word in the exchange.
Still, I trusted there was a reason he’d left me in the dark. Because the second we bonded, I no longer doubted Onyx’s intentions. His determination to right the wrongs sang through my head and body. Without truly understanding how, I knew he’d keep his promise and honor every word.
Demon magic was a truly wonderous thing.
Funny to think that only a few weeks ago I’d sworn to kill him and his kind, to disturb their peace and stoke war. I never imagined my captor would one day become my salvation. My future. Now I’d be fighting by his side, and not because I was duty-bound.
