“Faye’s arrived,” he added. “She placed her assassins around the city and is headed to Kaden.”
“Good.”
Cameron let out a low whistle. “Are we sure that’s okay? If someone steps on his foot, he might rip their head off.”
I knew what he meant. Kaden had been on edge, Isaiah too, since we felt her pain down that bond. They were running on adrenaline, stress, and survival instinct. I think they thought they had more control over the bond, and the way her pain had nearly incapacitated them had proven them wrong. Dianna had poured her grief down every connection she had, as if her mind had done it instinctively in an attempt to save itself. Twice now, I’d had to stop Kaden from snarling at people who had looked at him for too long.
“He’ll be fine. Faye is strong enough to delay him until I get there if he steps out of line, but it won’t come to that.” I leaned against the banister, watching the scene below, checking every exit, every door. “He won’t mess this up,” I said quietly.
“How can you be sure?” Cameron said.
Suddenly, the music and chatter stopped, and we all turned to look toward the silence.
“Because,” I said, “he loves her too.”
Neither Cameron nor Isaiah said anything, and I knew they were worried my powers might lash out at the admission. They didn’t understand that my only concern was keeping her safe. Kaden’s love and obsession with Dianna were the upper hand we needed to keep her alive. I didn’t trust him at all, and my hatred for him was soul deep, but I knew he wouldn’t let anything actually kill her, and that gave me peace.
Slowly, the lights dimmed, casting the room in a soft glow. Guards marched into the room, moving in perfect unison. Nismera strode right behind them, wearing royal garbs with my father’s crown on her head. Her legion spread out, only two of the burliest men staying at her sides. I ached to jump over the banister and attack her, but I fought my instincts, forcing myself not to react. The crowd raised their glasses and clapped politely as she waved to them and ascended the steps to the low stage like a beloved, benevolent ruler. I knew it was only fear and their hunger for power that kept them here.
“I am so glad you all could make it on such short notice,” she began, her gold-painted lips spreading. “I know in times like these it is best that I come to you all face to face. There have been whispers and growing concerns, but I am here to put that all to rest tonight.”
A single clap from her and the thick double doors to the left yawned open.
Light poured into the room, and people gasped as guards dragged in a bleeding, limp, filthy Dianna. The railing cracked beneath my fingers.
Cameron touched my arm. “Wait. Stick to the plan.”
I was trying. I truly was, but I didn’t think I was that strong.
Dianna’s head whipped up, defiance glowing in her eyes as the guards dragged her through the crowd. The royals parted, making way for her.
“Behold, the Ig’Morruthen usurper. She who has burned towns, butchered livestock, and torn my armada from the sky. She did it all in an effort to reclaim her power. Power that was never hers.”
People snapped and yelled, hurling insults at my wife.
“Tonight, I will show you all that I won’t let anyone harm or threaten you, no matter how powerful they claim to be. No one can stop us or take away what we have built here. We are no longer scrabbling for our survival alone. Unifying was our salvation, and nothing can defeat us as long as we remain of one mind.” They cheered as she spoke, sycophants blinded by her. “I have given you peace. I fought and bled for it, crafting it with my bare hands, only to deliver it to you, and I will bleed again to make sure you keep it. For you. For your families. For us all!” Nismera yelled.
The guards dragged her through the royals, and when she tried to stand, they beat her to the ground, forcing her to crawl. Dianna groaned, and I moved, racing toward the stairs. Dead. They were all dead. Isaiah tackled me, grabbing me around my middle. He shoved me into the wall with enough force that, had the crowd not been yelling, booing, and spitting on my wife, they would have heard it.
“Let me go.” The voice that left me wasn’t mine.
I swung my arm, aiming for his head. I had to get to her. Kaden appeared beside us and grabbed my arm, adding his weight to their efforts to contain me. They held me against the wall, pinning me there as I thrashed. I needed to save her, to help her.
“Samkiel,” Kaden hissed. “If you do this now, you ruin everything and put her in even more danger.”
“Stick to the fucking plan,” Isaiah growled through clenched teeth, struggling to hold me.
“But …” Words failed me. “She needs me.”
“We all do,” Kaden said. “Stick to the plan or I’ll break your godsdamn neck and finish it myself. Do you really want her to fall in love with me when I save the day?”
I snorted, the absurdity of his words short-circuiting my rage. “As if she would.”
“There he is,” Kaden said and pushed off me. “Now, let’s finish this.”
I took a shuddering breath and then another, my heart aching. Isaiah and Kaden were at my sides as we walked back to the banister, both of them staying close in case I lost it again. They wanted me to remain still, but how could I not move? Nismera was parading her around to humiliate her.
Anyone who thought Dianna might be a challenge and had a chance of taking Nismera’s crown was being shown how wrong they had been. She was stripping Dianna of her power, proving to everyone that she was weak, and by the way the crowd moved, their eyes lighting up with something just short of worship, I knew it was working. Nismera was masterfully extinguishing any form of hope.
