Page 86 of Reforging Onyx

And he’d have chosen it.

“Drop your shields,” Onyx said, his voice still quiet.

A smile played at the corner of Dominic’s lips. “Are you my Sword of Damocles in the end, then, Onyx Rayne?”

“Drop. Your. Shields.”

Dominic tilted his head as he visibly considered Onyx’s request. Orders. “Very well."

Shane made a strangled noise behind him, but Dominic flicked his fingers at the wolf.

Dominic’s shields fell away, one by one, until he was completely unprotected, then he held his hand out toward Onyx. “Come here.”

Strange emotions fluttered through him, and Onyx realized he’d been holding his breath. He’d been hoping Dominic would refuse so he’d have justification to attack, justification he shouldn’t have needed.

But Dominic had obeyed, and he stood there, devoid of any protective spells. That didn’t mean he couldn’t conjure one into life if Onyx attacked, but it was very, very unlikely that Dominic would survive an attempt.

For the first time in months, Onyx held the power.

Except he didn’t, not really, because he moved to obey without even thinking it through. He stepped in close, just within reach.

Dominic reached out to catch Onyx by the hips and draw him closer, no faster or slower than he would on any other occasion. “My beautiful brightly burning tiger,” he murmured.

Onyx took a deep breath, knowing he had only minutes before reinforcements would arrive and he’d lose any chance he might’ve had at running.

But what kind of life would he have if he ran? He’d constantly have to worry about someone hunting him down, whether it was Dominic or an enforcer or someone else entirely. He didn’t know how to take care of himself. He didn’t have anything to call his own, and he was ignorant of how the world worked for adults.

If Dominic died, Onyx would need to die, too.

Was he really ready to die? Did he want that now? He was trapped, becoming something he neither liked nor understood. But he didn’t know if he was ready to call it quits this time.

“I should kill you,” Onyx whispered.

“You probably should,” Dominic agreed, his voice equally soft. “I’m not sure you’ll get another chance to.”

Onyx lifted one hand, and a golf ball sized fireball appeared in his palm. It circled and twisted, heat emanating from it, and he regarded it for a long moment. “I will,” he said. He let out a choked sound, something that might’ve been an attempt at a laugh. “But who knows if I’ll take it then either?” He extinguished the flames, and they vanished from sight.

Dominic’s fingers flexed on Onyx’s hip before his hand was lifting to tangle in Onyx’s hair and tip his face up for a kiss.

Kill him!

The voice in the back of his mind screamed at him to kill Dominic, to end this. To turn to Shane and kill him too, to walk away from this with a blank slate. He could survive, somehow. He could figure it out, somewhere that wasn’t New Orleans.

He let himself be kissed.

Dominic slid the collar around Onyx’s throat and locked it into place.

Everything stopped, the world halting on its axis, and Onyx’s breath stuttered as the feeling of loss slammed into him with such force that he staggered from it. Everything drained of color, of feeling, of meaning, and he was left feeling hollow once more.

“You didn’t have to do that,” he whispered, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes.

“I did,” Dominic disagreed softly. “But there will still be times when it can come off again.”

Onyx managed a humorless smile. “Then I guess I’ll have other chances to kill you.”

Chances Onyx wouldn’t take.

Tiger or not, he’d been de-fanged, hadn’t he?