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

by Amber V. Nicole

Samkiel doesn’t care about himself. He never did. He was prepared to train armies and do anything to keep everyone safe, and there he was, breaking. I knew it then.” Gabby looked at me as I continued to watch. “Knew what?” Fear squirmed through me, but I said it. “That I love him.”

“Don’t you see? I let you die because I am selfish and cruel. Because I just wanted it to be over. For a split second, I wanted it to be over. You’d be dead, and Kaden would have no more power over me. I was just so tired of being used.” My face crumpled, tears blurring my vision. I had betrayed my sister, my heart, the one person I had loved the most. “I’m so tired, Gabby. I was so tired of fighting and afraid of him using you against me. And for a second, I thought I could have Samkiel. I could have a life, and that was the evilest thought that had ever crossed my mind. It was only for a second, but I was happy. Then the guilt and the worry about you came rushing back and ate me alive. I have killed, maimed, and done things that would make people wish for death, but that thought, that single thought, was the worst in my entire existence. Maybe I could have saved you. I could have kept searching after Novas. Instead, I listened to him, stayed with him, went back to Silver City, and I killed you then. Not Kaden. Me. And I’ll never forgive myself.”

“Gabby, I love you very, very much, but if you don’t let me go⁠—” “No, listen. You can’t fight her. Not alone. She is too strong. Even Kaden fears her. Unir was the only one that could even wound her, and he’s dead. Do you understand? She is a goddess of war and destruction. One of the first.” “Okay, well, I have to try. I can’t let her get near him. She will kill him.” “I know, but you can’t fight her. Not yet. You have to go to Samkiel. Get to him first, no matter what. Revenge can come later.” “How do you know so much?” “I’ve had help. I met Samkiel’s dad and mom. They’re pretty cool, actually.”

Do you understand, though? Fight Nismera later, save Samkiel first. I need you to be powerful and vicious because they will be.” I nodded, trying to absorb everything she’d just told me. “You know me, Gabs. I’ll rip them to pieces. Nobody touches someone I love.”

“Will I ever see you again?” “I never left you.” A small smile played on her lips. “I am always with you, and I always will be. You’re my sister. Our bond is stronger than blood or any stupid paper that says otherwise. Remember, I love you.” Her hand slipped from mine as she stepped back. “And hey, if you are going to be a monster, at least be a damn good one.”

“I-I remember you. I used to visit you when I could, disguised as another. I gave you your first dagger. A blade made on Rashearim. I tried to keep you safe, Ayla.”

“You are my whole world.” He looked up at me, and my heart shattered. His once vibrant gray eyes had darkened as his skin paled. “I-I haven’t stopped thinking about you since I met you. Being with you, I finally felt what I wanted and had searched forever for. You woke me up and gave me reason. You made me feel like I was enough. I never felt like the World Ender with you. I never felt less. You are what I’ve been searching for my entire life. You, Dianna, had my heart long before I ever touched yours.” “Sami.” I couldn’t hold back my tears. My chest heaved, and I tried once more to close his wound. He hissed in pain and grabbed my hand, stopping me. “I wish I had never left when my world fell. Maybe I would have heard you. Maybe it would have been me to find you and Gabby. I would have loved you then, too.”

His body shook, and a wet gurgling sound bubbled from his lips as if he was trying to laugh even this close to death. That one movement, that one sound, and then complete stillness. Samkiel sagged against me, his hand dropping from my arm, and the world went quiet. My nightmares were coming true. Samkiel wore the same clothes, only now I knew it was his council garbs. His face, oh gods, all the color was gone from his skin. I had lost him. No, I couldn’t. If I could just stop the bleeding, I could… I moved my hands, using my power to try to cauterize the wound again. Samkiel didn’t jerk this time, did not move or twitch. Pulling back, I saw the wound wasn’t bleeding anymore, but not because I had healed him. He just had nothing left in him.

So when the very fabric of the universe burns, I want you to remember that I love you.”

Pain radiated through my left hand. I hissed and glanced down. A reddish-orange glow burned beneath my skin, etching intricate whorls around my third finger. The laser-like beam cooled, leaving behind a jet-black brand, but it was so much more and went so much deeper. A seal. The Mark of Dhihsin. As quickly as it burned, as it showed, it disappeared. Samkiel took a breath, his eyes fluttering open before closing once more, but a rhythmic heartbeat echoed through the tunnel, quickly synching with my own.

“Resurrection has a cost. I assume you paid yours.” I glanced at my bare, smooth finger, trying to forget what that mark had felt and looked like. “I guess.”

I carefully slipped onto the bed, curling up next to Samkiel. I rested my hand on his chest, unable to keep myself from checking my finger, our mark nowhere in sight. But the steady beat of his heart matched mine, and that was enough. Samkiel’s body relaxed as if feeling me near comforted him even in sleep. He reached out and pulled me close, tucking me against his body and resting his head on top of mine. I inhaled deeply and fit myself against him, the world fading away as I listened to his heart beat, just as I had so many nights before. Resurrection has a cost. Dread filled my being, and I wondered as sleep claimed me if I had paid with more than just the mark.