𝑯𝒂𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 (𝑩𝒆𝒚𝑴𝒂𝒏𝒊)

𝟐𝟑✍

~

𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑫𝒊𝒓𝒕𝒚

After prepping herself for what she'd have to do, Onika made her way to Beyoncé's chamber after making sure Lauren was good being on her own for a while.

While the couple was a part of the same lineage, Onika's abilities were much more powerful than Lauren's. She didn't want her lover to have to witness anything that intense.

The deep-dimpled woman badly wanted to be there by her queen's side, but Onika assured her that everything would be fine, and that she'd be even more relieved to see the beautiful woman safe and sound when she got back.

Upon entering the dark domain of the blonde's chamber, Taron greeted Onika with a soft hoot before nudging his beak into her cheek.

"Hi, stink!" Onika greeted, petting him lovingly. "Where's BB?"

The flamed owl led the red-eyed demon to Bey's study, where she was found heavily immersed in one of the underworld's history books that the three of them had to read during their queenly studies.

Upon hearing the short woman's tentative footsteps, the blonde looked up and smiled at Onika.

"You ready?" Bey asked, getting up to put her book back on its shelf.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Onika replied after taking a deep breath. "How do you wanna do this?"

"Let's make a little trip down to Purgatory. She may have shut me out, but her soul still recognizes my presence."

The shorter demon nodded before following the blonde over to Purgatory. Upon seeing their presence, the realm keepers ushered them to Normani's holding unit, making sure to heed Bey's warning of occupying the room until further notice. Onika observed as the ebony's soul gasped at Beyoncé's touch.

"Hi, Babybird," she heard Bey utter before watching her deliver a kiss to the translucent being's forehead.

In all the centuries that Onika's known her, she's never witnessed Bey that gentle. Not even with Ciara.

That's when she knew their imprint was, indeed, something serious. She smiled at the sight before looking back to Bey.

"Believe it or not, I haven't been here since her and I's imprint finalized," the blonde informed. "She was so adamant about not leaving her earthly life, I just ended up givin' her space for a while. But, she really ain't give me much of a choice."

Onika smiled sympathetically before the two sat on the bed, Normani's soul melting into Bey's touch.

"I can understand why you feel the way you feel," she began. "And I'm proud of you for showing maturity and giving her some time. But...do you really think we should be doin' this?"

Beyoncé looked at Onika and really thought about what she asked.

"Nicki...I've waited centuries to find her...she makes me feel things that are so unknown to me...I need her...more than she even realizes...I just want her home..."

"And I get that. Believe me, I do. But you gotta be intentional with how you move when it comes to her. You're not dealing with another Ciara...you're dealing with an actual human...their logic isn't like ours..."

Beyoncé sighed, caressing her mate's translucent hand as her pupil-less eyes closed against her chest.

"I know...but what else am I supposed to do?"

"Instead of doin' this to get her to manifest sooner, you should do this because you love her..."

Love?