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August 29 - September 30, 2025
A growl of frustration echoed from my throat, and I strode back toward the kitchen. Impatiently, I pushed a loose curl off my cheek and glared at Samkiel. He leaned against the long island, biting into a fruit with a stark green interior. “Are you done?” he asked. “Let me out of this godsdamned place,” I snapped, lunging forward and slamming my hands down on the counter. “No.” He watched me and took another bite, his posture relaxed. My eyes flicked to the doorway near the large fridge. A shadowed hall lay beyond. That was why I couldn’t find an exit. It was behind him. My gaze met his as he
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“I would have followed you anywhere, Dianna. All you had to do was ask.
“You’re right that I don’t get to dictate how you heal, but gods, Dianna, you could’ve used me. I would have let you, and you know it. Anything you desired, whenever you wanted, any way you wished. All you have to do is ask.”
I want to use him
He nodded and turned away. “You would have been happy,” I said to his retreating back. “If you would have just let me go and kept your warriors out of my way. This would have been over, and you could have made this damned castle for your rightful queen.” Samkiel glanced at me over his shoulder, a small glow of silver dancing behind his storm-filled eyes. “You’re a fool if you think I would be happy in a world where you did not exist.”
“And what outcome would that be, oh annoying one?” “I told you before I would show you eight ways to make you forget that hideous friend word. Tease me again, and I shall show you twelve, and after your little display, we’ll start in the bathroom,” he said, taking another bite.
“Walk in front of me,” I snapped. “I don’t want you staring at my ass.” He grinned that devastating grin I loathed and leaned down to whisper in my ear as he passed, “I don’t need to stare. I have it memorized. Now if you wanted to let me see it bare again—” My hand shot out to smack him, but he dodged and continued along the trail, his laughter filling the air. “Don’t you ever get tired of flirting?” I snapped. “With you? Never. You are fun to play with, Dianna.”
“You know, when Gabby and I were younger, she loved these stories and fairy tales about princesses who could talk to animals.” Samkiel glanced up at me over the slope of the stags’ back. “Do you think I am a princess?” “Absolutely. You’re spoiled like one.” A smile tugged at his lips. “Well, I hate to ruin your illusion, but I do not talk to them, not really. It is more so an understanding, I suppose.” I nodded slowly, even as my lips twitched. “Sure thing, princess.” His eyes cut to mine, and I had a second to regret my decision before he flicked his wrist, and lake water splashed over me.
“You.” I huffed, my arms and face dripping. “Didn’t.” He shrugged, utterly unfazed, as he continued to pet the stag that grazed between us. “I did.”
“Exercising with Samkiel and surviving with no powers?” Xavier seemed surprised. Cameron let out a low whistle, rocking back on his heels. “Gods, woman, you are impressive.”
Cameron had not stopped talking since they’d found me, and Xavier seemed to love every second of it.
“What are you wearing?” Cameron practically yelled from the doorway. My head snapped toward him, his booming voice pulling me from my thoughts. He stood in the doorway, no longer dressed in the council garbs. “What are you wearing?” I echoed, lifting a brow. He strode in like he owned the place, adjusting the long necklaces that lay across his chest. Xavier entered behind him, and I gulped. They looked like they were about to attend one of Omel’s runway shows. Their shirts and pants fit faithfully to every muscle, showing off the masculine beauty of their bodies. Cameron caught me looking and
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“Get up,” Cameron said, his eyes shining devilishly. “We’re going out.” I shook my head. “Out? We are?” “Yes, and you cannot wear that.” Cameron gave me a quick once over. I snorted. “Samkiel said—” “Funny story, Samkiel isn’t here.” Cameron clapped his hands impatiently. “Come on, dark queen, we don’t have all night.” Xavier leaned against the wall, watching us with amused patience. “It will be fun, and we promise to have you back before he even notices.” “Promise.” Cameron gave me a smile that I knew had been the downfall of women throughout time. The two of them like this reminded me of
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Cameron nodded and poured another shot, passing it to Xavier. “Yeah, that’s your new nickname. Everyone gets one. Welcome to the family.” Family.
I was laughing, truly laughing. Xavier’s face lit up every time, and Cameron would tell another joke to keep me distracted.
“I don’t want an apology. I only told you because I want you to stay close to the ones who feel like sunshine, Dianna.” His gaze turned to Cameron, who was currently making friends with every person who spoke to him. Sunshine. Like Samkiel.
Awe
Seraphine stopped mid-step, less than a fraction away from me. Her eyes glazed over, and her mouth went slack. My gaze dropped to the silver blade sticking out of her chest. She whimpered as realization clicked, and fire raced through her body, leaving nothing behind but ash. Blazing silver eyes stared at me through the cloud that had once been Seraphine. I never cowered from Samkiel, but right now, every story of the world-ending warrior king came rushing back.
Yay!!
He placed his hands on his hips, closed his eyes, and blew out a long breath as if trying to compose himself.
Hot
All it would have taken was a single portal, and she would have been gone! I would never see her again.”
Xavier’s laugh echoed off the walls. It would always be my favorite sound.
I knew who had called and where he was going. The knowledge hit my stomach like acid.
Cam is so inlove with him
I looked down at her, even as my mind whispered and dreamed of another.
Hes think of xavier!!
“Cameron and I have shared before.”
I would love to be that person
“Your life means nothing to you. I get it. You have told me and shown me often enough. Fine, but what about the people it does matter to? What about those that do care about you? Have you thought of that? Are you that damned selfish you think of no one else now?” My mouth fell open. “How dare you?” “How dare I? How dare you! You are not innocent in this. Do not pretend that my feelings were ever one-sided. You were there with me every step of the way through Onuna and every godsdamn place you dragged me. What about me? You may be replaceable to Kaden and his ilk, but you are not to me.”
“Was that my lecture?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. A single brow rose. “Do you need to be lectured?” “You’re the one who is angry.” He stared at me, looking too hard, too deep, too long. My heart, the jaded and cracked thing it was, fluttered with hope. A part of me already knew he saw the reality of me, but it was finally sinking in that his feelings were unwavering and true. “It was not anger that I felt. It was fear.” “Fear?” “Yes, fear because when I learned of where you were and what was happening, I realized there is no limit to what I am willing to do for you. The old gods
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I was tired of Kaden hiding. After everything he put Dianna through, how he had broken her, if he were here, I would bring his head back to Rashearim on a spike for her as a gift.
“There is nothing in my system from Dianna that I’d wish to remove. The thought of just being a simple fuck to her makes me wish to get disemboweled repeatedly. That would hurt less.”
“I think I can manage on my own. Like I have been doing. Don’t you have godly duties to attend to?” A brief smirk crossed his features, but he seemed to have no desire to fight. “You are my only priority.”
“Do you always flirt with homicidal killers?”
His smile was bright, making him impossibly more gorgeous, and a part of me ached. “Only the really pretty ones.”
It won’t be easy, and there will be days you will feel like you don’t want to get out of bed, but I want to be there for you. Every day if you will let me.”
I realized Samkiel wasn’t just a light to me but an anchor, a shield.
“No one comes here. It’s yours if you wish it.” “A whole beach?” I shook my head. “You’d give me a whole beach?” “The world, if you wish.”
“Stuff like what they were wearing at the resort.” “Oh,” he said, stepping away and snapping his fingers. “Like this?” I tossed my head back and laughed, the sound mixing with the song of the waves. Samkiel looked absolutely ridiculous with the overgrown hat, a stripe of sunscreen down the bridge of his nose, an inflatable animal around his waist, and yellow swim trunks. He smiled widely at me as I got my amusement under control. “What did I do wrong?” “That is not what I had in mind,” I said, waving my hand in his general direction before bursting into giggles again. Samkiel stared at me as
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“You are what they imagine when they sculpt gods on Onuna.” “Is that so?” He knew it, but I indulged him regardless. “It is.” “That wouldn’t be a compliment now, would it, Dianna?” “Absolutely not.” I smiled widely.
He was a work of art and way too perfect to be true. To find someone as beautiful on the outside as he was on the inside was indescribable.
“I’d be a liar if I said I did not still have feelings for the woman who ripped her heart out to save me, her sister, and the world. The one who will risk everything for someone she cares about without ever thinking of herself. The one who likes loud music and overly sweetened treats and shares everything with me. The woman who ties promises to her small finger. The one who pretends she hates happy movies because she doesn’t think she can ever have her own happy ending. The woman who wields and breathes fire on a whim and loves flowers even when she tries to deny it. I have seen the best of
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Yet he looked at me as if he would rip the world to pieces for me, and I knew I would do so much worse for him.
The image of him panting and begging beneath me flooded my brain and almost sent me over the edge.
Me too girl
Music filled the palace, so loud it drowned out the emptiness in my head. Neverra, Imogen, and I stood in the bathroom as I finished mixing the face mask Gabby had taught me how to make.
I love them
It doesn’t matter if you get along or fight like enemies. They are the person you’d do anything for. You become consumed by a weird territorial drive, and no one else will do.”
This was it, the feeling I had wanted, needed, and searched for. Family.
He makes me happy, and I don’t feel so alone when I am with them,
She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. She didn’t need dresses or gowns like the goddesses I used to fawn over. Her simple sleeping clothes made me forget why I had come in here.
The night she’d stripped in front of me, I’d damn near fallen to my knees and begged for just a taste.
Hes a god king and he wants to beg on his knees for her
My head slammed to the table, and I lay there face down. “What if you’re wrong, and I am just seeing what I want to see? What if it isn’t real, Logan?” I mumbled against the table.
I love him
“They wrote war songs about you. Men and beasts alike would piss themselves if you stepped on a battlefield, and now the great and fearsome World Ender is afraid of a date.”
Samkiel was just a boy in love with a girl.
Love was nothing but magic in its purest form.
His brows furrowed, and for a moment, I thought he would tell me it was all a joke. I waited for him to rip this away, cruelty much more familiar to me than kindness. He gestured toward me and cleared his throat. “Your hair… It’s lovely.” I slid my fingers through it. “Oh, thanks. I straightened it. Imogen let me borrow some stuff.” He swallowed and nodded, but I wasn’t sure he’d heard me. His gaze slid slowly over me, and I felt it like a caress. Was he nervous?
She did her hair! Its a date!
“What do you want, handsome?” I asked, leaning through the window and pointing toward the menu on the side of the food truck. His grin was dangerous, his pleasure at the compliment easy to see. “This is stealing. You do realize that?” I waved my hand. “Eh, I call it borrowing, and technically, you’re an accomplice. You broke the lock, then started the truck. So…” My voice trailed off. He shrugged. “I’m innocent. You coerced me.” “Barely.” I snickered. He bit the inside of his cheek, stifling his laugh, before looking at the colorful menu hanging from the side of the truck. “Can you actually
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