He swallowed, lowering his gaze. “The reason he turned on them was because they turned on him first. Those in his circle both feared and coveted his power, and so they plotted to remove him. The only way to weaken Kahssiel was to kill his True Bonded Mate.” Dyna sucked in a soft breath. “Now another seeks to do the same to me…”
Dyna fell quiet for a long pause. “You left me to prevent that?”
He met her wide eyes. “In my mind, if the Realms thought you were dead, no other assassin would come after you. But now they know you survived, and wherever you go, death will follow. For he will never stop.”
Her chest heaved with a breath. “You speak of Lord Raziel.”
It was his turn to be surprised that she knew.
“Zekiel confirmed it before he tossed me in the pond.” Dyna’s lips thinned. “What did you do to him?”
Cassiel felt his blood heat with his fire at the reminder of the Celestial who nearly took her life. “I tore out his heart.”
She went still, and her throat bobbed. “Why?”
“Whoever dares lay a finger on you revokes their life. I will spareno one.” His reply came out as a growl, as if the very thought of anyone hurting her awoke the entity of flame that lived inside of him.
A breath shuddered on Dyna’s lips as she stared at him. The blue glow of his eyes reflected on her pale face, and she glanced down at where the grass smoked beneath his burning fists. Raindrops hissed as they landed on his skin. Cassiel forced himself to take a breath to calm himself.
“Was that the reason you destroyed Skath?” she whispered.
It was a weighted question that extinguished his ire and left behind the ashes of shame.
Cassiel searched for the right words, but there were none. “When I left Skelling Rise, my only thought was vengeance. I pursued the Vanguard into the north, set on finishing the fight they started. I thought if I eradicated them, I’d feel gratified … but I didn’t.” He dug his fingers through the scorched grass into the earth, and it crumbled around his hand. “I was the last one standing in the Realm I razed, and I felt worse than when this all began. I felt … empty.”
Skath Celestials were warriors. Even those not in the Vanguard had joined in the battle. They fought valiantly for their lives. If he had been anyone else, they might have won, but against his power, they never stood a chance.
“I didn’t pursue the survivors. There was no justification in hunting down females and children. I had taken so many lives at that point, the thought of taking innocent ones…” Cassiel’s stomach churned.
He almost said it would damn him, but he already was. His people viewed him as a thing that shouldn’t exist, and they may be right.
Silence lingered between them as she looked at him. “How did you learn of Lord Raziel?”
Cassiel had known who his enemy was ever since he regained the memories of his past life. He played with a petal of flame, weaving it around his fingers. “Lord Hallel confessed before the end.”
“Then why go after Lord Gadriel next?”
“I intend to save the Lord of Edym for last. For the best way to alienate an enemy is by removing his supporters.”
One by one.
Dyna’s mouth pursed with disapproval. “And that included destroying another Realm?”
“That was not my intention. I only came for those who took part in the coup.”
“Yet if I had not arrived, you would have demolished Nazar.”
Cassiel didn’t argue, because she was right. In his rage, he had lost himself to his Seraph fire, and Kahssiel’s wrath had arrived with it.
“Your people fear you for your abilities, and you have done nothing but prove them right. This cannot be the way your father wanted you to rule. What would he say about this?”
Cassiel pressed on the tension pinching his temples. “I doubt he would come to me with any complaints.”
“Don’t be morbid.”
He frowned at her aghast expression. “I’m not.”
She shook her head. “Cassiel, the Realms may no longer concern me, but?—”
