“It’s not important right now,” Kaden said. “It will just distract you, and I’d rather not have you react without thinking, bent on blind rage, and end up turning us all into dust.”
“Tell me,” I snarled.
“We should focus on the medallion,” Kaden replied.
My fingers flexed on my hips. “Okay, first, let’s not pretend you suddenly care about the greater good. Two, tell me now and I won’t have to beat the shit out of you and lock you back in the dungeon.”
Quiet settled over the study, and the sun shone a fraction brighter as it rose higher into the sky. Isaiah sighed, shooting Kaden a questioning look, but Kaden ignored him. I looked at Reggie, but he was watching Kaden and Isaiah with barely concealed contempt. Cameron seemed to have enjoyed the banter between us, but I think he just liked the idea of them doing something that would make me beat both of their asses.
“Kaden, I am just going to tell her. She is going to find out at some point, anyway,” Isaiah said.
“You guys are giving me a headache. Just say it,” I practically begged.
Kaden sighed in frustration, folding one arm across the other, the long-sleeved shirt he wore tightening around his forearms. “Look, I doubt he’s in any real danger for the time being. She’ll probably want as much time with him as she can get since sending him to Nismera is a death sentence. The woman who owns and commands Nismera’s armada is the Queen of the Southern Realms and your dear husband’s ex. He is the reason she rules her territory. All the weapons she has are because he showed her how to make them. Our poor excuse of a father begged Samkiel to negotiate a peace treaty between the two realms, and he did. A treaty he secured with his cock.” His eyes passed over me once. “Like most things.”
I blinked, ignoring how his eyes roamed over me at the last part, but I waited. No one else said anything, all eyes on me as if they were waiting for me to combust into flames.
“Okay.” I dragged the word out. “So what? He told me that,” I said, looking back and forth between the two of them. “Is that supposed to be the big secret?”
They both stared at me as if communication was a skill they lacked. Knowing Kaden, I knew that was true, but Samkiel was not like that with me, and I was learning not to be like that with him.
I tossed up my hands. “Well, I doubt she’s trying to get him naked and seduce him.”
No one spoke, and even Cameron and Reggie avoided my eyes. Rage filled me at the thought of someone else touching him, but I pushed it aside. My biggest concern was that the longer we stood around talking, the more likely it would be he’d reach Nismera, and no one who left her palace knew how to get back to it. If he reached her, I would lose him. I knew it down to the depths of the empty shell that had once contained my soul.
My temper snapped, and flames flickered over my fingertips. Red hazed my vision as I stalked to the other side of the study and started pulling weapons off the wall, but Kaden was on me again, yanking them out of my hands.
“Seriously? 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.
“Howdareyou?” I seethed.
“We both know I’m right.” Kaden snapped back, all razor focus and teeth. “I wielded Gabby like a weapon, and you followed like a starving mutt. They will do the same with Samkiel, and you’ll get usallkilled. Think with your head for once, not your heart.”
My head reared back like he’d slapped me. He dared to say her name? A flame flickered to life in a dark, empty house, one I kept carefully locked and quiet. My memories eagerly supplied her image. Her smile, her laugh, and how effortless it was to be around her. I remembered the feeling of her love and how I struggled with the loss of it. It all seemed so fleeting now, and no matter how strong I was now, how much I had grown and changed … it hurt.
Silence fell, heavy and suffocating. I detested Kaden to my very core, and that he would toss out his ultimate betrayal and our history as if it were nothing just deepened my hatred. It would have been less painful if he had attacked me because his words were sharper and more painful than any blade. He admitted to my face how carelessly he’d used me and my love for Gabby. The confession hadn’t even made him flinch.
I struck out at him again, but he caught my wrist in his massive hand and pulled me to him. My lips curled into a snarl, and he tightened his fingers, making my bones groan. He snatched the bag I still held, the blades inside clattering.
“You’re not going,” Kaden said. “If I have to, I’ll strap you to that bed you two love so much. I’ll snap your neck again, and every time you wake, until we come up with a decent plan.”
“I hate you.” My nostrils flared, and my eyes burned because I knew he’d do exactly what he said. “You aremiserable,” I said to Kaden, meaning every word. “What’s the point of all of this, of living if you’re not willing to take risks for those you love? I may be stupid and reckless, or even careless at times, but at least I’d gladly die trying to save those I love. What would you die for?”
Kaden said nothing, but his eyes bore into mine with an intensity I felt along the bond Death had forced on us. I immediately threw up barriers, closing myself off behind a reinforced steel wall.
“You’re a dick,” Cameron said, shouldering his way between Kaden and me, forcing Kaden back a step. Kaden let go of me, but his eyes stayed focused on mine. Cameron’s back was stiff as he blocked me from Kaden’s view, acting in Samkiel’s stead as if he could block the venom Kaden tossed so easily, but it was too late.
The damage was already done.
“He’s right,” Isaiah said. “Milani holds a vast majority of the southern continent. The skies are littered with warships and smaller craft. Even Nismera’s legion couldn’t show up without being seen.”
I tried and failed to shake off the words he’d so carelessly hurled at me, trying to refocus on what mattered. I took a shuddering breath, the ache in my wrist dulling as it healed.
“Okay.” I shook my head. “So we take the form of another legion member and sneak aboard.”
