Dianna fell once more, but the guards didn’t even pause, dragging her by the chains that wrapped around her neck and wrists. Oblivion crawled over my arms, and I knew, Kaden or not, I was about to turn this place to ash. My temper flared, but then eased when I saw her raise her hand, not to stop those who dragged her, but to ease me. My chest tightened. She could feel me here now. She knew I was here, and she was stopping me. I swallowed the growing lump of rage and anger, nearly choking on it, but she was telling me she had a plan. Of course she did. When would my beautiful, smart girl not?
86
DIANNA
Ialmost wept when warmth filled my heart and the familiar electric sensation skipped across my nerves, making my blood sizzle. Even without my ring on my finger, I felt him. I felt him like I had since the day I’d stepped into that council building on Onuna. Samkiel was here, and as always when he was near, my soul sought his. I dared not search the crowd for him. It would have only taken one look to send him scrambling and ruining any plans he had. It was enough that I felt him, but I longed to pull the ring from its hiding place in my bra and slip it on so I could hear his voice again, but I would have to wait.
Somehow, Nismera didn’t seem to be able to sense him. No one knew he was here. Otherwise, this place would have erupted into chaos already. He must be hiding his power, slipping through the crowd like he belonged among these royals. A whimper left my lips, but not from pain. He had not only come for me again, but he’d made it in time.
They made me crawl, tossed food at me, and spat on me. They did it all for her, and with each breath I took, I planned their death, vengeance not only for me, but for Reggie. If they followed her, they could die with her. I finally made it to the raised stone stage, and the guards hoisted me up.
Nismera sneered at me and said in a low voice, “Now you finally look like the filth you are.”
I reared back and spat on her, my saliva coating her face. The crowd gasped, but she regained their respect by backhanding me so hard I saw stars.
“You see what she is? Disgusting, less than an animal.” She stepped forward and picked me up by the back of my hair. “Look.”
Her power shot through my cuffs. It didn’t burn this time, but it forced my body to shift. Claws ripped from my fingertips, and fangs erupted in my mouth. I knew by how my vision changed that my eyes had bled to red. “See? An animal. Is this what you want protecting your children and family?”
They all yelled, screamed, and cursed my name. A thousand-plus people in this ballroom and all their hateful eyes fell on me. I knew she’d won them, then. I knew it beyond a doubt. She was preying on their concern for their families and their fear of the unknown. They feared what they did not understand, and they had no concept of Samkiel and me. We frightened them, and she’d used it, painting herself as a savior. They’d eaten her lies and deceit like they were starving. They saw me as an unpredictable beast when the true monster looked just like them.
For now.
She yanked me up higher, my bruised feet barely touching the floor.
“None of us are truly safe until she and the regime that sent her to end us all are dead.”
One of her burly guards stepped forward, carrying a wide-bladed, ablaze weapon. Two others carried over a thick silver slab that they set before me. I’d give her credit. She wanted more than a public execution. She was making a spectacle out of cutting my head off in front of them.
I whimpered and slumped in her hold, feebly pushing against her. I’d let her think it was fear overtaking me. Let her think I was giving up hope, and that she had finally broken me. She wanted to make an example out of me, but I was going to make one out of her instead.
“Kneel, traitor queen,” she demanded. “Kneel before the rightful heir.”
“I do, and you are not him.”
I headbutted her, the crunch of bone satisfying as her head snapped back. My hand slipped between the wrapped fabric I’d used as a bra, pulling out the forsaken blade I had made. The crowd gasped, but it was too late. I spun as she steadied herself and stared at me, shocked at my newfound strength. I grinned and shoved the forsaken blade through her eye, pushing hard enough to force it out the back of her head.
87
DIANNA
The room erupted into chaos. Lights faltered before descending into a strobe effect that mimicked the blare of an alarm. Clouds of rolling black smoke filled the room, and the royals screamed. Some pushed toward the exits while others opened portals and fled. None of them wanted to risk her retaliation or their own safety. While Samkiel’s numbers were small, they were powerful numbers nonetheless, and despite their almost fanatical support of her earlier, they knew she wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice them.
Powerful arms wrapped across my midsection and yanked me back, pulling me off the stage. I didn’t struggle, knowing who had grabbed me. I would know his touch no matter what, and I basked in the feeling of being in his arms.
Samkiel carried me away from the melee, not stopping until we were sheltered beneath the stone overhang of a balcony. He set me gently on my feet, and his lips met my swollen, split ones. I ignored the pain, and he didn’t seem to care that I was covered in filth. A wave of emotion flooded me, and I felt the echo of its intensity in him. We broke the kiss, but didn’t pull away. He rested his forehead against mine and cupped my face with so much love and care that it brought tears to my eyes.
“I was so godsdamned worried about you.” He panted, his thumbs brushing gently over my cheeks. “But I am so fucking angry with you.”
I blinked, surprised, but then I explored his emotions a bit deeper. I could feel his overwhelming love for me, but there was a near-equal rage brimming in him, foreign and dark when directed at me. It took me a moment to understand, and when I did, shame filled me. I had denied him our connection, but worse, I had not allowed him to help me. I had left him powerless while I was being tortured and abused, and it had come close to breaking him.
“Samkiel, I’m sorry. I had a plan,” I said, shaking my head and unable to hold back a whimper as his pain washed over me.
Samkiel dropped his hands and glanced back at the chaos in the ballroom before grasping the cursed collar around my neck. I felt the release of his power, and Oblivion, ever eager, slid over the metal. We watched with satisfaction as the chains disintegrated into dark ash, and the violet-laced magic licked teasingly at my skin.
The relief of being free of their slimy presence was instantaneous, and I stood a little straighter as my body began to heal. Samkiel rolled up his dark sleeve and summoned a blade, slicing across his forearm. Blood welled, rich and powerful, before he cupped the back of my head and lifted his arm, shoving my mouth against the wound.
“Eat,” he said. “You will need the energy to flee. We are in the center of her empire.”
