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October 19 - November 1, 2025
I stared at the empty night sky, watching her dark wings beat across the sky, her sleek form disappearing into the roiling clouds. Away from me. “You promised,” I whispered as the sirens continued to wail.
So, no, Samkiel was who I was, who I would forever be, and Liam died with whatever part of Dianna’s heart fractured that night.
This wasn’t her. This emotionless empty shell was not my Dianna.
“When I burn this world to embers, and you paint me as the villain, remember, I really did try to be good… once.”
she will come, and I don’t think Kaden or Samkiel can stop her now.”
She paused, and I saw it then. The rage, anger, and hate disappeared for a mere second. My magic felt it too. The harmful power she held around her as a shield fractured, as if his name was a lover’s song, coaxing a trembling beast.
“Oh, Dianna, you can’t hide your heart even when you are fully gone.
I knew what she was capable of when she truly fed. It made her damn near untouchable. I remembered the first time she’d slipped. It was so long ago, but I had never forgotten. Only Gabby could bring her back, and she was gone.
Her jaw tightened, her expression reminding me so much of the World Ender. Did she not realize how deeply they were connected?
Mer-Ka was my birth name. Ain was Gabby’s, and Eoria was the home where we knew peace so long ago.
I wanted her too much, and if I were honest, I had no resistance against her when she was near.
“Why? Do you think she’s ugly?” “Absolutely not.”
My heart ached. I was so afraid I would never see her laugh or smile again. I had not realized how deeply my feelings for her had grown over the months we spent together. How utterly attached I had become to my fiery temptress. I had not realized it until it was too late, and she had already left, taking a part of me with her.
They did this. They took her happiness away, and they would pay greatly for it.
You are cowards. Traitors. I’ve met skinless grizzly beasts who fight harder than you two have. You’re even less than the shit rodents leave behind. You claim to love and care for her, yet you let him have and take the one person she loved.” I paused, trying to rein in the thundering in my chest and the clouds growing outside. I took a breath, shaking my head as I studied them. “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
...more
She wasn’t dangerous. She wasn’t deadly or a threat to us. I knew it in my soul. She was Dianna. My Dianna.
Dianna stole the very breath from my lungs without even trying. I was a fool to have denied what I had felt for her. A complete and utter fool. I could never lie about that again, nor did I plan on it, and right now, regardless of the bloodshed, one simple truth rang true. I missed her so godsdamn much.
“I’m sorry too. Sorry I ever trusted you, believed you, helped you. I’m sorry I ever followed you in that damn desert. I am sorry for my gullibility in thinking you were an angel sent to save us. Most of all, I’m sorry I ever thought I had a real friend.”
“I saw it when she first stepped out of the forest, a flicker in her eyes as if a part of her tried to crawl to the surface for you. I thought Gabby was the last tether, but you are. You are her only link to whatever mortality she has left. So don’t let Kaden win, no matter what she says or does. Trust me. You are the only thing she cares about now.”
Every Otherworld creature felt it when Gabby died. The world shifted, but she is still Dianna. She is still the girl I saved in the desert who cared so much about others that she followed a stranger into a terrible world. She is still the girl who likes flowers and pretty gifts from overbearing god kings. She is sweet, kind, funny, and loves with her entire being. That’s why she is like this. She’s hurt. She’s in pain. If you love her, truly love her, don’t give up. True love is worth it. It’s worth fighting for. Remember that.”
He was far too godsdamn handsome. My heart fluttered at the sight of him. He smiled, making that stupid, perfect jawline stand out. The anchorwoman ate it up like cake.
Gods, was she always this beautiful? It had been far too long since I had seen her last, and I was hungry for the sight of her. She stared back at me, her eyes glowing red, their depths too alien for me to read her emotions. The outfit she wore hugged her body lovingly. I had memorized every one of those curves in my dreams when sleep took me against my will.
Her favorite was the middle one, where she had to force me to look at the camera. 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.”
She feels anguish that he can reach her so well. She wishes for the pain she feels, and he eases it. Samkiel makes her feel something more. He makes her want things she doesn’t feel she deserves. Therefore, she lashes out more violently. She considers the pain she feels as punishment for what occurred. The more time Samkiel is with her, the more of her mortality slips through, but Kaden hit a very fragile nerve. One, he knows how to strum perfectly.”
“She fell in love with you as you did her. That is the problem for so many.”
“I have a better idea, actually.” “Care to explain?” I asked. “I need you all to evacuate the city.” Vincent jerked in surprise. “Why?” “Safety precaution. I am going to piss her off.”
“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.”
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.”
“Hungry?” Cameron asked, looking at me as he reached for the bag Xavier held. “Starved, but I don’t eat that,” I said, my voice cracking. I smiled, my canines protruding. The chains drained me more than I thought they would, and every time I moved, they cut deeper. “Oh yeah? What are you hungry for? Samkiel?” Xavier asked.
“Gods, you seem so physically strong, but you bury your emotions deep so you don’t have to feel anything for him, for anyone. Does it help? The lying to yourself part? Or does it make it worse?”
“Gabby liked you both. You were kind to her and protected her when I couldn’t. You gave her a home. I owe you.” I didn’t lie this time, and I hoped my voice didn’t break as much as it felt like it did. “You were going to bring her back to me?” Logan nodded, closing his hand around the stone. “Gabriella was right about you. You are amazing.” He leaned forward, grabbed my face, and pressed a kiss to my cheek. I pushed him away. “Ew. Don’t get emotional.”
I didn’t know how long we sat there just holding each other, and I didn’t care if the place caved in with us in it. All I cared about was that she was back in my arms.
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.
Neverra caught my eye, sharing every thought I had through our bond, and nodded in agreement. She was our queen now. If Samkiel chose her, we would gladly follow her through every realm and back.
“You caught me?” It was a whispered question as if she couldn’t believe it. “Always.”
His throat bobbed, but I saw the look of pride cross his features. He was proud of her, even if he believed it was reckless. “Not a lot. I only perfected what she already knew.”
“Please wake up. I don’t care if you hate me, are angry, or yell and scream. You can wish death upon me, but I need you to wake up. I need you here with me.”
My hand whipped out to slap him, but he caught my wrist. “I hate you.” He stepped closer and leaned in until his nose was an inch from mine. “I. Don’t. Care.”
His thumb slid over my wrist before he gently released me. “I would have followed you anywhere, Dianna. All you had to do was ask. Instead, you used me. You used every single bit of knowledge you had on me to hurt me, my family, and my friends. You threw things I confided to you back at me without a moment’s thought. I have been stabbed, tortured, and nearly decapitated. All in service to my home and kingdom. But nothing has hurt me as you have. Nothing.” I lowered my gaze, unable to face his pain. “If you want an apology from me, you won’t get it.” “I don’t. I can take your anger and hate.
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I hated him. How dare he make me feel by just being in his presence? I hated that the words he said were like a battering ram against the wall I’d so painstakingly built over these last few months. I hated that I cared so godsdamned much.
A small smile spread across his face as he caught my eyes lingering on his lips, and I hated him even more.
“You’re a fool if you think I would be happy in a world where you did not exist.”
but if something happens, if you do read this note, and I am no longer here, I need you to be stronger. I need you to be brave and fierce, and above all else, I need you to let me go. I know you’ll be sad, and I’m crying while writing this, but Dianna, you are so powerful and smart. There isn’t anything you can’t do, and nothing can stop you. There never was.
You’re my sister, and I love you. I’ll always love you.
So if you read this, if I am truly gone, know that I would never leave you, even if you can’t see me. I would never abandon you.
Remember that I love you. Always - Gabby P.S. Because I know you, be nicer to Liam.
No matter how I wanted to deny it, I wanted him. What fool wouldn’t? But that didn’t mean I wouldn’t continue to test him.
“And what outcome would that be, oh annoying one?”
