He tossed his arms up in disgust. “The world around us is on fire, and you two are shoving your tongues down each other’s throats. I’m honestly not the least bit shocked.”
Dianna smiles at him before popping me on my shoulder. “It’s his fault! He keeps saying pretty words and distracting me,” she hissed.
Cameron rolled his eyes, shaking his head like a disappointed parent. “Take some responsibility here, Dianna. My gods.”
She flipped him off, which only got a laugh from the battleworn soldier. She nodded toward the massive hole he had made. “How many went?”
“A good portion. Kaden and Isaiah are dismantling the remaining few, but many fled after you blew her main warships to a million pieces.”
“Good,” Dianna said, every bit of a queen praising one of her soldiers. I had never been more proud of her than at this moment. She claimed she wasn’t a leader and could not rule, but in the short time I had known her, she had surpassed me as one. Every beautiful idea, crazy or not, she came up with worked. She faced all conflicts at the front, leading the way, and in doing so, she inspired confidence in those around her. Even Miska held her head higher since meeting Dianna. She was destined to rule. All the scriptures said so, but no one could have predicted that she would be beloved by those who served beneath her. Gods above and below knew that I’d fall in line, too. Beyond powerful, beyond strong, beyond beautiful, she could make empires rise or fall, and I’d be her humble sword, no matter what my queen commanded. “We have what’s left on the run, but we need to finish off as many as we can. I want her armada disabled. I want whatever is left to go limping back to Nismera.”
Cameron nodded. “Yes, your grace.”
Dianna’s eyes narrowed. “Stop that.”
Cameron laughed and turned back to the large hole he had made. He threw himself into the air, his body shifting even as he jumped. A large Ig’Morruthen roared as he returned to the battleworn sky.
“What was that about?” I asked.
She sighed and cast me a wary glance, her cheeks turning a soft pink as she went to the hole in the side of the ship. “I don’t know, but I think Cameron is just being an ass. Since you left, he has been using that or other titles like it. He has even gotten Reggie on board, so now they are both doing it. He wants to ensure Kaden and Isaiah know who they are speaking to when they address me in a certain way.”
In a flurry of wings and flames, Dianna returned to the sky. I knew what it meant even if she did not. Cameron was loyal to the core, and he had stepped in to ensure that she was treated appropriately in my absence. Dianna was my queen. If anyone disrespected her, they disrespected me, meaning they would be met with the consequences if they abused their power.
I was the consequences.
My lips thinned as I felt a familiar power nearby, hopping from ship to ship. I had one last thing I needed to take care of.
67
SAMKIEL
The Ig’Morruthen roars created a constant rumble as Dianna, Isaiah, and Cameron took down as many fleeing warships as they could. Fire, wings, and talons tore into the crafts, reducing them to crumpled sheets of metal before they cracked and fell, hitting the ground in a fiery explosion.
Lightning ripped from the sky, rolling an advancing ship. Smoke poured from its hull as my feet touched down on its listing side, and I ran down the length. I jumped off the back of the warship, aiming for the one below. The clouds parted for me as I flipped to rocket through the air feet first. I hit the top of the ship, bursting through the metal shell into the bridge.
No guards rushed me. I was surprised to find it empty, but then I heard the grunts and crash of battle on the other side of the door. Leaving them to it, I slammed my fist into the control panel, sparks stinging my skin as I grasped the cables and sent a bolt of lightning through the system. I watched in satisfaction as every screen exploded and flames licked at the walls.
The ship dipped sharply to the right, and I stumbled. I steadied myself and strode toward the door as the ship took a nosedive. All the electronics were down thanks to my handiwork, so I forced the door open. I stopped, bracing myself against the wall to take in the carnage. Tattered and torn wings lay discarded on the ground, blood-splattered feathers floating in the air. Guards lay in crumpled heaps in a macabre circle around a single man. He was covered in their blood, half bent and huffing. Kaden’s red-rimmed eyes glared at me for a second before I launched myself at him.
We landed in a huff, and he growled when my fist connected with his face. “What are you doing? We’re on the same side, you idiot!” he snarled up at me, trying to avoid my fists.
“Teaching you a lesson about how you speak to my wife.” I reared back, straddling him. He struggled against my hold and opened his mouth, no doubt to spew some kind of vitriol at me. Not giving him the chance, I gripped his jaw and held it open. I grabbed his tongue and ripped.
IPULLED MYSELFfrom the wreckage and pushed myself up, sand sticking to my blood-stained hands. My boots sank as I took a few steps, coughing to clear my lungs of the smoke billowing into the air, my entire body aching. I twisted, stretching my back and shoulders as I watched Kaden crawl out of the rubble.
“You couldn’t wait, could you?” I snarled, far from done with him. His eyes were a murderous, rage-filled crimson. We both were worse for wear, but his mouth had finally stopped bleeding.
“Oh, for a second, I thought that blasted memory dagger had worked,” Kaden said, his voice mangled as his tongue regrew. “Glad to see you’re still the same level-headed prick you’ve always been.”
“You’d like that, huh? For me to forget her so you could make your way in? Sorry, Kaden, she wouldn’t fuck you on your best day.”
“Go fuck yourself,” he all but snarled, but he didn’t launch himself at me. Pity for him that I had more than enough rage for both of us.
I was in his face before he could completely pull himself from the wreckage. “I was wondering when it would happen, when you would try again to be the wedge between us.”
“Blame me all you wish, but your wife has a right to know,” Kaden snarled back, his tongue fully regrown. “I am not the cause of your past transgressions.”
He barely got the last word out before I was atop him. Both of us threw fists in a wasteland of sand and broken warships. I threw him to the ground and straddled him, my fist connecting with his cheek and splitting it.
