“About the kiss and stuff. I know we planned this, but—”
I expected her jealous rage. I kept waiting for fire to burst from Dianna’s hands, but none came. She looked at me in confusion as if I should be mad ather. “Samkiel, no. It was my stupid idea. Do I want to watch you kiss and touch another? Absolutely not. I hate that it went that far, but I in no way blame you.”
My brows furrowed, confused and unsure of what she needed. “It didn’t mean anything.”
Dianna kicked an adrueth soldier’s limp body out the blown-out side door before turning to look at me. She stood framed in the doorway, with her hands resting on her armored hips. The wind whipped her hair around her like a living black flame, and blood coated my beautiful warrior queen’s body. She reminded me of a primal, dark goddess of vengeance.
She sighed and tipped her head back. “It did, but not how you think. You shouldn’t be touched unless you ask for it.” She shook her head. “So, no, I’m not mad at you. If anything, I’m mad at myself. At times, I feel more like him than I want to.”
That got my attention, and I nearly tripped in my haste to get to her. I gripped her elbow, pulling her away from the edge. “You arenotKaden.”
“Aren’t I?” Her eyes looked so guilty and forlorn. “I used you in that room for my own gain, like he did with me.”
“Ours,” I enunciated. “Our gain.”
She forced a small smile, her teeth worrying her bottom lip.
“Hey, look at me.” My fingers brushed under her chin, turning her face toward me. “Sometimes we have to do things, awful things, we don’t want to do for the greater good. There was no way she would have let down her guard and told us what she did otherwise. I love you, Dianna.” I made sure those words stuck. “All of you, every part, and none of those parts feel like Kaden. You’re way better and far more beautiful.”
Her laugh was small and devoid of humor. I didn’t like it. “I’m still sorry I allowed it to go so far. It wasn’t fair, and I never want you to feel as if I am okay with you being violated, no matter the information we might obtain. You are my priority, Samkiel. It will never happen again. I swear it.”
My worries diminished, and all my focus was on her now. I leaned in and brushed a soft kiss to her forehead. “I do not feel as if you used me, Dianna. It was vital information that could save countless lives. I knew going in what would happen,” I said.
The massive ship cracked and lurched, pieces breaking off and falling away. I gripped her upper arms, steadying both of us. Flames were prowling through the interior, reaching for us, but they would never touch us.
She looked up at me, and I settled even more. I could feel the unwavering surety of her love and devotion. “When Isaiah found that stupid dagger, it seemed like the missing key in our plan. Now, I just feel so dumb for even trying to use it.”
“Why?” I asked, tipping her chin up. “It worked.”
“It was a stupid risk,” she said. “I wish I had been smart enough to come up with another idea, but when we found that dagger, I knew this was our best shot. But it wasn’t what was best for you. I just had hope that you loved me as much as I loved you, so not even magic could come between us. But I am sorry, Samkiel. If I have to put you above the world, your crown, and what they demand of us, then so fucking be it. I will let it all burn, Samkiel, and I mean that. You may be their champion, but I am your sword and shield as much as you are mine.”
I’d love her until my bones were ash. When my soul left this realm, and if Death was so kind as to allow us to start over, I’d find her in every life after and love her still.
“It may have been a risk, but you were right,” I said, cupping the side of her neck, my thumb brushing along her jaw. My hand tightened around hers. “When it went in, it felt like icy liquid sliding through my body and coating my mind, intent on erasing every single thought I had. The magic sought to replace who I am with what magic lived in that dagger, but it didn’t work because you are more than memories, akrai. You are more than flesh and blood to me. You have imprinted on my very soul. My heart beats for you. I breathe for you, and there is no force, no magic in this world that could erase you from me. So there is no need to worry or be jealous ever. If I had found you first, there would have been no one else. No one to receive your jealousy or spark it. You are and will always be the ruin of me.”
Despite the burning chaos of the battle raging all around us, her smile was soft. She was the most beautiful thing in the world.
“You don’t hate me?” she asked, and I realized that she feared I would see her as a monster, but I never had, nor would.
“I could never hate you,” I said.
“Even when I wield you as my weapon?” Her voice was soft, as if she hated herself for what she had planned.
“You can use me whenever or however you wish.” I smirked, lifting a single shoulder. “You are not Kaden, Dianna. You did not use me against my will. We discussed this together, and we made a choice. It was a decisionwemade together. I was not coerced or tricked, and that is the difference. Besides, you’ve done worse. You’ve cursed and yelled. You’ve dropped buildings on me and tossed fire at me that would incinerate most beings. I believe you even stabbed me once or twice.”
Dianna’s hand whipped out to land one of those playful pops against my chest. I damn near craved them now, wanting them daily. As long as she laughed or smiled, my world remained on its axis. Her eyes softened for a second, and I knew she understood with perfect clarity that I meant what I said. I could feel her emotions through our bond. The guilt and self-loathing that had consumed her were slowly receding. I wanted to chase it away, to burn it from her mind forever. I knew and loved Dianna. Things had changed so drastically between us since the beginning, and I knew without a doubt she loved me and wouldn’t hurt me. She’d die for me as I would for her. So this meant nothing to me.
“Like I have told you countless times before, I am still here. I shall always remain by your side, in life and death. I am yours until eternity ends.” My hands cupped her face as smoke and fire raged around us. But I had stopped caring about the world the second she came into my life. She was all I saw or would ever see. “Magic or not, I love you more than anything in this life or the next.”
My heart stuttered as our bond flared with emotion, hitting me like a strike of lightning. I felt a shattered piece of her heart mend, the force of it rocking me. It felt like my words had healed a damaged, fractured part of her I hadn’t realized had been a bleeding, gaping wound.
The ship creaked ominously. I knew it could crash with us in it, but that meant nothing to me as I leaned down to kiss her. The world around us was a smoldering ruin, yet neither of us cared as her arms wrapped around my neck, returning my desire tenfold. Her lips yielded beneath mine, and my body screamed to life, aching to claim and be claimed. I needed to chase the taste of Milani from my mouth, and Dianna happily obliged, needing the same.
“I’ve never had sex on a burning ship, but you’re making me want to.”I sent down the bond, my desire stroking hers.
A dark, wicked laugh floated down our bond. Dianna’s hand dropped from my neck, and—
There was a loud thud against the hull, followed by the scrape of rending metal. Reluctantly, I pulled back, thinking the room had finally broken in half. Instead, I saw an Ig’Morruthen crawl through the doorway. He blinked at us and then shifted. His massive, horned head shrank, wings and tail disappearing to reveal Cameron standing there, covered in soot and dirt.
