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

by Amber V. Nicole

“I count every second you’re gone.”

“Because I know you. I know you’ll worry and get in the way, but I’m really fine. I just have to kill a few people.” She paused, a playful grin widening. “Or a few hundred.”

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

As she should

He did not know the lengths I would risk to get Dianna back. I needed her. I needed her happy and whole and with me.

“You have taken someone from me with your actions—someone very precious to me. And now you have helped a lunatic corrupt her already damaged heart, shattering it into a million pieces. They are pieces I will pick up and fix, but what you have done is unforgivable. I plan to make you suffer for that transgression. Death would be a kindness, and you deserve none.”

My heart skipped a beat, and I’m sure they all heard, but I couldn’t help it. No matter what, Dianna stole the very breath from my lungs without even trying.

The lengths I will go to for you are unfathomable.

He was far too godsdamn handsome. My heart fluttered at the sight of him.

“Just remember, Dianna. The ace is what matters, and if you can put an ace with a king?” He whistled under his breath. “Unstoppable.”

She wore another mortal disguise, but I recognized Dianna no matter what form she assumed. It was the way she moved, her every gesture inherently Dianna. She could not hide behind cloaks and gimmicks. Not with me.

I knew what it felt like to kiss those lips. It was pure bliss, and I hated him for tasting what was mine. Pain twisted my gut, the agony enough to make my breath hitch. I had been nearly cut open in my youth learning how to wield a blade in battle, and this felt worse. It was pure, intense agony, and I wanted to summon Oblivion and rip into him. How dare he touch her, caress her? He did not know her or care for her.

"what was mine" !!!!

“You took my fucking hands.” “Yes, yes, I did.” I kneeled next to him. “I warned you what would happen if you put your hands on her. You should have listened.”

“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 dislike being apart from you this long,” I called to her. Her head snapped toward me, those crimson eyes shifting for a split second, and I swore I saw a hint of hazel. Joy sparked through me that my words had some effect on her, even if it was fleeting.

Everyone is terrified of her and he just misses her

“If you didn’t want me to find you, you probably shouldn’t set places aflame.” I paused, another part of me raging to the surface. “Or leave your lacy undergarments behind.” “Lacy undergarments?” Her laugh rolled off her tongue like a purr, echoing through the storm. “They are called panties, Samkiel. You know that, and you’ve seen plenty.” “Yes, but I distinctly remember yours.” “I’m glad. I left them as a parting gift,” she called back with another tip of her chin. “Another way to tell you that the girl you’re so desperate to save is long gone, and she is not coming back.” I smirked, ignoring her blatant attempt to push me further away, even as it ripped at my heart. I had another plan. “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?”

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,

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

“Look at that. Gods do know how to bow.” “If you wanted me on my knees, Dianna, all you had to do was ask. You know that.” “Tempting.” She rocked the blade under my chin, forcing my head back. “You should grow the scruff back, though. I like the way it tickles.” “Whatever you want.” Her smile was all fangs and cold brutality. “Whatever I want?” “Always.”

“It means stop talking to me like we’re suddenly friends again because we are not.” “Great. I despise that word. I wish to be so much more than friends.”

She’d said it reminded her of how I never listen to her, but she was wrong. I listened to everything, every word, every breath. I listened.

“You know I wanted to kill him, the one she touched, as if she hadn’t already scattered his corpse around the room. I wanted to put him back together and kill him again. The feeling I got knowing someone had touched her so intimately.” I shook my head. “I’ve only felt that in battle, that pure blinding rage, yet there I was contemplating the murder of a mere mortal. A mortal, as if there is even the slightest competition compared to me.”

There is so much you have yet to do and see. You’ve only just begun.”

Burying feelings hurts no one but yourself. You will drown in the tide you are trying to subdue, slowly and painfully.

If you are lying to me, if what you make hurts her in any way, I know how to torture you for a thousand years, never letting death touch you. Do you understand?”

She could never deceive me, no matter how hard she may try. I could spot her in a crowd of millions.”

“I needed to see.” “See what? Pure blinding rage?” Imogen asked. I lifted off of her and stood, offering her my hand. “If she is still my girl.” Imogen’s face softened, a corner of her lips curving up. “That was the most insane way to test that theory.”

“You ruin everything,” Dianna hissed, her lithe form landing in a crouch before me. “You will have to be more specific, akrai, on what exactly I ruined. Your mood?” I taunted her. “Your panties, perhaps?” Her brow furrowed, and I saw the shock in her eyes at hearing me call her my heart in Eorian. Satisfaction filled me and made the time spent learning the ancient language worth it.

this is so sweet

“Is this us flirting? You yell and toss me through a few stories when you don’t get your way, or perhaps you’ll drop another building on me.” I twisted from her, sprinting to the end of the hall. “I am not flirting,” she growled, cleaving her sword through the air toward me. It cut through the wall behind me as I ducked and rolled inside a nearby room. “I don’t know, Dianna.” I smirked. “It definitely makes me hard.” She pulled her blade from the wall, stepping into the room. “Shouldn’t your queen do that?” “She does.”

There is no place in this world or the next that you can hide from me, akrai.”

If I’m wrong, then so was Gabby, and I know she wasn’t. She wouldn’t give up on you, and neither will I. We can do this dance until this world burns and the next takes its place, but I will still choose you.”

Do it.” I angled the tip of her blade above my heart. “If you are truly gone, I refuse to live in a world without you, so you’ll have to angle it farther to the right. That’s where a god’s heart lies, and mine already belongs to you, so do with it what you will.”

I’ll rip your tongue from your skull.” “Will you kiss me like that again while you do it?”

I love them so much

Am I to be executed then, god king?” A smug smile curved his damn lips. “You know my name. Say it.”

grief is a product of love,

“Do you ever tire of pretending you don’t want each other?” Cameron’s smile dropped, and Xavier looked like I had punched him in the stomach. His eyes darted too quickly toward Cameron, and he stopped mid-chew.

Please tell me they get together

“A thousand plus worlds he has seen, yet when he dreams, he dreams of you.”

“I was happy.” The words left my lips without me realizing it. “I was happy for the first time in my long existence.” “What?” “I know I didn’t seem like it when I first came back. Thousands of years of emotions are stacked inside my head, things I never wanted to share with anyone until her. Then, she came crashing in like she did everything. It wasn’t anything at first. We could barely stand the sight of one another, but somehow, she snuck behind every defense I had and got under my skin. It was the most intense thing I had ever felt. All she did was talk to me, hold me through the worst of my nightmares, and she got in. She is everything I am supposed to protect you all from, and a part of me knows I cannot live without her.”

“My heart and soul scream in defiance because she is the only thing I can think about. The only thing I dream of when I allow it, the only thing in this life or the next I wish to claim.”

I have been with countless beings, traveled between worlds, saved thousands, and fought creatures that could swallow worlds. Yet this woman with a fiery attitude has burned me to my very core. I let her in during the worst part of my existence, and now she is in my bones. My every thought, every dream, is of her, and I can’t eat or sleep.

she’s burned into my soul, my very being.

“Rule number one of this short-term partnership. We don’t mention his name or even talk about him.” I gave him my most intimidating stare. He smirked knowingly, utterly unaffected by my death glare. “Why? Does his name bother you? You said you don’t care about him. Seems weird that it would be an issue if that is true.”

“Everyone does,” Logan said, “and they always find each other.” I snorted, “I’m sure they do.” “I am telling you the truth, Dianna. It doesn’t matter the distance or time. It’s inevitable, even if it takes a thousand years or more.”

“Dianna, you have to—” He stopped, his blade half raised, and watched as the decapitated creature turned into a heap of dirt and rocks. “Oh, you got it.” I frowned at Logan. “What are you doing?” “I was going to help, but you didn’t need my help.”

The room shook again, and she looked up. “What’s happening?” Another roar split the sky, and small rocks rained from the ceiling. “It’s Dianna. I think she is working through her problems.”

Dianna stood at the very center of the gore with her arms outstretched, feeding power into the flames consuming the corpse. When nothing but ashes and embers remained, Dianna tipped her head back, her chest heaving like a warrior savoring the aftermath of a long battle. I saw it then. Saw why Samkiel loved her so damned much, even if he refused to say the words. He risked his crown, his throne, and the damned world for her because Dianna was a queen worthy of any king.

Samkiel wanted an equal, and by the old gods, they had delivered.

She was our queen now. If Samkiel chose her, we would gladly follow her through every realm and back.

it seemed I was a selfish bastard with her time. Even at that damned vampire mansion, I wanted it all. Her laughter, her smiles, and all of her attention. Selfish indeed. I wanted to be the one she turned to, not him, not mortals. Me.

I spun and met a wall of muscle, my nose an inch from the realm’s best chest. My gaze traveled up the strong column of his neck, caressing the hard line of his jaw, before staring into the clear beauty of Samkiel’s eyes. He looked exactly how he did on Onuna, not Rashearim. He wore no armor, no long wavy hair, or shrouds of guards around him. “Why is this still happening?” My heart thudded in my chest, and dread filled me, forcing me to step back. “I don’t want to dream of you anymore. I can’t,” I said, my voice shaking. His head cocked slightly to the side as he stepped forward. “You dream of me?”

I searched for you everywhere.”