“Are these silk?” I asked her, craning my neck to look at the ties.
“Yes, do you like them?” She all but beamed as she practically rode Samkiel in front of me. My hands curled into fists when I saw Samkiel’s hand on her lower hip. My body shook, heat coursing through my veins, but I swallowed the wildfire that threatened to eat the ship and everyone here whole.
“Yeah, they’re so lovely. I was actually thinking—No, you imbecile,” I scowled. “You’re a terrible bad guy. Who uses silk? You need something stronger. Gods, you actually slept with this idiot?” That last part was directed at Samkiel as he stared blankly at me.
Milani’s smile wavered, and her brother growled in her defence, his wings flicking in agitation. Oh, right, they were royalty. I was supposed to bow or some shit, but instead, all I could picture was shoving that weird golden wire crown up her ass. I sneered at Ennis, but the creepy prick just smiled at me.
“Oh, those won’t hold you,” Ennis said, lifting a small device. “But this will.”
“And what the fuck is th—”
Pain shot through me, and my head slammed back. My teeth clenched, the collar sending nothing but agony to my very bones. Whatever was coursing through my nervous system was hotter than electricity. It was as if it was forcing my body to use its own power, turning it against me. The pain stopped as quickly as it started. I panted, my body shivering from the aftershocks as I tossed my hair from my face and looked at them.
“What a riveting introduction,” Milani said. The sunlight pouring in through the windows caught on the ivory speckles in her wings, making them shimmer. They would be beautiful if they weren’t attached to such a crazy bitch. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Dehlia,” she said, dragging the name out with a mocking laugh.
“It’s Dianna, actually.” I smiled back. “Or,please don’t burn me alive, depending on who you ask.”
“You’re not funny,” she said, her fingers coasting into the back of Samkiel’s hair as she watched me. She studied my eyes, and I knew she saw the possessive rage I couldn’t hide. Her smile made my breath catch, and I knew that whatever she was going to do next, I was going to hate. She turned away from me, her long brown hair falling like a silk blanket down her back. I watched in pained horror as her lips pressed to his, but I think the sound of the kiss might have been the worst part.
I turned my head away in disgust, my chest burning with the heat of a thousand suns. Footsteps approached, and a strong hand gripped my chin, forcing my face back toward them. Ennis, that sick bastard, wanted me to watch.
“Are you planning to fuck him in front of me, or did you actually kidnap me for a reason?” I said around the pain in my jaw.
She turned toward me, her lips swollen and gleaming. “Oh, that’s a good idea. After we discuss what I need from you, I think I will, although I may need practice. I haven’t taken him in a while, and if I remember correctly, he is a tight fit. We’ll need to take it very, very slow. Ennis, make her a place in my room later. I want her to watch.”
Ennis dropped my face but only stepped back a fraction.
“You’re psychotic.”
Milani slipped off Samkiel’s lap, and he rose behind her. I wondered if that’s what I looked like with him at my back, protecting and shielding me as his greatest prize. But it wasn’t me now. She caught the expression on my face, and her lips curved in a slow, cruel smile. It grew brighter as she moved around him, her hand trailing across his midsection. I had to stop the Ig’Morruthen inside me from reacting. Violently.
“Thank you for bringing him back to me,” she said as she rested her head against his biceps. “Nismera told me that without you, the realms wouldn’t have opened.”
I scoffed. “Yeah, he only had to die for that to happen.”
Her eyes flattened.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Did she leave that bit out?”
“You’re lying,” she said, looking up at him and then back at me.
I shrugged. “I have no reason to lie. You already have the one thing I care about more than anything in this life or the next.”
Her eyes narrowed as she petted him, her hand running up and down his arm. “Well, he’s mine now. As he always should have been.”
“By force,” I said. “Because you used a lame ass dagger that my psycho ex made and planned to use on me. Gods, if you’re the brains behind Nismera’s armada, it’s no wonder they suck. Can you do anything by yourself?”
Her smile turned deadly, and I caught the brutal edge of it before my spine locked and I writhed in my bonds. The thick collar around my neck sparked and hissed against my collarbones, my fire sizzling like sap beneath my skin. I gritted my teeth, hissing and trying to breathe through the agony. It stopped, and I went limp. I lay there panting, trying to catch my breath. Fuck.
She was in front of me then, her hands slamming down onto the table in front of me. “Have you not seen my fleet, my army? I am her strength, and you and everyone else will see.”
I rolled my eyes. “Tyranny is such a simple, boring idea.”
Milani scoffed, raising up. “Tyranny? Try the universe’s greatest conquerer, and when she is done here, she will rule not only this realm, but even the stars beyond our reach. I will be labeled a goddess for the power my warships will bring to her new order. Even the Sovereigns will recognize her power, and they will quiver.”
Sovereigns? My mind reeled. I had no idea what she was talking about, but the power she claimed she wanted seemed to go beyond our borders. Was there more I wasn’t seeing? Or was Milani just that psychotic that she believed whatever Nismera spoon-fed her? Did this have something to do with the medallion? I felt like I was so close to connecting all these damn dots, but not close enough.
“You are dumber than you look if you think Nismera won’t discard you once she’s done with you.” I scoffed.
