I smiled brightly. Samkiel sent a kiss across the bond, and I swore that I felt it against my soul.
“Goodnight, akrai,” he said before turning and gently closing the door behind him.
46
DIANNA
Iwas glad we hadn’t brought Cameron and Reggie along. I loved them dearly, but the fights that would have ensued with them all here would have been too much. Just getting here had been a challenge. The brothers had squabbled the entire way until I’d finally lost my patience and yelled at them all. Plus, I breathed easier knowing Miska was back home with them, and they were safe and sound. Our city at home was intact and thriving, unlike the ghost town we currently stood in. Empty shops lined the trash-filled streets, many with shattered windows and broken doors. I took a deep breath, practically able to hear the screams that had torn through this place. It was not an Otherworld creature that had done this, but something much worse.
My hand fisted in the banners that flew at the gates. Nismera had left them, letting all who passed know she had been here. She’d culled the town for their misdeeds, an example to any who dared defy her. I knew the outcome of our visit, even if Samkiel refused to believe it.
He led us down an alleyway, the smell of trash gathering in the corners. Not even vermin ran between our boots. When we reached the bottom step, I saw why. She hadn’t just broken the door down, she’d obliterated the whole fucking wall. The gaping hole was large enough that we didn’t even have to duck to enter.
“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. To say that his presence was grating on me was an understatement. It was more than annoying having him around, but even worse was having to see Kaden every day.
Samkiel was quiet as he moved through the damaged brothel. I followed him, keeping close as he moved deeper inside as if something pulled at him. I knew he hadn’t expected what we’d found here, and now I was preparing for the worst.
We stopped at a wall that looked like it might have once hidden a passageway and what remained of an elevator. Samkiel didn’t even hesitate at the edge of the shaft. He jumped and landed in a deep crouch. I came down right behind him, Kaden and Isaiah following. Dust floated into the air with the force of our landing, all of us cautiously surveying the destruction.
Samkiel’s breath shuddered as he rose to his full height and walked further into the room. “Killium?” he called, stepping over the debris. “Jaski?”
Silently, I followed behind him. Gadgets and trinkets were broken, their pieces strewn about. She had ransacked this place.
“Maybe she took them?” I said, stopping in the middle of the room and looking up at the map carved into the ceiling. The orbs hanging from it resembled planets, and the lines connecting them could have represented trade routes. I turned to ask Samkiel what it all was, but stopped when I saw him kneeling behind the cracked workbench. Carefully, I picked my way through the rubble to his side. He was crouched over a heap of what looked like dust, but when I stepped closer, I saw it was dark ashes. A choked sob left his throat, and he ran his hand over his mouth. I leaned against his back, squeezing his shoulder.
“Can we leave now that you know your friend is a pile of ash?” Isaiah called from behind us.
I spun, fury surging through me that he would make this harder for Samkiel. Isaiah leaned against a destroyed counter with his hands in his pockets, Kaden by his side, neither showing any remorse or compassion.
Lights crackled as Samkiel rose in and advanced on them in one easy motion. I thought I was fast, but I wasn’t fast enough to stop him from lifting Isaiah by his neck and snarling into his face. “Is this funny to you?”
Isaiah’s eyes didn’t even bulge from the pressure, but being the arrogant and cocky bastard he was, he only smiled like a fool and said, “Actually, yeah.”
Kaden and I moved simultaneously to flank Samkiel. We were both intent on protecting Isaiah, but our motivations were very different. I placed a hand on Samkiel’s forearm, trying to keep him from permanently turning Isaiah into a pile of ash that matched what was left of Killium.
“Samkiel,” I said, and his eyes flicked to mine. “Connected, remember? Put him down before your temper makes you summon Oblivion.”
Like a switch flipped, he dropped him. Isaiah landed on his feet and adjusted the lapels of his jacket.
“Did you help do this?” Samkiel asked them both, but only Kaden answered.
“No,” Kaden said. His eyes flicked to mine, and I wish they hadn’t. “We were preoccupied.”
“Sami, look at the ashes. They are the same as yours,” I said, keeping my hand on Samkiel’s arm, helping him maintain a permanent leash on his temper. I tugged at him, gently turning him back toward the remains of his friend.
He reluctantly looked away from his brothers and truly looked at the ashes. “She has Oblivion,” he said as if he had not noticed before.
“Had,” Kaden said, and we looked back at him. “She tried to use that ring of yours. It worked once and dissolved. We all know why now.”
“What does he mean?” I asked, looking between them.
“Didn’t tell her yet?” Kaden’s brows lifted slightly.
“Tell me what?”
Samkiel shook his head, looking down at me. “We’ve had far more important things to worry about.”
