The Throne of Broken Gods (Gods & Monsters, #2)

by Amber V. Nicole

Everything made sense until him.

something about the World Ender. Like a moth drawn to flame, I couldn’t stay away from him.

Angry glares transformed into heated stares, arguments transformed into laughs, and that spark between us turned into searing flames.

It was only a snap, a single crack, and the world that once made sense, made sense no more.

“Years of love have been forgot, In the hatred of a minute.”

Her smile awoke something in me, and for the first time in a millennium, I felt the ice I’d encased my heart in crack.

She gazed at me through those thick lashes, her hazel eyes filled with warmth as if I was worth something.

“You promised,” I whispered as the sirens continued to wail.

And Liam cost me everything.

Samkiel was who I was, who I would forever be, and Liam died with whatever part of Dianna’s heart fractured that night.

Where have you been? It’s been weeks. Two, to be exact.” She half turned, brushing a stray hair from her face. “You counted?” “I count every second you’re gone.”

“Us? There is no us.”

“Is that all I was to you? Work?”

I felt gutted by the way she looked at me, as if not an ounce of her cared. That was pain.

This wasn’t her. This emotionless empty shell was not my Dianna.

I know without a doubt that my Dianna is still in there.”

“When I burn this world to embers, and you paint me as the villain, remember, I really did try to be good… once.”

“I belong to no one.”

I wanted her too much, and if I were honest, I had no resistance against her when she was near.

If he had hurt her, I would skin him alive.

My heart ached. I was so afraid I would never see her laugh or smile again.

How utterly attached I had become to my fiery temptress.

They took her happiness away, and they would pay greatly for it.

She was Dianna. My Dianna.

No matter what, Dianna stole the very breath from my lungs without even trying. I was a fool to have denied what I had felt for her.

“I hate when people touch what’s mine.”

“And how does the World Ender look at her, Brother?” “Like I looked at Seraphine all those years ago, and how you look at Naomi.” Ethan met my stare. “As if the world doesn’t exist without her.”

But it wasn’t a threat. It was Dianna. My Dianna.

I will not give up on you either.”

“Of course not. The way I care for you is vastly different. The lengths I will go to for you are unfathomable. I refuse to let you hurt yourself, no matter how vile or mean you are to me. I know you’re in pain. You are mourning, and someone like you will grieve just as hard and deeply as you love.”

“I can’t lose her.” My voice broke this time.

but she is my…” I stopped, unable to say the words. “I know.”

You, above all, should know that even monsters love something.”

All monsters love something.”

“You and the World Ender. That’s what hurts the most, isn’t it? You fell in love with him while Kaden took your sister. I’ve been there. You guys might not have been fucking when he took her, but you weren’t there when she needed you.

I felt caged.

If The Hand were here, then I’d lost her forever.

and I hated him for tasting what was mine.

“I warned you what would happen if you put your hands on her.

“Have any of you considered that maybe it’s her that is so mesmerizing and not what’s between her legs?”

“You really are in love with her.”

“I had not summoned it since Rashearim fell, not until her. Do you know why? Because there are no boundaries I will not cross if it means keeping her safe, especially after everything you all have taken from her. It is the highest law not to touch anyone in my court or what I consider mine. That act alone is punishable by death, and she is mine. It will be your end.”

“I will admit that I do seem more erratic, and I am aware it is because of Dianna. It’s confusing and frustrating. I have never felt for another how I feel about her. She makes me feral and possessive, but not in the way your master is. I would never hurt her, and I cannot allow her to keep hurting herself. That’s what she’s doing, and her pain grows every time she kills. She feeds and takes others to sate the part of her born from grief. She is trying to bury herself under those kills and prove to herself that she is the monster you all believe her to be. None of you know her. She is so much more. Dianna was kind to me and helped me when I did not deserve it, so I must also be that for her. She has no one else. Kaden and all of you made sure of that.”

“I dislike being apart from you this long,” I called to her.

“See something you like?”

“I will admit, I enjoy the fact you thought of me while you were with others,” I called over the raging storm. “Did it help you come, or are you still deprived, my Dianna?”

“I am not fond of others touching what’s mine.”

Beautiful, she was beautiful even now. Not one single part of her scared me, no matter how hard she tried. The fangs, the eyes, every part was still her, and she was the only one I wanted. I longed for her just as she was, from the thick lashes she closed against the rain to that full sensual mouth now painted a deep shade of red, to her hair slicked back from her face and hanging far past her shoulders. I could see how losing Gabriella, how the blood she had consumed, had changed her, but to me, she was still my sweet, protective, caring, fiery Dianna.

She was Dianna, my Dianna, and I saw clearly how broken she was now.

“I still care about you. Need you. Want you. I always will.”