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October 29 - November 5, 2025
“How many more ways can I show you I belong to you and only you? How many words do you need? Ask and I will provide.”
“Shall I tell you that if the ancients asked me of love, I’d merely have to whisper your name?”
“What will you do with the others?” “Throw them away,” I said, kicking off my boots and shimmying out of my pants. “I’ll keep them,” he said. “Ew,” I said, shimmying out of my pants.
My father is blind if he can't see how truly perfect you and I are for each other. Secret glances at meetings and stolen kisses aren’t enough to satisfy me, Nydmjir. N
This whore
To The Council of Rashearim, My departure is abrupt, but the circumstances are equally so. I must meet with the great council while I can. When Zasyn and I return, we shall discuss the matter further. Athos is to hold my seat until my return. Any questions or issues are to be directed toward her. Unir 47 DU A concussion of shock racked my bones and encompassed my thoughts. If the date and time were correct, that would mean Unir wasn’t present when he locked us in Yejedin.
Bruh it was all nismera
“So you stole a decree, made one of your trickster gods wear his face, then locked us away?” I spat. “For what?” Her face contorted in disgust. “Gods, you’re stupid.” “Why?” I seethed, pushing to my feet. “Why go through all of this, all the lies and manipulation, if you hated us so much?” Nismera tossed her hands in the air in annoyance. “Even teaching you over and over you still can’t see. For power, you idiot,” she screamed. “For my throne, my kingdom, my realms. Not yours or Isaiah’s, and certainly not that half-wit Samkiel’s. Your very existence threatens what is mine.” Her smile returned
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My blood streaking her sword was not red but a deep, inky black. She sneered at me, baring her teeth as if she wished to shred me with them. “You. You are what he is using. You are Death marked.”
Love? I never loved either of you. Do you not fucking get it? You were a means to a fucking end and half the time a useless one. I would have strangled you both as children had Zasyn kept her fucking nose to herself. Actually, I tried to get rid of you more than once, but of course, you had to survive.”
I owed them nothing. A caw came from the treeline ahead, and I saw a bird with midnight feathers perched in the branches. It watched me as if it could read my very thoughts, its head swiveling to where the beasts had fallen, then back to me. I could have sworn even from this distance, its eyes were as white as the clouds above.
“You are very intelligent. I assume my son likes that about you the most.” “Actually, it’s my mouth, but I won’t scar you with that.”
“It’s not just flame. You know of her father. Azrael was created by the trickster god Xeohr, but her mother, Victoria, was crafted by Elin. She was the Goddess of Light, and Dianna is her daughter. That light in her is what they have always wanted. What they stole.”
“Tell me this. Only this. Can I save her?” Reggie’s smile was soft and genuine, even with the flicker of pain I saw in his eyes. “You save her every day and more than you will ever know.” “Good, I’ll take that,” I said, my nerves settling. “Now let’s go find her.”
“You are in so many of her thoughts.” All right, maybe he did not mean what I assumed he did. “Makes sense.” I groaned, grabbing the spiked tip of his boot. “She’s obsessed with me.”
“Sorry, baby,” I said. His lip lifted in a harsh snarl. I chuckled darkly and added, “Don’t worry, Gathrriel. I wasn’t talking to you.” “You’re trying to reach my vessel,” he growled. I felt power unfurl in a maelstrom under my skin at his words. “She’s not yours. She’s mine.”
“Hey,” I snapped, reaching for it. “You already fell once because this is too heavy. I’m not having you slow us down when you fall on your ass again,” he snarled down at me. I took a step back as he hoisted it over his shoulder. “You’re mean,” I said, folding my arms. He flashed a smile my way. “I know.”
“To be quite frank, I may have taken you up on the offer before her,” I said, wiping the dirt from the side of my face. “But I have someone to live for now, someone I love very dearly and whom I wish to protect.”
Instead, I wanted peace, family, adventures, and thoughts of us. I’d wanted so badly to win this war so that I could give that life to her. I would have sweated, bled, and fought for it. Perhaps if we could not have it here, we would have it in another life. I had no doubt that I would find her again. I pushed against our bond, hoping to reach the parts of her mind that were still hers, my wife, my akrai. “Dianna, I’m sorry, but I cannot fight him. I cannot hurt you, but I swear to find you in another life. If it takes another thousand years or more, I’ll wait. I swear it.”
“He overpowered me in every way, and if I’d fought back, I would have hurt you. I’d never allow that. I will never raise my hand to you in such a way, no matter the circumstance. When it comes to you, I’ll always choose you, no matter the consequences. The world can burn, and the realms can fall to destruction. If there is ever a choice between the two, I need you to know that neither the crown nor the throne means anything to me. None of it would matter without you. It’s always you. You are my priority. I may be a god, but you are the altar at which I worship.”
admission. I knew Samkiel loved me. I had known that far longer than I cared to admit. He’d shown me over and over, but when he spoke it… Poets would break their wrists, trying to transcribe the words he gave to me.
me. “Are you not happy?” “No, I am.” I smiled. “I swear, but I want everyone back, not lost to themselves and being abused because of some spell my father created. I want our home and the city you’ve made safe. After everything, I want peace for us. What if one day we decided we want a family, children?”
“I know we joked about it before, but I’d want that with you. A family, if you so wish it. Anything you want, Dianna, merely ask, and I’ll carve the universe into atoms to make it so.” I leaned up and slanted my lips across his. “Don’t get too excited. If we do this, it won’t be soon, but we can still do the fun practicing part.”
“Indeed, I will not be the last. What he is, what you are, they will never accept it, no matter what bright smile they plaster on their face or what words come out of their lying mouths. I feel sorrow for you, for him.”
“Find my broken palace, Ayla. Consume all that is left of me and learn the truth. Then and only then will you have the power to stop what I could not.”
sigh, “Yeah, maybe he was just confused about the timeline of events.” “Perhaps.” Dianna shrugged. “He also said you would destroy the world in his place because you love me, so there’s that.” I met her gaze and placed a kiss on her knee. “Maybe he’s not as dumb as I assumed.” “Samkiel.” She dragged my name out in reprimand. “Dianna.” I copied her in response. “You are about…” I paused, counting how long it had been since she crashed into my life. “A year and six months too late for that. I decided a long time ago I would rip the world apart for you, alive or dead. You only need to be
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“Roccurem was right about you two and the desperate love between you. They should have tried harder to keep the two of you apart. You really could not live without her, could you? The great and powerful Samkiel has fallen to a mere woman.” “Dianna is more than that to me, and you know it. You brought me back because of her. Now, do it again. Take my soul if you must, but bring her back.” “She is my favorite part of the universe,” Death said, his arrogant smirk never wavering. “Watch what you say,” I damn near growled. “Do you want to know why?” Death asked, fearlessly leaning hard on my blade.
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“You asked me what your purpose was for being back? Now you know a fraction of it. If you die, then your brother and the woman you love die with you. Permanently.” Death flashed a smile as Kaden’s throat bobbed. “And both you and I know that’s a fate worse than death to you.” Death turned back to me. “Take care of each other and find the medallion, or the next time we meet, I’ll drag your bride past the veil. Trust me, god king. I rule my kingdom, and you will never see her again.”
When he placed a kiss on my knee, I realized he wasn’t just trying to arouse me. He was worshiping me, every part of my body, as if touching it, kissing it, made it real. Oh, my love. How Death has wounded you.
“I don’t think I am meant to rule this world,” he said, his expression stark as some deep part of him seemed to accept the thought as truth. “I think that’s why they kept us apart, why they fought and manipulated for centuries to ensure our paths didn’t cross.” “What do you mean?” I asked, my brows furrowing in confusion. “Because when it comes down to it. You or the world? It will always be you. I have lived and died by my sword. None of it was worth it. You are. I will always choose you, and my enemies know it.”
against my cheek, “Now, he will be mine. Forever this time because Nismera gave me a very special gift.” She pulled back and snapped her fingers, holding out her hand expectantly. Ennis sank his teeth deep into the fruit, holding it there as he pulled a sheathed dagger from his armor and handed it to her. She gripped it, her wings rustling in excitement as she unsheathed it. The blade shimmered, the entire knife pulsing with magic.
Isaiah’s eyes flicked to Kaden, but he only stared at us. Dianna and I had showered before coming down here, but hateful male pride made me hope he could smell me all over her, my scent coating her flesh like a second skin. Gods, I hoped it made him sick.
“Not like that, but…” She shrugged. “Maybe I have been… aware of him this whole time. I knew something was off after the attack, and now it makes sense. I felt him when he came back like a tether snapped back into place, and I feel him now. He’s not lying, and he feels different.”
“It’s not funny.” “Oh, but it is,” she said. “Do you really think anyone has the power to take me from you? I like to stroke many things on you but not your ego, so trust me when I say there is no force as powerful in these realms or the next as you, my love.” The corner of my lips rose. “Oh, I do like that. Do it again.” She playfully popped my biceps. “No.” I only snorted before running my thumb under my lip. “How do you feel about solitary confinement? I’ll just hide you away and keep you all to myself.” Her brows rose with a playful smirk playing on her lips. “Planning to tie me up again?”
“But I will admit, I am more nervous as to why?” My head turned toward the door to the dungeon. “As am I. What makes Death so afraid that he not only resurrects Kaden, but ties them to you so I won’t kill them?” “I don’t know, and that worries me more than him being alive.”
“I love you.” She clasped my hand, running her thumb over my knuckles. “Don’t worry about me.” A weak snort left me. “Oh, akrai, you are far too late for that, my love. It’s practically my job now.”
Miska’s door crept open, and a beam of light streamed in. Samkiel leaned in the doorway and just looked at us for a long moment, his eyes softening with love.
“You’re going to shield yourself from her, block her out. Do you understand me?” Kaden’s teeth flashed, and I knew him well enough to know he was just like his brothers. He hated being told what to do. “I already did,” he snapped. “When she started screaming your name in that damn palace.” Samkiel smiled, pure male arrogance. “Good, at least you know who she belongs to.” Isaiah groaned behind us. “I’m going to be fucking sick.” Kaden tossed a look at Isaiah. “Don’t worry. I’ll teach you.” “Thank fuck,” Isaiah praised
“But I will be honest with you. Don’t underestimate Samkiel. As much as you and I hate him, he is volatile and unpredictable. There is a reason he was King of Rashearim for so long. Most beings would rather slit their throats than face him on a battlefield. Even Nismera has avoided fighting him herself because she knows it, too. When speaking of war with him, brute strength won’t cut it. He’d win.”
You will die one day, as I have, and I don’t want you to have any regrets. So, leave and do something with your life besides war, besides death, and besides me. Find someone who will mourn at your grave.”
“I already have to deal with every force in the realms trying to separate us. I’ll level this forest if it tries to take you from me.”
I’d wanted to suck his cock last night, knowing it would quell his rage from their fight, but he’d refused. Instead, he’d licked me until my mind was jelly. Apparently, eating me out helped his mood, and who was I to protest?
LMAOOOOO
“What if we just run away together?” I smiled at Samkiel as we lay on the floor. I loved the days we were able to spend a few more minutes locked in our room before facing what lay beyond our door.
“Deyanira?” I said. “That’s not my last name.” He reached out, curling a long strand of my hair around his finger. “Oh, but it is, and my gods, the power you hold.”
“Oh, I meant no insult. You smell of power, Ayla Deyanira. Pure raw power.” “That’s not my last name,” I gritted out. “It’s Martinez.” “Oh, but it is,” the man said, gesturing toward the massive ceiling above. “They whisper your name like a curse through these realms, Ayla. The babe that, against all odds, survived and returned. You were destined for such greatness that the gods themselves feared it. Celestial born, Ig’Morruthen turned.”
Dianna is not some simple consort or conquest to me, nor is she some vessel I can empty myself into when I feel the need and then not think of her again. She is everything to me, the very blood in my veins. Beings dream of paradise, of everlasting bliss when they eventually die and leave this life, but that’s what she is to me. I can’t imagine a world without her in it, and the thought that Kaden has dragged her into the one place I cannot step foot in makes me beyond volatile. I need to be by her side. Not for her protection, but for my own sanity.”
“Love means you would never bend to someone else’s will if it meant hurting the person you claim to care about, physical, emotional, or mental. It’s not an ultimatum or pain. You don’t hurt the ones you love. You protect them with everything you have, everything you are. Love is the unthinkable measures you’d go to for them, regardless of the consequences. If he truly loved her, as you say, he would have told Nismera to fuck off. He would have chosen her over orders, the world, and gods, probably even over you. I know because I would. So, hear me when I say, if she’s not returned to me within
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I fell to my knees and scrabbled for my wedding band. Regardless of the weapons the others produced, that one was my most sacred.
Rulers do not bow to rulers, kings to kings. You, Dianna, are queen of not only Rashearim, but soon these realms, too. You bow to no one, understood?”
My reputation may be prestigious where Rashearim used to stand, but I am a thing of nightmares to them.” “Not all monsters,” I said. “To me, you are a dream.” “And you are mine.”
“All I smell is hate when she looks at you. So, answer me this, Ayla. Who is the lucky suitor you would turn down a prince for?” I leaned to the side, past the barrier Kaden had made with his body, and raised my hand well above me. “Oh, he’s about six foot seven, has gorgeous eyes, an amazing body, and likes to end worlds.” I felt Samkiel laugh down the bond. “I love you.”
“Say the word, akrai, and I rip the ground apart to get to you.” “Stop flirting with me,” I sent back. “I can’t be turned on when I’m heading into probable doom.”
