Page 10 of The Onyx Covenant

“Like I said, they had it coming.” Kieran tears off another chunk of meat. “What about you? Any Omega caught your fancy?”

I shrug, uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation. The truth is, I’ve avoided thinking about it. The idea of binding an Omega to this dangerous quest—to me—sits uneasily in my gut. My past with females is messy at best.

And then there’s Lyra.

Her face flashes in my mind—the fire in her eyes when she was furious at me, heartbroken, the tears that shattered me. For a second, I let myself imagine her here, close enough for me to reach out and touch. To make her understand. And to not lose her.

But then Jess’s face flickers in my mind, too. The woman my father forced on me a year ago, the one Lyra had seen me with. His grand plan to secure alliances had backfired spectacularly. Jess’s family hadn’t been quiet about their disappointment when things imploded—tempers flared, loyalties strained, and my father’s reputation took a hit. It was chaos, but part of me had been relieved. Getting out of that mess was a blessing… but it cost me Lyra. The look on her face that night still haunts me.

I grunt under my breath and push the thoughts down hard, locking them away before they can take root. Lyra isn’t mine to want. Not with the risks ahead. Not when my choices made sure of that.

“I haven’t decided,” I say finally. “There’s time.”

Kieran studies me, his usual joking demeanor slipping away. “You know, if you really wanted to piss off your father, you could choose Vale Dawn.”

I nearly choke on my food. Vale?

She’s the only surviving daughter of the wolves who tried to assassinate my father during an uprising. Her entire family was executed for treason, but she was just a child when it happened. The only reason she’s still alive is because too many believed killing a pup would make my father no better than the ones who betrayed him.

Kieran’s expression gleams with attitude. “Imagine the look on his face.”

“I’d rather keep breathing,” I mutter, though the idea holds a certain rebellious appeal. “Besides, Vale deserves more than to be used as a pawn in my fight with him.”

Kieran shrugs, but his expression turns thoughtful. “Maybe that’s the problem with all of this. We’re treating these Omegas like tools instead of partners.”

“Yeah, well,” I mutter, stabbing a piece of meat with my fork. “That’s the game we’re playing, isn’t it?”

Kieran’s smile fades. “Funny thing about pawns… sometimes they take the king.”

ChapterTwo

LYRA

One Week Later

Dawn unfurls lazy fingers across the Eclipsia forest, painting the sky in shades of pink and gold, which would be beautiful if I gave a damn about sunrises anymore. I’ve been up for hours, slipping out of my home while the rest of the pack still slept, my muscles sore and my mind restless. Sleep hasn’t come easy in the year since that night by the river. Sincehim.

The Forest Sanctuary lies three miles from our settlement, a natural clearing surrounded by boulders that rise from the ground like the spines of ancient beasts. It’s our place, mine and Aria’s, where we can be ourselves away from judging eyes and traditional expectations.

I stretch, feeling the pleasant burn in my arms and legs from an hour of warm-ups. The morning air carries the scent of pine and damp earth, clean and crisp in my lungs. This is the only time I feel anything close to peace anymore—when my body is in motion, and my mind is too occupied with survival to dwell on anything else.

“You’re distracted today,” Aria calls from atop the largest boulder, her lithe form silhouetted against the rising sun. Wind whips her light chestnut hair across her face, strands sticking to the sheen of sweat along her brow. She pulls at the fitted leather gear that clings to her like a second skin, scuffed and dirt-streaked from their earlier sparring. A wicked grin curves her lips as she balances effortlessly, poised. “I could have taken your head off twice already.”

“In your dreams.” I snort, tightening the straps around my wrists. My loose pants and shirt make it easy to tuck the leather bands into my pockets, hidden from my parents’ prying eyes.

Aria leaps down, landing with the grace our kind is known for. Unlike me, she doesn’t hide her combat training. She’s a Nightblade—one of the elite scouts who patrol our borders and gather intelligence on Umbra movements. Her father is my father’s second-in-command, making her practically royalty in our pack hierarchy, second only to me.

Not that rank matters out here. Between these ancient stones, we’re just two Elios pack members learning to survive in a world designed to break us.

“Ready for round two?” she asks, cracking her knuckles with a grin that shows too many teeth. “Or do you need a moment to compose elegies to your mysterious lost love?”

“Fuck off,” I growl, but there’s no heat in it. Aria is the only one who knows about that night, though even she doesn’t know who broke my heart. Just that someone did, and that I crossed the river to find him. Some secrets are too dangerous to share, even with your best friend.

She tosses me a fighting staff—smooth ash wood, weighted at both ends. I catch it automatically, twirling it once to feel its balance. We’ve been training with weapons for months now, ever since I convinced her that priestess prayers wouldn’t be enough if I ever faced a real threat.

“Come on, Moon Dancer,” she taunts, using the childhood nickname I’ve grown to hate. “Show me what those delicate priestess hands can do.”

I lunge without warning, staff whistling through the air toward her midsection. She blocks, the crack of wood against wood echoing across the clearing. The impact vibrates up my arms, but I don’t hesitate, pivoting to strike at her legs.

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