He said nothing, but I saw the tick in his jaw.
“You did, didn’t you?” A snort left my lips. “How did that go? Hope you didn’t bring your bitch with you.”
His fist connected with my cheek, and my head whipped to the side. He took a step back, and I sneered, the split across my face burning. My body tried and failed to mend the wound, but the blood he gave me was insufficient to heal. I wish my powers worked on him, but the fucker was too strong. Oh, how I would like to see him explode into bloody goo, but if I had the ability to do so, I would have done it long ago.
“How many?” he insisted
I leaned forward and hissed, “All of them. She has all of them.”
Samkiel’s shoulders sagged as if he’d known that already and just needed to hear it. He scrubbed his hand through his hair, his eyes lost. I watched him, wondering what went on in his thick fucking skull. Was he even capable of thoughts that didn’t include her? He took a deep breath and looked at me again.
“Where is her primary stronghold? I’ve hit a few war camps here and there but found nothing concrete.”
“West,” I paused and smiled at him, “or east. Can’t recall.”
“Can’t recall, or you’re lying to me?” he asked, his hand clenching at his side.
My lips quirked, and I shrugged as best I could with my arms stretched above me.
Samkiel moved so fast that it was nearly impossible to track him. He was like a ghost, disappearing and then reappearing in another location. It was as if he were not quite of the physical world. It reminded me of Mera. When he had fought Kaden and me, he had moved across the battlefield in the same way. I hadn’t even seen him draw Oblivion. I hadn’t seen it cut through Kaden’s neck. Kaden just fell and burst into dark ash. I did not see the blade he called now, but I felt the ablaze dagger at my throat, his silver eyes blinding me in the gloomy cell.
“What did you think you were going to do, pretty boy?” A broken smile crossed my face, and I unflinchingly met his eyes. “Show up in that obnoxious, glowing tin can and wave your cock around, expecting everyone would bow to you? You’re no better than the rest of us, and you’re bedding the one being they hate more than anything.”
“I don’t see why,” Samkiel said, pressing the blade so tight against my skin that if I swallowed, it would cut me. “Nismera has you andhadKaden.”
The sound of his name burned more than the blood loss. The grief I felt hadn’t lessened, and I doubted it ever would. I remained very still and didn’t say anything for fear of him cutting me. I couldn’t risk bleeding out what he’d given me. Samkiel noticed and moved the blade, but only enough to let me speak.
“The difference is that Nismera is more powerful than you,” I finally said. “More bloodthirsty and cruel. You can’t even kill a stupid fucking animal. You don’t have theballsto be a conqueror. She does, and that’s what it will take to reclaim even half of all she’s taken. Sure, to the people, you’re a god king, great and powerful, sent to free them from her, but to the rulers who are loyal to her, you’re a failure. They won’t follow you, they don’t respect you, and if you use Oblivion to force them, which we both know you won’t, they will hate you.”
A cold, harsh laugh exploded from me, the typically smug look on his face melting away. The truth hit harder than any blade.
“You failed, Samkiel. That’s how they see you. Whatever heroic reputation you spent your youth establishing is long gone here. You’re not a hero. You’re nothing but a cautionary tale. When Mera is finished with you and your whore, there won’t even be scriptures left that speak of you. Your legacy will be forgotten. Just like Unir’s.”
The blade pressed hard against my skin again. I wondered if he could take my head off if he just applied a bit more pressure. His lips thinned into a tight line, his anger nearly visible in the air around us. But that was what I wanted. I wanted to poke the beast and watch him become violent so he would lash out. Instead, his anger melted away, and another emotion took its place. But it was too foreign for me to identify.
I waited for him to rake the blade across my throat, slitting me from ear to ear. He could just spill whatever I had left onto the dirty floor. Only he didn’t. With a swish, he returned the dagger to his ring and stood up. Samkiel tossed one last look at me and walked out, closing the cell door behind him.
8
SAMKIEL
Ipaced, rubbing at my eyes and the bridge of my nose. I’d never felt more defeated, and we hadn’t even truly begun.
“Roccurem.” My voice resonated through the castle, through the walls, through the world. I hadn’t meant to yell like that. I stopped and looked up, listening. My mate’s sleeping heartbeat remained steady. I should have been resting beside Dianna, but no matter how exhausted or spent my body was, sleep eluded me.
A sphere of speckled darkness shimmered into existence. It formed smaller than usual, quivering and seeming to struggle to maintain its cohesity as it coalesced into the fate’s form. My concern for Roccurem’s health was yet another thing constantly weighing on my mind.
“You summoned me, my liege?”
My gaze raked over him, checking for any signs of distress. Nothing was apparent, but then I wasn’t sure what illness would look like in a fate. I didn’t comment on the flower bracelet wrapped around his wrist. I knew he had been in the city with Miska. When I’d seen her earlier, she’d been wearing several of them on both arms. It seemed she had finally made friends her age, but she would never exclude Reggie. A soft smile warmed my lips, and it was such a relief to feel something good after my encounter with Isaiah. If she could be happy and unburdened by the world, I would keep fighting to make it better for her and all the Miskas in all the realms.
“Talks with your brother did not go well?”
Startled, I looked up at him. That word was still so foreign to me. Unir had hidden so much, had so many secrets, but even as I’d held that blade to Isaiah’s throat, I could feel the connection between us. Gods, I could even see it. He had our father’s eyes, Kaden’s eyes.
“Isaiah is arrogant.”
Reggie made a noise low in his throat. “Hmm, it is as they say. It’s almost as if you two are related.”
