ONYX✔️

Chapter 52

"Alright, their memories are gone. When they wake up, they won't remember what happened," Dean says, and by now, the sun has long passed, leaving us in the blackness of the night.

I'm glad he finished, because doing magic for that long had drained me of energy, not to mention, was starting to give me a headache. I stop syphoning energy, and my ears are ringing slightly. I had never used that much magic before.

The Darkness had abandoned me.

As soon as I made the decision not to kill Thane or his men, it was gone. It felt... alive, like it was responding to my emotions, or at least fueled by them. And as soon as Finn snapped me out of the trance, it was like he scared it away.

Could this be what the Seer meant?

Only one will keep the Darkness away, she had told me. Did that mean Thane would bring out the worst in me? The more I thought about it, the more I realized how right the Seer may have been. Both times the Darkness took control, it was with Thane. It went away because of Finn.

No, that couldn't be. Because she said two mates, and only one would keep the Darkness away. If I admit that Finn is the one keeping it away, then I would also have to admit that he's my mate.

Which is not an option.

I groan, stumbling as I clutch my head, which is now dripping in sweat. Finn grabs my shoulders with both hands to steady me. "Can you walk?" Finn asks gently, searching my face in concern.

"I'm fine," I assure him, and he hesitantly removes his hands. But when I take a step forward, my legs wobble, and in one smooth movement, he sweeps me up into his arms.

"Please don't argue," He says quietly as he follows behind the others as they head back to the cabin. "You're weak right now, just let me take care of you."

I nod, because I'm not up for arguing, you know, since I almost just killed a dozen people in cold blood. I shudder. I'm just as bad as Thane.

"You're not like him," Finn says suddenly, and I jump slightly in his arms, but they just tighten more.

"Can you read my mind?" I ask in horror. I don't think I had spoken out loud.

Finn laughs. "What?"

"You can read my mind! That's not fair," I tell him. "I can't read yours."

He laughs again. "No, Onyx, I can't read your mind. Your face is like an open book," He hesitates, his brilliant smile faltering. "When you think of him, you get a certain... look. Like... you're terrified."

"I am like him, you know," I tell him lowly, so the others can't hear us, even though their far ahead. "I would have killed them. I wanted to kill them."

"Hurt people hurt people, Onyx. You hurt them, you healed them, there's no reason to dwell on it," He says and gently kisses my forehead. "But I'd wait a while before doing it again. Dean definitely will want to call in a few favors for this."

I smile half-heartedly, and Finn continues walking us back to the house in silence. I feel insanely guilty for all of the havoc I have wracked on these poor rogues, who had been nothing but nice to them. I resolved to try to make it up to them, though I had no idea how I would go about doing that.

I especially felt guilty about Dean, who looked extremely pale and weak after the hours he spent combing through their minds. Maybe I could convince Ronin to let him have access to the garden again, though I doubted he would go for it.

When we get back to the house, Finn places me on the bed and runs a bath. "You should get some sleep once you're done with your bath," He says gently, and kisses my forehead softly. "Goodnight, Onyx."