The Wrath of the Fallen (Gods & Monsters, #4)

by Amber V. Nicole

She held someone more precious to me than a throne or a crown or the air I breathed. Dianna was more precious to me than any world or realm.

I considered changing forms, especially since I had to wrap my damn tail around me to avoid squishing anyone, but I was a bitch who loved dramatics.

I tossed my head to the sky and roared, the sound piercing the air. I mantled, spreading my wings wide, casting the people below in darkness. When I finally rested back on my haunches and tucked my wings away, the guards closest to us were trembling ever so slightly. Samkiel stopped and turned to look at me. If I could have shrugged in my beast form, I would have. He shook his head in amused exasperation

I’ll protect this home with my life. So, if they don’t want to be allies, well, they can burn, and anyone who threatens us can join them…” I shrugged, letting the sentence trail off. “That’s actually really sweet,” Cameron said around another mouthful, nodding toward Samkiel. “Minus the part where I just pictured a dozen realms on fire. But it was nice, nonetheless.”

It was such a silly thing to dream of someone who didn’t know the depths to which they owned you. A silly thing indeed.

“I do not wish to fight you,” Reggie said matter-of-factly, his fingers running across a low-hanging leaf. “I am merely a distraction for the one who loves her even more than

Samkiel rolled his eyes again. He was getting really good at that. I was obviously rubbing off on him.

winked at him, twirling my dagger. “I’d never hurt my most prized possessions.” “All right,” Cameron called out, “there are children present.” “She didn’t even hear me!” I yelled back. Miska looked between us, bewildered. “Well, think of my precious ears for once!” Cameron yelled back.

to be done to achieve it. I sometimes missed my solitude, but this was the closest I had gotten to truly living. It was a gift, and I would treasure it always. “I would choose her in any lifetime.”

“I’ve changed my mind,” I said, and both of them looked at me. “I’ll help you. Just please don’t send me to the dungeons.” Nismera smirked, thinking she’d won. She had no idea that the game was just getting started.

period Miska!! you fool them

That told me everything I needed to know. Finding that she had warships and a weapon that could bring both gods and monsters to their knees? Piece of cake. Seeing my husband and best friend turn pale white at the sight of a beautiful winged warrior queen? Definitely the least amusing part of my day. “Let me guess?” I sighed deeply. “Ex?” “Yes.” Samkiel at last turned to face me. “Milani.”

“This is a shitty establishment if I’ve ever seen one,” Isaiah said, his boots crunching on shards of broken wood and glass. “You have such a flair for stating the obvious. Do you think you could just shut the fuck up?” I said with a sneer, glaring at him. He arched his brow and scowled back at me.

“I actually take back everything I just said,” I whispered down our bond, and I felt him unleash the full fury of the storm.

“It is customary to bow before the king,” Eryx said as Samkiel came to my side, and Isaiah went to Kaden’s. “I see no king here,” Samkiel answered. His eyes flicked to Kaden and Isaiah in both warning and irritation.

He used the word brother, and no matter how Kaden and Isaiah tried to hide it, I felt a flicker of some unreadable emotion down the strings of the bond split between the four of us, a soft tug at the proclamation that vanished as quickly as it came. I knew Samkiel was using it to show a unified front and not out of familial love, but that word alone from his lips had sparked something, even if the flame had quickly smothered itself out.

“Go on,” Samkiel said, his voice thick and heavy, cutting through the room like a blade. “Threaten my wife and brothers again.” I shifted beneath the overwhelming power in this room, and I wondered just how vicious the brothers would be if they got along. If they could manage to work together, they would release an overwhelming force into the world that none could rival. Nismera knew it, too. It was the reason she so desperately drove wedges between them.

“Don’t do that.” Kaden said,

“What?” I said, exhausted with the back and forth between us. “The plan? We agreed.” “No.” He shook his head. “Don’t doubt yourself. Not now.” I blinked, unsure I heard him right.

“You wish to rule these realms beside him? Build a kingdom and have the life you’ve always wanted? Then take it. You’re a queen, and not the Queen of Yejedin, but the Queen of Rashearim. You always have been. It is what you were born to be and why you’ve been hunted your entire life. Use it to your advantage,” Kaden said, and I don’t think one person breathed after his proclamation.

I sighed deeply, trying to release some of the tension building in me. They weren’t on each other’s side. They were just three powerful caged predators, snapping and snarling at each other.

prisoner below my palace wailed about. For every win I gained, I suffered a loss at the hands of this wretched bitch. As long as Ayla lived, my reign would not.

I knew anyone who hadn’t been through what we had these last few months probably saw it as irrational, but how could I explain to them what I felt for him? We had survived together in a palace that was nothing more than a prison. He cared for me as I did him. We were not two sides of the same coin, but the same side. I hadn’t realized how alone I felt all those years until I met Vincent. It was as if some part of him had awakened something in me.

"You need it. I'm sure they were feeding you scraps, like the hounds they are," Samkiel said, yelling the last part toward the doorway, his voice carrying down the hall. "Fuck you, Samkiel!" Isaiah called back. I shook my head and took another sip of my coffee. "You definitely don't need a test to prove you all are related." Samkiel groaned and set his elbows on the table with a thud.

“Use everything you’ve learned and never assume you’ve won.” I nodded, and we circled each other, blades out. A streak of silver darted through the smoke to our left, and we spun, our weapons singing. A swathe of hair whipped by us to the right. She was circling us like a predator playing with its prey. The world was so silent, as if this day had been written at the beginning of time, and the universe was watching, waiting, anticipating the climax of this story.

“I cannot wait to reclaim my realms and erase your name from history. All your work, all you’ve done, no one will remember. I’ll make sure of it.”

Lightning pierced the ground over and over, and thunder growled continuously from overhead like a hungry beast. Godsdamned Samkiel, and they said I had anger issues.