She could tell by the indulgence on his face that he was not taking her seriously. The proud set of Martin’s shoulders and the confidence in his eyes were pissing her off, but Onyx’s casual brush-off of her feelings was driving her into an unbridled rage.
He doesn’t even seem to understand why I’m so upset!
She took several steps back, throwing up a hand to stop Onyx from trying to embrace her. He stopped, doubt shining in his eyes.
“I am your guardian,” she said, staring Martin down. “You have disobeyed me over and over again. You broke the law on Earth and here on Nova Aurora, and you have never been properly punished. That’s my fault. I couldn’t stand to give you more pain. I realize now what a mistake I’ve made.”
“Azura …” Onyx stepped forward, his face falling. “It’s okay. Let’s just talk about this.”
“No,” she said firmly. “There is nothing to talk about. I think we need to go back to Earth.”
A hush fell across the roof. The few staff members who had stayed to attend to them fell completely silent and didn’t move a muscle as if they were trying to be invisible.
“Azura,” Onyx’s tone was stern, his face determined. “You can’t …”
“Don’t you take that tone with me,” she snapped. “Especially after telling me that I’ve been too soft on him. You’re absolutely right. He needs to go back home and face his crimes. Maybe jail is where he belongs.”
Martin shook his head, but he didn’t lose the glow of confidence that gave a new set to his shoulders and a hint of joy to his eyes. Onyx was standing very still, his eyes wide and hurt. Azura’s gaze swept between them both, waiting for a reaction.
She was so full of grief, rage, and confusion that she just stood there and glared at them. She didn’t even really know what she was saying.
Do I want to go home? No, not really.
She just couldn’t think of anything else to do. Azura knew that she had to get control of the situation, control of Martin.
I have to for Mom and Dad.
Control was slipping through her fingers, vanishing on that perfect Nova Aurora wind. She had never actually been in control. She knew that.
But now, I’ve tasted freedom. I’ve tasted joy. Then, I had to stand here on this roof and contemplate all of it going away. I had to think about going back to that bleak, painful life as if none of this ever happened.
“Azura,” Onyx said. He reached out a hand in appeal but did not attempt to get close to her. His eyes were slightly lowered, and his tone full of respect.
“There is much we have to talk about,” he said. “Martin is a dragon, now, and …”
“No,” Martin said softly. “Let me, my Lord.”
Azura was taken aback, not just by Martin’s words but by his respectful tone. He stepped forward and nodded, a slight bow that made her feel all kinds of weird.
“I can understand exactly how you feel,” Martin said. “I’ve been an absolute beast to you, it’s true. I couldn’t handle the grief after Mom and Dad died, and every day, it just got worse. I know I let you down, time and time again. I’ve changed now, Azura. I truly have.”
“How can I believe you?” she said, shaking her head. “How many times have I heard you say things like this?”
“I know,” he answered. “Truly, I do. But today, I learned something.”
He looked back at Onyx, beaming. Onyx grinned back, and Azura felt a hot stab of something like jealousy.
I feel completely left out of this male bonding bullshit.
“Learned how to fight?” she asked hotly. “You already knew how to do that.”
“I learned about duty,” Martin said firmly, emphasizing the last word. “I saw that Onyx was going to sacrifice himself to save me. I was lost. I was over the edge. I didn’t care if I died. But I couldn’t let Onyx get hurt trying to save me.”
Onyx stepped forward, clapping Martin on the shoulder.
“I knew you were a good kid,” Onyx said. “You just needed someone to show you the way.”
“Don’t you see, Azura,” Martin implored her. “I understand, finally, the hurt that I’ve done. Fighting by Onyx’s side, I finally had what I’d been looking for all this time. A purpose.”