The Dawn of the Cursed Queen (Gods & Monsters, #3)

by Amber V. Nicole

“I fear no gods and no kings.”

Annoyance sparked in his gaze. We both had things that set us off. Mine, of course, was abandonment. Isaiah hated to be tricked or lied to. He had handled the situation in his usual fashion.

Samkiel’s eyes bore into mine. “I don’t like the idea of us splitting up. It never works in our favor.”

My stool clattered as I jumped up from my seat. A chill raced across my spine. The oracle’s sick, wet laugh mocked me. I wouldn’t follow her, headless boy, or you’ll have a twin to match. And match they did.

How could such an evil creature like him have a dimple?

Even as my hands slipped on the hilt, I promised to claw, rip, and tear my way back to Samkiel. I swore it.

know he was alive. I wrapped my arms around myself because I finally understood the stories and the legends. Samkiel never needed the Oblivion blade to be feared. It was clear now why so many bowed, why they chanted, why they followed. Looking around the desolate wasteland that he had created, I finally understood the true nature of his destructive power and why they called him World Ender.

“I did not get it. I am it. Oblivion is not something anyone can take from me.”

“Dianna will never choose you, even with all your conniving and fail-proof plans. She chose me and has every day from the moment she laid eyes on me. She left you then and never once looked back. Not. Once.” “What is that?” Kaden hissed. “You stole our amata mark, so I did the next best thing. She is my wife, my only, and she will never again be yours. Never.”

“You destroyed a world for me?”

She did not fully understand the lengths I would go for her. Destroying a world was not even a fraction of it. She thought me a hero, but a hero would defy others for the greater good.

Elianna nodded, but I saw the grief in her eyes. “He’s dead. Kaden’s dead. I don’t know how or why, but I know it. I feel it.”

“Can you not see I am in the middle of maiming?”

Rashearim. I remembered being enamored with the way they painted his accomplishments. I’d even wished to be like him.

Something twisted and broke inside of me. Family. It was the one thing Kaden and I had craved most of all, and we had learned a long time ago we were not made to have. Weapons of war. That was all we were. My jaw clenched, longing to violently rip him to shreds for even suggesting such a thing.

Her hand hovered over my chest, and I felt a tug as a small ball of flame emerged. She grabbed and crushed it in her fist, a cold, empty smile on her face.

I heard a crash above me and whipped my head back, looking at the ceiling. When I looked back, I was alone in my cell. I blinked a few times, my mind reeling. Of course, I was alone. Why would I assume I wasn’t alone in my cell? Samkiel had left me here. I had been alone the whole time.

“No one has ever protected me like you do. I’m always the one taking care of everything and everyone else. You’re supposed to protect the world, not me.” “You are my world.”

will have them both in the end. Make no mistake.” “I am aware. I have seen that, too.” It had been a strange experience to watch them both perish. I was certain that if I had been in a body that permitted emotion, I would have felt that sadness. “What

“We all should. Dianna is no longer the promised princess of Rashearim or the destined queen. The other sibling has polluted her blood. What she carries within her now could turn worlds to ash if she willed it. You all should fear her as they once feared Ro’Vikiin.” I chuckled. “You know as well as I that he hated that name. He always preferred Gathrriel.”

“And so Death intervenes, as does fate.”

Death tilted his head toward me. “That’s what worries you? Not the return, but her soul?”

“Soul?” Death tsked. “The fractured thing it is. It’s a jagged, crushed thing, the remnants buried within him.” My back straightened, and Death caught it. My mind whirled. I had not seen that outcome either. “Her soul is in Samkiel?” “What is left of it. Two beings in one. It seems Samkiel was strong enough to bear it,”

“I have no power over Samkiel. I never did. Dianna brought him back. She didn’t know it at the time, but she used the power of that mark. Without even realizing what she was doing, she did the reverse of what Vvive did. She forfeited the mark for the power to split her soul, and then she tied it to his life. Dianna resurrected Samkiel. As much as I hated being bested, it was both terrifying and intriguing to witness something that has only happened once before. The love she has for him is a power.”

Without even realizing what she was doing, she did the reverse of what Vvive did. She forfeited the mark for the power to split her soul, and then she tied it to his life. Dianna resurrected Samkiel. As much as I hated being bested, it was both terrifying and intriguing to witness something that has only happened once before.

“But Dianna laughs, breathes, and loves. She is not just flesh and⁠—” “And she is void. As was Ro’Vikiin, a soulless, empty monster,”

I mean, Gathrriel was void before Vvive. He died on that battlefield, and when Vvive split her soul to save him, the mark formed. Samkiel dies, and Dianna, refusing to accept that reality, absorbs the power of her mark and merges the pieces of her soul that his passing hadn’t shredded. She left herself empty. She is Gathrriel once more.”

“You are no better. You care for the child. You always have. We’ve seen it. You have a father’s love for her. It’s immoral. You are above emotions.” “Ah, merciless Death, who cares for nothing and no one.” The corner of my lip raised. “In my long existence, it is nice to find something worth protecting.”

Kryella

Athos did not hesitate. “We are The Eye.” The lethal soldiers behind her stood tall, holding the thick silver shields I remembered from before the fall of Rashearim. Gods, so many gods. “We are the last rebellion against Nismera the Conqueror. What we need to know now is how many more of you are alive?”

“Your vicious, feral nature makes up for your small frame.”

“The dead have much to discuss with you, Daughter-in-law.” His hands engulfed my skull as darkness filled my mind, and I screamed.