DIANNA
Nismera’s fingers tapped against the long handle of the spear. “Did you like his story?” she asked. “The dutiful father confessing, seeking redemption for past sins.”
“It was you. All of it was you, wasn’t it? You lied, planting the seeds of doubt and fear in him for his own sons.”
Nismera shrugged. “Pretty much, but to be fair, it wouldn’t have worked so well had the thoughts not already been there for me to twist.” She playfully spun the spear, snapping her teeth at her father. She was beyond psychotic.
“Why?” I asked. “Why all of this?”
Nismera smiled, but Unir cut her off.
“She was made wrong.”
The confidence in her expression slipped. Her features twisted, revealing the cruelty and bitterness of her true face. It turned what could have been devastating beauty into something horrifically ugly. Her head turned toward him, and ghost or not, Unir met his daughter eye to eye.
“It was my fault.” Unir’s face softened as he looked at Nismera. “She was not made with an ounce of love. She was made with power, conceived to be a weapon.”
Nismera’s grip tightened on her spear, the veins on her hand swelling.
“And for that, I am truly sorry,” Unir said, his voice soaked with regret. “That is, and will always be, my biggest regret. That’s why I came back.”
Her grip on her spear eased, and the hope in my chest flared. Was solace what Nismera needed? Her footsteps echoed against the stones as she walked to her father. She stopped in front of him, her gold-tipped heels almost touching the ring of magic runes pulsing on the floor. The bubble glowed, the veil separating father and daughter.
“You came back for me?” she asked.
She danced her fingers across the rune-speckled jail that held Unir’s spirit. For a second, I didn’t see the angry, evil goddess, but a girl who just wanted her father, a family.
“You’re my daughter. I should have treated you as such. For that, I am forever burdened. I know that all of this was a ruse,” he said, gesturing to the dungeon. “You’re trying to fill a hole left by those you called family. There is no love in what you have built because you crave power as if it will sustain you. What happens after? After you’ve surrounded yourself with legions, guards, and commanders who only fear you, never love you, never care, what then? There is no point in a throne or a kingdom because it will not fill that void, Nismera. Power will never be your comfort.”
Her face crumpled, and I wondered if she was actually going to cry, but then she burst into laughter. Her hand went to her midsection as she laughed in his face. Unir recoiled.
She fanned her face and settled. “Gods, you sound just like her,” she said, her voice growing bored.
“Who?”
“Why, your sweet adelphia.” Nismera smiled. “Isn’t that what you called her? A loving pet name from ages past.”
Unir’s face dropped as some realization passed between them.
“She tried, you know? She tried to find some part of me she could nurture, heal, or hold, and I hated her for it. The funniest part is that after all these years, here you are, still thinking that I am anything like you, like them. All of you are so fucking weak. You wish for the simple things, love, family, on and on and on. It makes you easy to manipulate, easy prey. And all that time, power was right at your door, banging to be let in. None of you had any ambition, but I do. I always have, and I was set to achieve it until you and Zasyn created him. As soon as I heard she was pregnant, I knew. I could cast out Kaden and Isaiah, but there would always be one thing in my way to that throne. Her.”
My chest ached. I’d wondered if Nismera had something to do with Zasyn’s death, and she had just confirmed it. The pain on Unir’s face was heartbreaking.
“What did you do?” Unir asked, his voice hollow.
Her smile was all venom and hatred. “I played along, pretending to care, to change, to be what you and she wanted, and then I poisoned her. Every night, every day. Her handmaidens were always giving her stuff to help her body support the growth of that godling. She helped, too. She grew orneliamus in her garden, making it oh-so-easily accessible. All it took was just a small amount, not too traceable. Yet he’s still here, causing me problems. It wasn’t until Samkiel was born that I realized, even then, he was disrupting my plans, healing her from the inside out. But thankfully, after he was born, she could finally die.” Nismera smiled and rolled her eyes as if she hadn’t just admitted to killing Unir’s heart. She ran a single nail along his prison. “Does it hurt to know the daughter you made took your only love from you?”
I wondered if the cage she’d crafted for him could truly hold a god, and I got my answer. Unir was a fury of words, fists, and ungodly wrath as his spirit fought against the bubble that held him. Nismera laughed, watching him with almost glee. He raged himself out, finally falling to his knees and clutching his eyes.
She crouched in front of him. “You are right about one thing. There is no love in me.” She bit her bottom lip. “But I will admit, watching that brought me so much joy.” Nismera chuckled and stood up, still gripping her spear. She turned toward us, uncaring that her back was to Unir. “Now, where were we?”
“You’re a—”
“A what?” she interrupted. “A monster?”
“I think you’re an insane sociopath who needs to die,” I sneered at her. “But monster works.”
Her smile did not falter. I expected her to lash out as she had before, but she just stared at me.
