Slapping him on the shoulder, I shot him a quick grin, and we split at the next corridor.
I strode along the corridor, slowing nearly imperceptibly before the doors that broke up the smooth wall to my right, the one on my left made of seamless metal. Nothing pulled or tugged at me. I didn’t know why I thought it would. We had no true connection, but I kept going, checking every room. We had entered through the lowest section of the ship when we’d snuck onboard, which seemed to house the bridge, control centers, sleeping corridors, and weapons rooms. I stopped at a large gold and white door and entered, but all I found were adrueth soldiers sitting before screens and panels of flashing lights, working to keep the massive warship in the air. They looked up as I entered, but nobody looked alarmed or said anything. She wasn’t in any of them.
Where the fuck was she?
I stood in the hall and closed my eyes. Taking a deep breath, I focused on her and tried to get a hold of the near panic ripping through me. Usually, I had no problem compartmentalizing my emotions, but not with her. I didn’t know what I felt for her, but I knew I had no control over it. I inhaled deeply again and unclenched my fists. I tried to reach that nameless voice again to see if it would whisper or scream. I just needed to focus. My mind drifted, images of her at Nismera’s palace, blonde hair pulled back too tightly, eyes the color of sea foam and lilac. As my mind calmed, lightning struck my soul, and a faint tug pulled at me. My eyes flew open, and my head snapped back, my feet moving of their own volition.
Above!That nameless voice screamed.Above!
I should have had more tact. Maybe I should have been smart and conniving, like Kaden or Dianna, but that wasn’t in my nature. I was more commonly described as impulsive, and that was one thing that would never change. I ran down the hall, my eyes glued to the ceiling. The wings on my back were causing too much drag, and I instinctively shifted back to my mortal form, allowing me to move as fast as I needed. Not shifting my eyes from above, I suddenly crashed to a stop and crouched. With a powerful push, I launched myself into the air, bursting through the ceiling and into the room above. Broken wires sent sparks flying all around me as I landed. Several people cursed behind me, but I didn’t turn, unable to take my gaze from her.
She looked like a living dream. Her hair was how I’d left it, pulled back from her face, but I’d never made it so cruelly tight. Anger made my jaw clench. I knew the female soldiers liked to mess with her. Did they not know she’d get headaches that way? Of course, they knew. They just didn’t care. She stood with her back straight and her arms at her sides, her ocean-blue eyes staring at me. It was probably because I had hit my head coming through the floor, but for a split second, I thought I saw her blink and her lips flicker in an attempt to smile. As quickly as it happened, reality set in, and three guards rushed me.
They came at me with their weapons raised, but I didn’t care. I had found my gravity once more at the sight of her, and nothing else mattered. With a flick of my hand, the room exploded in blood and gore, painting the floor between us in red. Desperate to get to her, I stalked through the carnage and cupped her face, wiping away the tiny red splotches marring the perfection of her skin.
“There you are,” I said, even though I knew she could not hear me. Smiling, I shifted to her side and wrapped my arm around her back. Once I was ready, I spoke the words to make her relax, the same ones used to put them to sleep. Her body slumped, and I caught her, lifting her against my chest. I spun, Imogen limp in my arms.
A siren blared, and more guards roared their way into the room. I curled around her, shielding her with my body and my thick armor. The adrueth soldiers rushing at my back stopped as, one by one, their heads burst and their bodies fell. Blood sprayed, coating my back, but not a single drop hit Imogen.
“Did they hurt you?” I whispered as the ship began to tilt.
Of course, she didn’t answer, yet her lashes fluttered against her cheeks as if her body were trying to respond despite her inability to speak. I sighed, knowing I was probably imagining shit again. She had no free rein, and no matter how much I loved Kaden, I hated him for what he had done to her. I knew it was wrong and impossible, but I couldn’t deny how my body and heart ached for her.
“No one will hurt you ever again,” I told her as I headed for the door. “I swear it.”
Another loud boom shook the air, and I glanced out the window. Below, some of the ships were rising while soldiers boarded the ones on the ground, preparing to evacuate. They would only be leaving if they had completed their mission. They must have procured the medallion and had likely killed the witch in the process. But now that I had Imogen back in my arms, I just did not care.
58
KADEN
“Now.” Isaiah’s voice flooded my head.
Isaiah had found her, that crazy bastard. The neck I squeezed in the crook of my elbow snapped, and the soldier went limp. He had caught me trying to check out one of the comm rooms. I grabbed what papers and data chips I could, stuffing them beneath my armor before charging toward the nearest window. My body lengthened, and scales rolled over my new form, wings exploding from where my arms had been as I ripped a hole in the ship and shot skywards. A loud alarm shook the air, spurring me on as I chased after my brother’s retreating form.
The streets of Goldpass, so busy before, now sat empty. Isaiah transformed back into his mortal form as we landed in the town square, Imogen’s limp body cradled protectively in his arms. He pulled her tighter against his chest and looked at me as I shifted back.
“Thank you.”
“Yeah, yeah, stop fucking saying and thinking it. I—”
Another siren blared, adding to the cacophony that assaulted my ears. I watched as the adrueth soldiers took to the air, winging toward a ship hovering low over the river. A figure wearing shining silver armor was caught in a beam of bright light, his head thrown back and his arms spread out to his sides, clearly unconscious as he was pulled toward the ship.
They were taking Samkiel.
Fuck. Whatever battle we had missed had gone so horribly wrong that even Samkiel was taken. Fear raced like blood in my veins. Dianna was never too far from him, which meant … I searched the remaining soldiers as they hurried onto the ship, looking for Dianna. Was she already on board? There was no way she would have just let them take him. I started forward as the doors closed and the ship lifted into the air, determined to go after her.
A roar of hatred and rage so intense it bordered on wrath made me flinch. Heavy wing beats heralded Dianna taking to the sky.
“Fool,” I hissed.
Gods dammit. She had no idea the firepower Milani had. I watched as she charged after the ship like an idiot. Who would have thought she had it in her to be such a fool in love? As I began to transform, I wondered if there had ever been a time when she would have fought for me like this. Had I done things differently, could she have loved me like this? Was this what I killed before it ever had a chance to be? I crouched, preparing to go after her and stop her, but it was too late.
A cannon emerged from the back of the ship, and I watched in frozen horror as it rotated, opening its power reservoir and firing. Energy crackled from the burst meant to shred her to tiny burning bits. Dianna spun and tucked her wings tightly against her body, avoiding the blast. If she weren’t so stupid, I would have been impressed. Another gun fired, and learning her tricks, this time, when she dodged, she flew into a wall of flames.
Her screech pierced my cold, dead heart, and I ran toward her falling form, momentarily forgetting that I had wings. She spun, her side sizzling as she fell through the open air. My Ig’Morruthen raged to protect her and took over, crouching and launching me like a spear. I was airborne within seconds, but it was almost too late. My wings curved around her moments before we hit the ground. I took the brunt of the fall, the street bending under my body. Pain settled into my bones as we came to a skidding stop. I groaned and huffed as we both returned to our mortal forms.
It had been years since I last held Dianna in my arms, and an old familiar feeling stirred in my chest. If I were being honest with myself, I had loved her for a thousand years and would love her far longer. I had attacked it so many times, feeding on Tobias’s and Alistair’s derision and repudiation of Dianna and her place in my life. I allowed their words, Nismera’s orders, and my own weakness to maul it and attempt to destroy her. My efforts were successful, but whatever salvageable parts remained within me were destroyed in the process.
