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May 28 - June 3, 2024
Nismera covered her mouth with her hands and turned toward Vincent. A feeling I couldn’t quite name hit my gut as he placed a hand of comfort on her shoulder.
With all the options she had tossed at her feet, why did she choose Vincent?
Someone has a crush…
“Because we are not dealing with Ayla. Ayla died the second Kaden got a hold of her. We are talking about Dianna. We are not dealing with Samkiel’s mate. We are dealing with Kaden’s.”
“Vincent, Kaden has no mate. He was not born of flesh.” “He does now. He made her, crafted her when he found her. They spent a thousand years together. He trained her, made her a killer, and respectfully, my king, a damn good one. She killed Alistair with her bare hands. I was there when she flattened his entire organization. I was there when she came back from Yejedin, covered in the ashes of Tobias. There for it all. She may have been made for Samkiel, but she is Kaden’s blood, his anger, rage, and, above all, power. After what we did to Samkiel, she will not rest. She nearly leveled Onuna
...more
“Let go of me, or I’ll melt your cock off.” A corner of his lips twitched, but he stood up and glanced at the open door before saying, “Do it. You’ll only be doing me a favor. Maybe she would leave me alone for a day.”
“They use you for your power, not caring what or who you are. They don’t care what your favorite food is or if you sleep with a light on for comfort in a strange new world. No one will ask about your dreams or your greatest fears. You are nothing but power to anyone here. Sounds like a curse to me.”
No one escapes Nismera.”
He reached for a glass in front of him, the clear, shimmering liquid dancing as he raised it to his lips and took a drink. He then slid it toward me, and I made a face. “I have two arms. I can only carry so much.” “Yeah, but I don’t know where your mouth has been,” I said. “Actually, yes, I do, so no thanks.”
“Please do not gut someone for looking at me.” He shrugged. “I won’t.” He leaned close for a second. “Besides, that would be half of the legion.”
Jealous ass
“Fine. Why are you being so nice to me? I know you’re my guard and all, and I can’t even breathe without you near me, but why?” He didn’t say anything for a moment, and I thought he would ignore me as he stabbed at his food. Then he sighed, not daring a glance at me as he said, “Because I think you feel just as alone here as I do.”
“I guess I just don’t want you to see me weak.” She faked a gasp, placing her hand on her chest before raising it to lay the top of her wrist lazily across her head. “The mighty Samkiel, taken out by a stomachache. You’re right. You’re too weak. I must leave you now for all my other, more powerful suitors.”
Sami baby,
I laughed and did not care for one second that pain shot through me. Everything in this realm and the next was bearable now because I had her.
He opened his palm to reveal my rings. “Because I know who and what you are, Samkiel.”
“So it is a woman. Always a woman.
“What is this?” I asked, looking at Camilla. “I’ve heard the witches laughing and the guards talking. She has many titles. Nismera the Conqueror and Nismera the Bloody, but I hate Nismera the Mutilator the most.”
In the center was a long, rectangular table, and atop it sat a device. Its insides were spinning wildly. I bent to look and stopped, my blood running cold. “It’s a centrifuge.” Her voice was as cold as the room. I stood up and turned toward her. “And the blood currently spinning inside is of my brothers.” “What?” “She has Isaiah’s and Samkiel’s. I can smell it.”
Why had Nismera taken his and Samkiel’s blood, and why did she want mine? What was she planning that she needed our blood?
One raised his blade. It swished through the air, and I side-stepped, my fist slamming out, knocking him to the ground. The other guard came up behind me, his blade crashing down on my shoulder. His eyes widened in disbelief when the sword bounced off.
A shuffling came from my right, and the last guard gasped. “No,” he whispered. “You’re no rebel. You’re him.”
“I guess I can tell you my secret since I know yours.” I took my rings back and placed them in my pocket. “Go on.” “My name is Orym. I’m an ex-commander of Nismera’s Thirty-sixth Legion.”
“What of you? How does one become an ex-commander? Defection usually means death.” His smile lost its shine. “I told you before. It’s always about a woman.” “You lost someone.” Orym lifted his blanket and turned on his side to face me. “Not just anyone. The one.” My heart sank. “Your amata.” He nodded. “She was… everything.
“How did you not die?” I met his gaze, a soft smile playing on my lips as I heard Dianna’s laugh echo through my mind. “Someone I love very much found me and saved me.” “Ah.” I could hear the smile in his voice. “In my culture, we don’t refer to them as just amata. They are your great love. Is she your great love?” I nodded, staring at the top of the tent. “The greatest.”
I hope you see her again.” “I have no doubt I will. I only worry about the world until she finds me or I find her.” A short laugh escaped him. “So she is a warrior like you? It would make sense.” “She is. She is also brave and way too smart for her own good.”
I half-turned, Kaden still standing there waiting. “Do you want to see me naked or what?”
So that’s what he cared about, not the ones I had killed and drained. I saw them every time I closed my damned eyes.
“Jokes on you. I only fed and then left. I haven’t put my dick in anything but my hand.” Kaden scoffed, taking a step back. “Let’s share less.” “Sounds great.”
I just wished Dianna were here. I missed her. This was the longest we had been apart since Onuna, and I hated every fucking second of it.
These realms were dangerous, even for my brave, fiery girl. I needed to know she was safe, alive, and whole.
my amata,
The patch of skin remained bare, an empty space where my soulmate bond should be.
“I wasn’t just kicked out of the legion for rebellion. I was also a spy for The Eye. My sister, as well.”
“They are moving us to Flagerun. From what I hear, it’s a prison and one of her favorites. A sweeping fortress that burrows into the planet.”
“You reek of death. Poison.” Her head lowered, and I turned my head away as she breathed me in. “You will perish soon.” My grin was crooked. “Thanks.”
Her eyes flashed bright, shimmering gold, and a warmth spread through my body. I had a second to remember the power behind the eye of a toruk, and I knew, above all, that was what Nismera truly wanted. This was not just a random toruk she wished to use for its magic. No, this was the sovereign who wielded the eye of truth if the legend was to be believed. It was a flash of magic connected to the universe itself. A mythical beast that people would die to tame and keep.
“I’ve never loved or been so consumed by another, nor will I ever again.”
I barely had time to grasp the emptiness before a shirtless Vincent shoved me against the neighboring wall. My eyes raked over him even as he held the cold blade of a knife pressed against my throat. Oh. Not a shirtless Vincent, but a very naked, very well-endowed Vincent.
Stop thinking about naked Vincent, you sex-starved psycho!
“I’m surprised you noticed. I figured you’d be too busy with Kaden down your throat.” My cheeks burned at his words, but mostly from irritation. Gods above and below, I hated this damn ruse. “He is not down my throat.” Vincent’s eyes roamed over me, and my body flushed. “I really don’t care where he is at.” “You sound like you care.” “I don’t.”
“Go back to bed, Camilla. I don’t need pity from you or anyone.” “I didn’t come for pity. I just wanted a friend. Back on Rashearim, we used to talk, and I miss it. I don’t have anyone else here to talk to.”
“What’s he saying?” “With all due respect, he thinks you’re a psychotic bitch,” Reggie said and cleared his throat.
“I know. It’s just that I love him, Reggie. Like real stupid, mushy love, and now I am afraid I won’t get to tell him.”
“You cannot rule with fear. You will only create more enemies that way. Not allies.” “Who said anything about me wanting to rule?” I glared at him as he pulled the hood around his head a little tighter. “Besides, a crown on my head all the time? Can you imagine? It would mess up my hair, and I’d have to find outfits to match.”
“Oh, so you expect him to take another as queen? You are his, correct? Is it not what you both scream relentlessly in the dead of the night?” My eyes narrowed on him. “Remind me to get soundproof walls when we eventually find him and build a new home.”
“You have the blood of Ro’Vikiin in you. All beasts speak Beast.” “Ro’Vikiin? Kaden?”
birdbrain
what does the King of Rashearim mean to you?” “Everything.” I didn’t hesitate or pause. I didn’t have days to think about it, nor would I deny it as I had so many times before. No more would I run from what I felt and have the world suffer for it. I’d lost him because I couldn’t tell him, because I was too afraid to tell him, and I was about to lose him once more. “He is everything to me.”
my Samkiel
My Akrai,
I — It looked as if he had scratched out whatever else he was going to say before simply signing it.
