Chapter 200: A bad sign

After a hot, steamy shower–which actually ended with Dorian pinning her against the tiled wall and fucking her senseless–Alyssa felt completely content and fulfilled.

She let him help her into the shorts and t-shirt, then stood in front of the mirror as he brushed her hair. She savored these quiet moments they shared; they were her sanctuary, wiping away the dark threats and looming shadows hanging over them.

?"Much better," Dorian murmured softly, lowering the brush and running his fingers through the lush waves. Her hair had grown significantly longer, falling past her waist to the small of her back. "Your hair is so beautiful."

Alyssa beamed at his reflection in the mirror. "Thank you, darling."

Dorian’s lips twitched into a surprised smile, his eyes dancing with amusement at her choice of words. "Darling? That’s new."

"You don’t like it?"

"I love it." He caught her by the waist and spun her around to face him. "I love whatever you choose to call me."

"Is that so?" Alyssa teased, winding her arms around his neck and leaning into his chest. "Do you like it when I call you my good boy?"

"I fucking love it," he growled, his voice dropping into a low rasp against her lips. "It drives me completely insane."

"You’re so obsessed with me, aren’t you?" she whispered playfully.

"Fucking obsessed," Dorian grinned, his gaze intense and unwavering. "Wholeheartedly, completely. You want me to worship the ground you walk on? Say the word, and I’ll do it. You have total control over me."

Alyssa’s heart fluttered at his heartfelt confession. She had never doubted his love for her, but seeing the fierce, unyielding devotion burning in his eyes sent a fresh rush of butterflies through her chest.

"I love you, Dorian," she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. "More than words can say. More than I could ever explain."

Dorian didn’t answer with words. Instead, his lips claimed hers in a sweet kiss. His fingers tangled into the soft mass of her hair, fisting through the strands to tilt her head back and deepen the kiss.

Alyssa clung to him, her hands bunching into his shirt as if he were the only solid thing in her spinning world. She poured everything into the kiss; her love, her affection, her devotion, surrendering to the hot, feverish slide of his tongue against hers.

The heat between them flared instantly, the taste of him intoxicating as he pulled her tight against his chest, leaving no space between them.

By the time he finally broke the kiss, they were both breathless, their chest heaving in sync. He rested his forehead against hers, his breath hot and ragged against her skin.

"I’m having a hard time exercising control right now," he chuckled. "I want to rip these clothes right off and take you."

"Then what’s stopping you?"

"Your tactics won’t work a second time," he laughed, reluctantly drawing back. "It worked in the bathroom because I couldn’t resist a single touch from you. But we have to heed Nina’s warnings. You need your rest."

Alyssa groaned dramatically, but she didn’t push it further. "Ugh, fine! But I don’t like this."

"Don’t worry, my love. It’s only for a little while." He smirked, delivering a soft smack to her ass as she leaned over the bed to grab her phone.

"Dorian!" she shrieked with laughter and playfully swatted his hand away.

Dorian winked at her and walked towards the files he kept on the vanity.

"Are you hungry?" he asked, his tone shifting back to seriousness. "What would you like to eat?"

Alyssa turned around and started to answer when her vision suddenly fractured. The bedroom vanished, and she found herself in that same dark cave she had been.

It happened so fast, barely more than two seconds, but long enough for her to see Ozai’s monstrous form pointing a gnarled finger at her.

When she blinked and found herself back in the brightly lit bedroom, the smile drained from her face, replaced by a expression of horror and panic.

Dorian saw the shift in her expression and closed the distance between them. "What’s wrong? Alyssa? Look at me. What is it?" He gripped her arms, gently shaking her until her eyes focused onto him.

"Dorian..." she gasped.

"I’m here, baby. Talk to me. Did you see something?"

Alyssa squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head vigorously as if to scrub the image from her mind. "This has to be an omen," she whispered, her voice trembling. "A bad sign."

Dorian’s brow furrowed sharply. "What are you talking about? What sign?"

She looked up at him with wide, terrified eyes. "Remember what I told you? About canceling the Solstice?"

"Yes. What about it?"

She reached out and gripped his arm tightly. "Sit with me. There’s something I need to tell you."

Dorian didn’t hesitate. He guided her to the leather couch in the corner of the room, sitting close and waiting patiently as she gathered her thoughts.

"When I had that seizure," she began, her breath coming in shallow hitches. "Something else happened. I was somewhere else entirely."

Dorian nodded encouragingly, stroking her hand. "Take your time and explain it to me. Don’t rush it."

Alyssa exhaled a shaky breath. "I don’t know if I physically left the restroom or if my body stayed behind while my mind was pulled away. But I found myself inside a dark cave."

She took her time detailing every single thing that had transpired between her and Ozai.

Dorian listened in tense silence, never cutting her off. The only sign of his rising emotion was the hardening line of his jaw and the cold, deadly fury gathering in his eyes.

"He said the power inside me belongs to him," she went on softly. "That I stole it from him. He claimed the power, whatever it is, is trying to claw its way back to him, and that’s why he’s been invading my dreams."

"You’ve been seeing him in your dreams?" Dorian cut in, his voice tight. "Why didn’t you tell me?"

"I thought they were just nightmare fragments," Alyssa sighed, looking down. "The only real encounter I thought I had with him was in Ashgard, which I told you about. I didn’t think the dreams meant anything real."

"It’s alright," Dorian murmured, gently pulling her head down against his chest. He stroked her hair, his other hand tracing soothing circles on her back. "We know now that they matter. So this Ozai... he knows who your mother is?"

Alyssa nodded against his chest. "Yes. And it sounded like she was keeping me hidden from him. I have so many unanswered questions, Dorian, and I think she’s the only one who holds the answers."

She pulled back to meet his gaze. "Can we search for her? That’s the only way forward. We have to find out who Ozai really is and why he’s after me."

Dorian hesitated, weighing the consequences. He wanted answers just as desperately as she did, but if Alyssa was truly half-Onyx, it meant her mother was a full-blooded Onyx.

Finding her meant bringing the realm’s deadliest creature into his kingdom. Was that a risk he could afford to take for his wife?

"Tell me about the vision," he asked quietly after a long pause. "The one you had after Ozai disintegrated."

"It came in a rapid flash," she whispered, a shiver running through her frame. "But I saw the night of the Winter Solstice. I knew it was the Solstice because the moon was massive and bright, brighter than I’ve ever seen it. It was snowing, and the forest was packed with Lycans and wolves."

?She paused, her expression freezing as though the memory alone was painful.

?"Then the rogues appeared. The same monstrous rogues that attacked Ashgard. There were hundreds of them; soulless monsters slaughtering every shifter they came across. Someone was controlling them."

Dorian instantly knew who it was. It had to be Ragnar. He was the only one who could control the rogues.

"It was a bloodbath," Alyssa continued, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Countless people were slaughtered. The blood on the earth mirrored the sky, and the moon turned red."

She turned her face toward Dorian, tears welling in her eyes. "And then I saw myself. Ozai warned me that only my blood could free him. Someone killed me, Dorian. They drove a blade through my heart."

"Who was it?" Dorian demanded harshly.

Alyssa shook her head. "I don’t know. I couldn’t see. But the vision... it felt so real. If we don’t stop the Solstice, everything I saw will happen. And I’ll die."