Kaden’s mouth gaped, his hands covering mine as if hoping to pull it out and save himself, but it was already too late. His body ruptured into a thousand black particles and floated into the air.
“No!” The scream was bloodcurdling, and I looked up at Isaiah.
He pushed Dianna back, and she stumbled to the side. He charged me with claws extended, stomping forward in a pure, blinding, hateful rage. I stood and flipped Oblivion, ready to end him.
Isaiah drew back his hand, preparing to strike. He growled, but the sound stuttered in his throat. He stumbled to a stop, and his eyes bulged as he clutched at his heart.
I paused, watching him warily.
His panicked eyes held mine, his mouth shaping a word he never managed to utter before he burst into the same obsidian smoke as his brother.
I stared as the ash floated in the air, stunned. What just happened? I hadn’t even touched him. I lowered my blade and turned toward Dianna. She was staring at the spot where Isaiah had just stood, her expression filled with the same confusion I felt.
“What just hap—”
The words caught in my throat as her eyes flared wide and she grabbed at her chest. Then I felt it. The bond connecting our hearts pulled tight and then snapped. Agony flared in Dianna’s eyes, and she reached for me.
“Sami.” Her knees buckled, and before they even hit the ground, her body turned to a fluttering pile of obsidian ash.
It was worse than every fear and dreaded nightmare I’d had. Memories rose along with the destructive force that lived deep within me. I had been tortured and faced death. I thought I had known true, unending pain, but there was no word for what I felt watching Dianna die in front of me, feeling the last parts of her leave my very soul. My heart stuttered in my chest, severe, wrenching agony tearing me apart. The wind howled, screaming out the anguish I couldn’t voice. Heat ripped through my veins as my adyin ignited. People screamed outside as the ocean turned violent, battering the cavern. The sun fled, day turning to night as something ancient and horrible inside me bared its teeth and snarled awake. My knees crashed to the floor before the ashes where my soul once stood.
I didn’t notice the world stop.
“What. A. Temper,” a male voice said from behind me, punctuating every word.
I whipped my head around, something in his tone compelling my attention. He sat a few feet away in one of the chairs, shrouded in a low-cut black tunic, a flared, calf-length jacket, and matching loose pants. Darkness ebbed off him, acting as a second cloak. Only it wasn’t just darkness but pure Oblivion, purple specks of light flaring and receding inside the void. A cold, harsher than any ice, seeped into the room, and I welcomed the numbness it brought. I had never met him, at least as far as I remembered, but I had absolutely no doubt who he was.
Death.
41
SAMKIEL
“Why do you look like me?” I snarled, trying to block the nearly unbearable pain of what I’d just lost.
“This?” He pulled the flared lapel forward and looked down at the intricate purple designs embroidered onto the fabric. “This is what you are, who you are, and what really passed through my gates. Or at least what your father tried to hinder.” Without bending or straining, he stood in one solid, impossible motion. One moment he was sitting, the next he was on his feet. “You know, out of all the brothers, I did not think you’d be the worst.”
I stood, one foot in front of the other, and my body angled for an attack. “Who are you?” I demanded. I knew it, but I needed him to say it, speak it out loud, and give me hope.
His smile was ancient. “You already know my name. I’ve been with you on every bloodsoaked battlefield. I’ve lived in your shadow every time you raised a blade. You’ve begged me to take you on nights when memories screamed too loud on the shards of your former home. You and I have danced around each other for a very long time, and when you finally arrived in my kingdom, and I had the chance to claim your crown, she stole it from me.”
He waved a hand, gesturing behind me, but I could not look at her remains again. I refused to accept the reality of her loss, especially with this being toying with me. He was here for a reason, and he wanted something. I would make him give her back to me, and if he didn’t, he would regret it. My rage erupted, and the wind howled around us. Outside, the pressure dropped as a hurricane formed above the cavern, the elements responding to the anguish of my grief.
“Bring her back,” I snarled.
“Technically,” Death held up a cold finger, “she, or should I say, they, haven’t even left this room. Think of it as a nap. A stasis I control. If we cannot come to an agreement, I will make it permanent.”
I blinked. My heart stuttered at his admission. She wasn’t dead, not entirely. Not yet, at least.
“I thought nothing could survive Oblivion,” I gritted out between clenched teeth, my rage building that he would dare barter with her life.
“You truly think agodhas more power over death than I? IamDeath.”
With a flick of my ring, an ablaze weapon formed in my hand. Deftly, I spun it on my palm, flipping the dagger so the blade rested against my wrist. Only a fool would do what I did next, but when it came to Dianna, I was just that. I lurched forward and grabbed the back of Death’s head, pressing the burning metal to his throat.
He only smiled as he eyed me. “There he is. All that peace melts away when it’s Dianna who is threatened. I know your soul, Samkiel. I know what lurks beneath that skin and why Dianna is such a comfort to you. Your father feared it so deeply that he crafted a ring to contain it. Here, you wielded it without hesitation, and it could cost you greatly. You have always been heralded as a bastion of goodness, righteousness, and nobility, your resolve as enduring as any steel blade. However, with the right pressure, even steel can be broken. When that happens, I fear for those who stand in your way.”
I pressed my blade harder to his throat, tipping his chin. It was so odd to stare into my own face, to see Oblivion swirl around my shoulders and know it was not under my control.
