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

by Amber V. Nicole

You bow to no one, understood?” Pride filled my chest at his words, both his and mine. “I wasn’t planning on it. You know I only get on my knees for you.”

“Say the word, akrai, and I rip the ground apart to get to you.” “Stop flirting with me,”

“You know, you speak highly of yourself for one who controls fucking insects,” Isaiah snapped, shocking all of us so much it snapped Samkiel out of that killing calm. Was Isaiah rallying in my defense or just picking a side in the battle?

Bc he bonded with Sami <3

I don’t know why they want it, and I don’t care, but Nismera cannot get it.

That’s their goal too. Literally could’ve asked

Vincent slammed to a stop, and I collided with his back. “Fuck,” he said, and I looked past him, expecting to see Samkiel or Dianna, but it was so much worse. A loud vibration made the bridge shake as the five massive warships came to a stop above the city.

It’s like a whole ex reunion

“So, she is the one you were so desperate to save, huh? Really? This is her?” “Yes,” Samkiel said. “Not that pretty and far too lean. My sister is prettier and at least she has breasts,” Ennis said with a frown. My lip curled. “Ew. Sounds like you want to fuck your sister.” Ennis snarled at me. “You know, I wondered about that, too,” Samkiel quipped.

Ew

Kaden looked at me and shrugged. “If I have to choose between the world and my brother, it will be you.”

Isaiah

I sat up, carefully cradling her limp form on my lap. One side of her body was burned from her scalp to her toes. My hand shook as it hovered over her head and the small clumps of hair that remained. I looked over the burned parts of her body and the clothes that barely clung to her form, trying to find some way to touch her without causing her more damage. Her body was already healing, but I didn’t want to cause her more pain. I had done enough of that to last both of our lifetimes ten times over.

You’re about to fly into her elite armada with, I don’t know, a thousand or more warships that have the capability of obliterating all of us. You have no idea of the heavy artillery she has.” “Yup.” I tossed him a bright smile. “You can all come and watch, or stay here thinking of plans that won’t work. I don’t care.” “Of course you don’t because you’re blinded by love. Am I right? Magical, perfect love that defies all odds. Love will not save you. It makes you irrational, stupid, and above all, easy to manipulate,” Kaden hissed.

“I wielded Gabby like a weapon, and you followed like a starving mutt.

Wow same mind

I didn’t know how to protect our people. I could fight, spit words that reduced people to shreds, and I was really good at destroying things. Fuck, I could wield fire and change shape, but I wasn’t sure how to build and nurture. At my core, I was simple and without subtlety, nothing more than a berserker, and never more so than when he was threatened.

“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 had never heard him speak so highly of me, yet… I was no fool. “And this benefits you how?” I said with a scowl, not believing him for a second. No hate marred his face. Actually, it was quite the opposite. He watched me as if I were the one who had tossed hateful words at him and not the contrary. “What is it you want out of this? We both know you don’t do anything without gaining something in return. So, if this is your master plan, what do you gain?” Kaden didn’t hesitate as he said, “You alive.”

She stopped in front of me and ran her fingertips along my shoulder. She squealed and yanked her hand back, clutching her fingers against her chest. Her eyes narrowed, and she glared at the collar around my neck. The small amount of electricity I’d used to shock her wasn’t even enough to activate it. “How?” she demanded. “The collar dampens my power, but it doesn’t tame it. You cannot bind me, Milani.” My jaw clenched. “Dianna owns my heart and my cock. You can have neither, and if you attempt to touch me again, I’ll stop worrying about a peace treaty with you. Now, get dressed. You’re insulting me and embarrassing yourself.”

I had no doubt that Dianna would find me. My only concern was how and when she would arrive. She was beyond intelligent and crafty. I just hoped she didn’t set the stars on fire to announce her arrival because no matter how strong my akrai was, I had given Milani information that had made her artillery damn near unstoppable.

So your plan is to work together with your psycho ex who abducted you?

Yall are doing that with Kaden

my Dianna,

“I love you.” I pulled back, my lips only a breath from hers. “Only you. Until there is nothing left of me, and even then, my soul will still know yours.” Her body relaxed against mine, and I tasted her relief as if this was what she’d needed from me. It was such a simple and easy thing, and I was privileged to be the one to provide it to her.

See men? It isn’t hard

I pity you both. I’d hate to die alone like that with no one around you who’d truly care because you have given them no reason to. What a waste,” I said, crossing my arms. “I may be Ig’Morruthen like you, but I would never choose to be the monster.”

Damn

Milani had sent word that she finally wanted to talk about peace. I just hoped that it wasn’t another ploy to manipulate me into her bed.

🚩

“I wanted you for so long after I met you, and then I had you for such a brief time. We could rule the skies together. Your storms and my ships. None could stop us. This is how it should be, Kiely. It’s destiny.” “It is not.” She leaned against me. “It is. I can see it, and you will, too.” “What is that supposed to mean?” The only answer I received was pain in my gut, sharp and blinding. I looked down, surprised to see the dagger she had driven into my body. The hilt shimmered, and I realized what she had and where she’d gotten it. “Nismera gave me a present,” she said. Milani twisted the dagger as if that would help the magic seep faster into my blood, and perhaps it did. My vision blurred as a deep, aching pain sliced through my head. She leaned forward as the poison continued to leach into my body. “You will love only me, want only me. For eternity.” My mind grew fuzzy, but I heard her whispered chant. She repeated it over and over as if she hoped that speaking the words at the right time would enslave me to her. Nismera had not just given her a present. She had given her the memory dagger Kaden had made to steal Dianna from me. Milani pulled back, taking the dagger with her. The hilt no longer shimmered or glowed, all the magic now inside me. Ennis chuckled behind us as the room grew dark. The last thing I saw was her cruel smile before something cold and malevolent slithered through me, searching for the one thing I cherished most. My memories of Dianna.

FUCK

“It’s Dianna, actually.” I smiled back. “Or, please don’t burn me alive, depending on who you ask.”

“It’s called deception, or a smaller word for you, lying.”

“Tell me, Milani. Are you or your brother fireproof?” She swallowed, sweat forming on her forehead. “Because I am.” I lifted my hand, and with a snap of my fingers, a flame erupted on the tip. And the room exploded.

Yesssssss!!!

The rightful queen had returned to these realms and, with her reign, they would either kneel or they would burn.

I’d love her until my bones were ash. When my soul left this realm, and if Death was so kind as to allow us to start over, I’d find her in every life after and love her still.

Oh Sami 😍😍😍

it felt like icy liquid sliding through my body and coating my mind, intent on erasing every single thought I had. The magic sought to replace who I am with what magic lived in that dagger, but it didn’t work because you are more than memories, akrai. You are more than flesh and blood to me. You have imprinted on my very soul. My heart beats for you. I breathe for you, and there is no force, no magic in this world that could erase you from me.

Eye roll

If anyone disrespected her, they disrespected me, meaning they would be met with the consequences if they abused their power. I was the consequences.

Kaden’s red-rimmed eyes glared at me for a second before I launched myself at him. We landed in a huff, and he growled when my fist connected with his face. “What are you doing? We’re on the same side, you idiot!” he snarled up at me, trying to avoid my fists. “Teaching you a lesson about how you speak to my wife.” I reared back, straddling him. He struggled against my hold and opened his mouth, no doubt to spew some kind of vitriol at me. Not giving him the chance, I gripped his jaw and held it open. I grabbed his tongue and ripped.

Omg 👅

“I know she is yours,” he said finally. “I know that. Everyone does. It was written in the fucking stars. I just thought I could defy them. I can’t, and I don’t want to anymore. You win, Samkiel.” He said the word not as a curse but with resignation. “Is that what you need to hear? I will not try to take her from you any longer. That part of me died, too.”

Milani and Ennis are in the infirmary. If they wake up from their comas, their burns will take time to heal.”

Knew they weren’t dead

Nydmjir had been a coward, wanting what Unir offered. He’d convinced the remaining Primordials and gods to work together, even though he could have challenged the stars with the medallion. Pathetic. So it had made the most sense to get rid of him and claim it as my own. He never saw the godly knife I’d plunged into his heart after I’d tricked him into bed with me. It had been a simple thing to frame another for his death, making war a reality again.

“Apologies for being late,” Blayne said. He was the third strongest of the gods after Athos and Kryella, my advisor, confidant, and lover.

!!!!!!!

And he loved me.

I’m scared for Camila - does he really love her?

“I think I died on that mountain fighting Dianna. At least for a little while, and all I saw, all I thought about, was getting back to you. I don’t really know how mating bonds work. I’ve only ever been enslaved to a goddess, but I think if I were allowed to have one, it would be you.”

"She's not sleeping with you," Samkiel said. "End of discussion." "She's slept with me before." "What?!" Samkiel snapped, and I thought he was going to pop a blood vessel. I knew he could destroy the kitchen with the power I felt emanating from him at Isaiah's poor choice of words. Not a single part of me felt jealous of how proudly Samkiel stood up for and protected Imogen. I knew the old version of myself would have. The version of me that was beyond broken and hurt, but so much had changed, and I had his back on this. The thought of Milani touching him had made me crazy, but I knew that despite their past, what had been between Imogen and Samkiel had long since past. Imogen was family, and I'd do anything for the family he had given me. My life for theirs would never be a question. Plus, Samkiel had whimpered my name this morning before he'd spilled down my throat, so that could also be why I was feeling more than a little secure at the moment.

That could do it

Miska's thirteen.

I thought she was 11-12

“I already pledged my allegiance, but it is not to Samkiel. It is to his queen. Her, I will follow. Her, I will fight for.”

Oooooo

“Her, I owe a life debt to.”

HOW DO WE KNOW HER

I sat up, and his gaze dipped to my breasts. “If you’re about to argue with me, I have already lost, and you can have anything you wish.” I laughed. “That’s all it takes? Me being topless?” He looked as if I were insane and nodded. “I am but a weak man for you, akrai.” “Good to know,” I said with a smile, leaning forward and reaching for my top. He reached out to stop me. “No, please continue. I’ll pay attention.”

thunder split the air, and we both looked up, knowing it wasn’t the weather but the clap of Ig’Morruthen wings. Samkiel snapped his fingers, and not only was my bikini top back on, but he’d also added a bathing suit cover.

Jealous man lol

I had kept it short against my scalp for a while now. Imogen once said that hair can also hold memories, which was why the old gods wore theirs so long. It was to remember the battles they’d fought and honor those who had fallen. I wanted to remember nothing.

</3

“You’re a fool, Athos, and you have been since Unir’s reign. I never understood how you and Kryella could look at a boy with that power and the name World Ender and think he would be a paragon of peace.”

Oooo she’s good

Kaden waited with his arms folded as he regarded me. “Let me guess. You’ve come to scold me for what I said, considering you haven’t spoken to me since.” Gods, was he keeping track? I shook my head. “No, I⁠—” “Listen, your husband,” he said the word like a curse, “already did. Might I add how inconvenient it is to regrow a tongue?” “Can you let me get a word out before you assume? Gods, you always—” I stopped, curling my lips around my teeth. I stared at him, and it took a second for me to realize he was talking about the fight we’d had before we left to rescue Samkiel. He hadn’t told me he had confronted Kaden about what he had said, but a part of me was completely unsurprised. I shook my head and stepped forward, stopping two chairs away from him. “Yes, and no. I’m not here to scold you. I said something kind of bitchy, too. To hurt you, actually,” I said. Kaden’s brows furrowed as if he were surprised that I would admit to purposely causing him pain. Kaden grunted and kicked his long legs out, folding one ankle over the other. “What is this?” he asked, the muscles under his long-sleeved shirt bunching. “Samkiel thinks we have a connection,” I said. Kaden all but rolled his eyes as he folded his arms across his chest. “Great, your boy toy is jealous. As if I couldn’t tell. He can just⁠—” “And he’s right,” I cut in. The air was sucked from the room, and I was reminded once again that he, too, was a son of Unir. Shock suffused his face, and the emotions that followed were ...

What was the point in this scene?

Samkiel sighed deeply, checking me from head to toe. “I really wanted to be bait.” I poked his abs playfully. “Too much muscle. You’d be tough to chew.”

lol

We spun and watched the runes light up one by one as the creature’s blood filled the deep grooves. With a hiss, a wall opened in the rock face behind us, revealing a dark cavern.

It was the protector

a tiny little girl with silver hair.

?!??

His lips had barely touched mine before I jerked back, my hand snapping up to wrap around his throat. “You’re not my husband.” “Nope.” He grinned, unconcerned with my grip on his throat. Then his storm gray eyes bled to red, and he slapped my hand away. I felt the slice of a blade rip through my lower abdomen. Blood rose in my throat, soaking my mouth with the taste as he twisted the dagger. Kaden? Had he betrayed us? No. I recognized the eyes now. I had looked into them at one of the worst moments of my life. Samkiel’s form shifted and twisted, losing its bulk and height. Long silver locks replaced his dark hair. Nismera.

Oh no!

MERE MOMENTS EARLIER

Idk why this wording is making me chuckle

I knew she hadn’t only taken Dianna. They had also taken Reggie. I had lost them both.

How you know?

"The Otherworld will come to your aid, anywhere, anytime, as long as you swear he shall watch her die." His eyes turned toward me. "Violently."

Coming back after reading the next page: they might mean Reggie’s, not Samkiel