“Okay, now I know something is wrong,” he said.
My chest heaved. Could he not see her? A burned woman stood shrouded in shadows in the corner, staring at me with dead eyes. She pointed toward the hall, a victim among thousands I’d created in my long, horrible life.
“Can you not see her?” I asked.
His eyes flared brighter as he scanned the bathroom before slowly turning to search the bedroom. He looked at me, concern etched into his face. “See who?”
It was obvious Isaiah couldn’t see her, but there she stood, continuing to point. I lifted my hand, my fingers finding nothing but air as I imagined gripping his throat. “He’s haunting me.”
“Who?” Isaiah asked, placing the soap down.
“Death,” I said. Isaiah’s face turned to stone. My brother knew me better than anyone. I did not make jokes like that, and I never lied to him. “He has been since I returned. A cold shadow begging me to—”
Isaiah’s hands went to my shoulders before he yanked them off. “Kaden, you’re freezing.”
His mouth moved as he spoke, but his voice seemed far away. All I could see were those damned eyes behind him, her lips moving as she pointed. I pushed past Isaiah, nearly knocking him off his feet. I grabbed my boots and shoved them on before grabbing a shirt from the bed and tossing it over my head. The dark laces around my neck swung as I headed for the hall.
“I’ll rid myself of the damn thing even if it kills me,” I snapped.
I heard Isaiah at my heels, following me as he had always done. That damned woman continued to point, leading me around corners and through rooms. We stomped down the stairs, heading for the door at the end of the hall. Guards stood on each side, and they bowed low as we approached.
“Commanders. It is late,” one said.
“How can we assist?” said the other.
“Go deeper,” the raven sitting atop one of the wall lanterns said, the fire within limning his feathers in flames.
Talons replaced my nails as I stepped forward and shoved my hands through their skulls. Isaiah exclaimed in shock as I dropped their bodies to the floor and shook the gore from my hands.
“Those are royal guards, you fool.” Isaiah gripped my arm, spinning me toward him. “Mera will be furious.”
I ripped my arm away from him and pointed at the bird. “I have to make him stop.”
Isaiah glanced up, but his eyes looked past the bird, scanning the ceiling, then back to me. “Kaden, you are worrying me. No one is there.”
Anger and desperation bubbled inside of me. “I do not have time for this. Are you with me or not?”
Pain flashed in his eyes, opening the floodgates to allow sorrow and mourning to rush in. He dropped his gaze to stare at the blood pooling around our feet, shielding his eyes. “I am always with you, Kaden, but please warn me if we are shredding guards’ brains before you do it alone.”
I forced a smile and turned away from him, stalking after Death. We were going to the one place we were not allowed. Isaiah kept pace with me as we approached, and I felt the world pause. It was as if every ancient formless being had been waiting for this moment, and they were holding their breath, hoping we wouldn’t turn away. I reached out and pulled the large doors open, striding into Nismera’s forbidden west wing with Isaiah at my side.
26
DIANNA
“When we spent time together, she, um … would run her ideas by me, but I didn’t take them seriously. I thought they were just ramblings, and she wished to impress her unimpressive father.”
“Okay.” My arms stayed folded, and I slumped back in my chair, listening to him.
We were in a rundown tavern, discussing our next plan of action, and Cameron seemed quite amused as Samkiel fumbled over his words. He sat to the side, his eyes flicking back and forth between us.
“She wanted an armada, and it appears she now has one,” Samkiel said.
I raised a brow, knowing my face held nothing but disdain for this bird woman. “She has wings. Seems redundant.”
Cameron snorted, but hid it behind his drink and pretended to look somewhere else.
Gods love Reggie. He just continued to lean against the windowsill, staring out through the dirty glass.
