The cost of loving.
I hated how valid her fear was. Weeks ago I wouldn’t have blinked before tearing both of them apart for being in any way involved in Artemis’s ambush. Now, I’d do whatever it took to prove that I’d keep my word. I’d protect her sister, and that meant protecting the people her sister cared about. It meant choosing mercy when normally I’d choose revenge. They called me ruthless, but for Maze, I’d be merciful.
“Tell me something, Pyro.” His jaw clenched, preparing himself for whatever poison I spat at him. “What is that human to you?”
Maze stared in open interest. She wanted to know, too. She was clever enough to see the attachment, but like me, she wanted his own admission to confirm her theory.
“I…care for her,” he finally admitted.
“And do you wish for humans to stay enslaved, or would you like to see this human you care for and those like her to be free?” I questioned, voice deep and commanding.
Pyro’s amber eyes flashed with barely contained rage. “Of course I wish for her to be free. Do you not wish the same, Onyx? Of all dragons, I never thought I’d see you with a human. I never thought you’d claim one as your mate. Will you go against those in your faction who respect the old ways to end human enslavement, or will you simply save this one?”
Wrapping an arm around Maze, I growled my next words, “I will free them all. I’ve made a promise I intend to keep, so will you join me?”
Pyro took several steps closer and put out his hand, grinning at me like he never had before. “Damn fucking right I will. Say the word, and I’ll do whatever you ask.”
I took his hand in a firm grip, smirking in amusement. I quite liked the bollocks on this bastard. Much better than the arrogance his brother had carried with him everywhere he went. “Then gather your guard, claim your throne, and come to me after it is done so that we can rewrite the terms of our new and better alliance.”
Chapter 19
“My father was afraid of one thing, Maze. Fated mates.” Iris flicked her all-knowing eyes to where Onyx stood. “It’s a bond in its purest form. One that not only strengthens the pair, but enlightens. My father knew that once a dragon found their fated mate, they’d do anything to make them happy. They see life through their mate’s eyes. That’s why I know you and Onyx were fated, Maze. You’ve given him the strength to see through his faults and right the wrongs.”
I closed the door behind me after escorting Luna and Pyro to a nearby room. They’d only be staying for a few more days before returning to their territory, but just seeing and talking to my sister was incredible. I could be patient and wait until the dust settled a bit to spend more time with her, though. The Water Serpents had just as much to sort out as the Sky Demons did.
After returning from Black Mountain, Onyx quickly proclaimed that humans living in our territory were no longer slaves, that from that day on they were free.
Iris implemented her plans and the sectors quickly fell in line. I worked with Iris and Blade to ensure humans under abusive masters were rescued first—particularly any Tributes sent from Black Forest, Red River, or Desert Roseland. There was still a lot of confusion around how the territory would function now that humans were free.
Many were given suitable income for the jobs they already did, while others chose to explore their options with the reparations offered to them.
Iris and the dragons supporting her worked tirelessly over the last few weeks to help the humans inside our faction transition into freedom. They also advised the dragons losing their workforce through the transitional period and ensured they offered fair wages, accommodations, and care in exchange for the humans continuing their work should they choose to.
I expected it to be messier than it was. I expected it to be bloodier. But like Onyx promised, the defectors were far and few, too afraid to be punished by him should they argue. And despite him being the enforcer of the new changes, he made it clear that Blade, Iris, and I were leading beside him. Something that took me by surprise the most.
Onyx and his warriors wiped out the Rebel leaders and those like them soon after proclaiming humans were free, so the Rebel women were safe from the men bent on exploiting them. At leastwhile we were in charge. The men’s deaths served as a warning to the rest intent on doing the same.
Still, Onyx warned me that it might take a while for our faction to fully stabilize. Years, even. It’d be worth it, though. Honestly, it already was. Knowing that humans would no longer be slaves and I’d ultimately accomplished my goal, albeit in a rather unorthodox way, was more than I could’ve ever hoped for.
Onyx stood near his desk, shoulders slumped. He’d never looked so small. Parchment was scattered across the surface, weeks of correspondence littered everywhere within reach.
When he hadn’t been tied to his desk parsing through intel sent to him, he’d been somewhere unseen demanding answers from his brother and his co-conspirators. They’d already captured several dragons tied to the plot to overthrow him, many from the bloodlines of old, as he described them. Lineages dating back before the Fall.
Every single traitor was branded as one and exiled. With identifiable marks on both human and dragon form, it would be impossible for them to join another faction, but it was a mercy some would argue they didn’t deserve. A mercy very unlike the ruthless leader they’d always known.
But his brother’s crimes and those of Vektor’s, the demon I’d despised from the very beginning, were too vast and corrupt to be satiated by exile.
Execution was the only option.
Pressing my forehead against his back, I wrapped my arms around the terrifying dragon leader who’d been the one to end his brother’s life. A breath escaped him before he gripped my arms and pulled me close. The muscles lining his back were rigid at first before they relaxed. I tightened my hold and dropped kisses everywhere I could reach, bent on soothing wounds I couldn’t see but knew were there.
I still remembered the silent crowd of onlookers.
Iris and Luna had stood to my right, while Onyx, Pyro, and Blade lined my left. Boris and the rest of the warriors loyal to Onyx had kept their blades aimed at the two chained males prostrated on their knees.
The dragons were displayed in front of a mixed crowd of Sky Demons, Stormriders, Water Serpents, and their newly freed human companions. For the first time, humans and dragons alike stood witness to an execution of traitors—a traitor who not long ago had been a leader to them.
The special chains they’d used on Void and Vektor kept them in human form. Their battered bodies were evidence of weeks of interrogation led by Onyx and Blade.
