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

by Amber V. Nicole

“Did you like his story?” she asked. “The dutiful father confessing, seeking redemption for past sins.” “It was you. All of it was you, wasn’t it? You lied, planting the seeds of doubt and fear in him for his own sons.” Nismera shrugged. “Pretty much, but to be fair, it wouldn’t have worked so well had the thoughts not already been there for me to twist.” She playfully spun the spear, snapping her teeth at her father. She was beyond psychotic. “Why?” I asked. “Why all of this?” Nismera smiled, but Unir cut her off. “She was made wrong.”

“It was my fault.” Unir’s face softened as he looked at Nismera. “She was not made with an ounce of love. She was made with power, conceived to be a weapon.” Nismera’s grip tightened on her spear, the veins on her hand swelling. “And for that, I am truly sorry,” Unir said, his voice soaked with regret. “That is, and will always be, my biggest regret. That’s why I came back.”

“I played along, pretending to care, to change, to be what you and she wanted, and then I poisoned her. Every night, every day. Her handmaidens were always giving her stuff to help her body support the growth of that godling. She helped, too. She grew orneliamus in her garden, making it oh-so-easily accessible. All it took was just a small amount, not too traceable. Yet he’s still here, causing me problems. It wasn’t until Samkiel was born that I realized, even then, he was disrupting my plans, healing her from the inside out. But thankfully, after he was born, she could finally die.” Nismera smiled and rolled her eyes as if she hadn’t just admitted to killing Unir’s heart. She ran a single nail along his prison. “Does it hurt to know the daughter you made took your only love from you?”

“You want to hear the saddest part of the story? Fate saw a small babe who could alter the world. His sisters whispered that the change must happen alone. He must watch, but never intervene. However, fate fell in love, as a father would love a child. He watched her grow, watched her fall, and when chaos was not looking, he helped pick her back up. Fate defied orders, and a god heard of it, took him to a safer location so none could find him. It wasn’t until that babe, now a woman, ventured to him that fate knew. She took him, made him flesh, but that’s not all. Fate loved her so much that he grew a mortal heart.” Nismera tsked as my eyes burned, filling with tears. “Love is a curse, Ayla, and you are its wielder.”

“She is right,” he said. “After I saved you, my visions ceased, and my body felt different. I’ve known for a while now, but it wasn’t until Gathrriel took you that my heart started beating out of fear for you. I pledged my loyalty and love to you long before we ever met, and loving you was the greatest gift of my existence. There is nothing I would change, and I don’t want you to be anything other than what you are. I know what you will be, Dianna, and it is glorious. Please know, no matter what happens, I would do it all again.”

Reggie was like a father to me. He’d shared in the absolute worst time of my life, but he had celebrated the best as well. He’d walked me down the aisle, toward the man who was my everything, witnessing our marriage proudly.

Rolling onto my hands and knees, I crawled to the circle and knelt beside it. With trembling hands, I gathered the ashes with my palms, scraping across the stone. Some unthinking part of me believed that if I brought them back together, I could make him whole once more.

Another person whose only mistake was loving and caring about me. Was this all I was good for?

“You have already given too much, and he’d never forgive me for hurting his little girl.”

She had not won, and she had no idea who I was and what I was capable of. She would never break me, but I would destroy her.

“What is a forsaken blade from?” I asked Kaden. He tossed a glance over his shoulder as I toyed with the serrated blade in my hand. “Ig’Morruthen bone.”

My heart stuttered, everything in me reaching for the woman I had been searching for my whole life. She lay in the center of the cage, her body beaten and bloodied as people pointed and laughed, on display to everyone.

She was not a monster. She was a dream, and I’d be a nightmare for her. Why can’t they see her like I do? Why can’t they love her like I do?

“Kneel, traitor queen,” she demanded. “Kneel before the rightful heir.” “I do, and you are not him.”

“How did you get a forsaken blade?” he asked. “I made it,” I said. “In that dungeon. It’s my arm. I would not let Reggie’s death be in vain. She took him in front of me, so I say an eye for an eye.” He stared at me, and I could see the emotions warring within him. There was anger that I would have to resort to hurting myself to survive, but there was also extreme pride. “Gods, I love you.”

was fighting the reason I didn’t get to grow up with my family, the reason Samkiel and I were separated for so long. She was the traitorous bitch who had poisoned his mom, turned brothers against brothers, and forced the world for her will since the moment she took her first breath. This wasn’t just a fight between rulers. This would be retribution for all she’d taken.

“Baby, you’re bleeding,” I said, my hand touching where he held his side. He groaned as he forced a half smile. “Sometimes that happens when you fight with swords.” “Ass.”

His sword clattered to the floor. Heat pierced my back, and I saw his mouth shape a word. I thought it might have been no. Fool. He was a fool to think I’d let something happen to him.

I sent him one final thought, hoping it would be enough to keep him from ending the world. “Remember, I love you.” And I hope he did.

The ground shuddered and tore, the vicious tornadoes ripping at the planet. Those far too old to run held each other as Oblivion ate them. Others tried to run, holding the hands of those they cherished the most, but how could they outrun annihilation?

I’d been wrong. Death hadn’t come for just one of us. He had come for us all.

Isaiah gave me a small, sad smile as the world descended into madness. “I know,” I said as his skin cracked, the fractures burning brightly. His form crumbled to ashes, and mine followed, the sensation now almost familiar.

I had not realized I had moved, had knelt, until my fingers were covered in her ashes. My hands cupped her remains, and they coated my skin a deathly shade of gray. All that was left of my love fit in my palms.

She had taken my reasons, every one of them.

“I need you, too!” Cameron yelled into my face, the rumbling of the violent sky adding power to his words. Something in me broke, and I went limp, sinking into the mud as rain splattered all around us. We stared at each other, both of us panting. “Let me die,” I said, my voice cracking and my chest heaving.

No. I wasn’t with Samkiel because I was on Onuna. I heard a key fit into the lock, and the front door opened. “Yeah, let me call you back.” I turned and forgot how to breathe as Gabby walked in,

What is happening

Fuck. I didn’t need the calendar on the fridge to tell me what I already knew. I wasn’t in Asteraoth. I was somehow in the fucking past.

Kaden and Isaiah stepped into the room. They were covered in blood and dirt, scraps of brightly colored clothing hanging from the spikes and sharp edges of their battle armor. It looked as if they might have ported in Gabby’s closet.