Ninety-One
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Samkiel
T he council hall shuddered as more portals opened. Nismera’s guards
spilled into the room, marching in unison, their boots echoing against
the stone. They filed out and pivoted toward the exit. I heard her whisper something about Onuna as they strode out under Nismera’s orders, their weapons as sharp and twisted as they were. I groaned, trying to get up.
They would destroy that planet, and I couldn’t let them. I knew what would happen.
It’s not enough. My father’s words rang in my head.
And it wasn’t.
Nismera had an army of Ig’Morruthens and beings to do her bidding, and I feared I’d merely seen a fraction of it. She stood to the side, her arms folded as she spoke to Kaden. An armored fist connected with my face, drowning out their hushed whispers. The dragonbane armor on his knuckles split my skin, and the force of the hit sent me crashing to the floor.
Someone stepped on my outstretched hand, grinding it beneath a heavy boot. I groaned and pushed up as much as I could, spitting blood onto the floor. My body was so weak, and I was so tired. A talon-tipped hand clamped on the back of my skull, yanking it back by my hair.
Isaiah kneeled beside me in full armor except for his helmet. Kaden had introduced him as one of my brothers, and I could see the connection. He resembled Kaden in the face, but his build was a fraction leaner and a fraction taller. Short, tight curls graced the top of his head with a zigzag pattern clipped in on both sides. Isaiah’s nose matched our father’s and mine, and he had the same furrowed brow I had seen Unir wear so frequently.
My gut rolled. There, amidst all my pain, the flicker of familiarity seemed somehow wrong. Secrets. The world and I would pay dearly for the secrets my father kept.
“I remember when you were merely a mewling pup. Now, look at you.”
Those damned red eyes danced across my face. “All grown up.”
“I don’t remember you at all,” I hissed.
Isaiah shrugged and smirked, displaying a single gleaming fang. He flicked his wrist, drawing a single forsaken blade. The tip was jagged, sharp, and carved from bone dark as night.
“Not a problem.”
He pressed his knee against the wound on my abdomen. I gritted my teeth, a fresh wave of agony washing over me. He pressed my arm to the floor, watching me the whole time. Isaiah placed the blade against my wrist.
I bucked weakly, blood bubbling past my lips, my body shutting down. He pressed slowly, the devastatingly sharp blade slicing into my flesh. I tried to focus and keep from blacking out from the pain as he separated my hand at the wrist. My skin burned at the contact, but I did not scream. I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction.
Isaiah rose, standing proudly, a satisfied smirk on his lips. Nismera and the others glanced toward us. He ripped the rings from my fingers before tossing my severed hand across the room and walking to where Nismera stood.
“The Ring of Oblivion,” he offered her the dark ring like a gift, “as you
requested.”
No.
I cradled my arm against my chest, sweat flowing into my eyes, my body trying to heal and failing. How could it? Most of my power danced through the universe, opening portals far beyond the reach of this world.
Isaiah placed the single obsidian ring in her palm, and she smiled.
Kaden merely glanced at it.
My vision blurred as I lay on the floor, the agony in my body subsiding as I went numb. Not even my wrist or abdomen hurt as much now. The blood pooled around me was growing cool, and I was so tired. Sleep edged close, but I knew if I relaxed and let it take me, if I closed my eyes for a second, it would be over. I wouldn’t wake up. Something in me snapped, demanding I stay awake, stay here. It sounded like Dianna, but that couldn’t be real, and I was just so tired.
Nismera’s sharp boots clacked against the floor as she neared, gripping her golden death spear. I tried to push myself up and failed. Her long, torn black cape flared behind her, the skulls on her shoulders anchoring it in place. Blood streaked the front of her armor. It was similar to Kaden’s, only hers was more lithe, sharp, and deadly. She came to a stop, Kaden and Isaiah flanking her. Nismera spun her spear and slammed the tip into the floor. The runes containing me dissolved into the ground, a tiny bit of energy trying to crawl its way back to me. It wasn’t enough, not nearly.
She sent a vicious glare at Kaden. “I’m a little disappointed you got rid of my army of the dead, my mind screamers. You promised me vampires, werewolves, dream eaters, yet I have nothing.”
“You told me to kill the sister, and I did. That was the consequence of your command.”
“Don’t be so hard on him, Mera. He brought you The Hand, the Ring of Oblivion, and soon the head of Samkiel,” Isaiah interjected.
Nismera ordered the hit on Dianna’s sister? My mind reeled. Why?
What grudge could she have against Dianna? My head throbbed as the pieces rearranged themselves in my mind, and everything finally made sense. Now I understood the broadcast and why Vincent had tried to get us to ignore it. Logan had been right. When Kaden took Gabby’s life, it wasn’t just watched by the entire world. It was to send a message to Nismera.
I wanted to ask, scream, and rage, but I was so tired. My vision blurred as the room shook again. More warriors exited the portal, arranging themselves around the room. A general with the shape and build of an upright reptile stopped at Nismera’s side. Its long snout parted, exposing sharp conical teeth as it sneered at me.
I blinked as another creature approached, this one taller than her, its muscular build covered in feathers, talons tipping both his fingers and toes.
He cocked his head, his bird-like eyes focusing on me with a raptor’s gaze.
“He does not seem that impressive,” he said in the ancient language.
“He never was.” Nismera glanced at me dismissively. “Are all the relics secure?”
“Yes, my king,” the feathered one answered.
“Excellent.” Nismera smiled. “Gather the rest of your fleet. We move to Yaegomar once we finish here.”
“Yes, my king.” He bowed in a susurration of feathers before leaving.
The reptilian general grunted. “What of this world and Onuna?”
“We claim it. Erase anything he has built. I want to kill any hope this realm or the next has of their precious lost king. Besides, it’s been a long trip. I am sure my beasts are hungry.”
Her smile was as vile as I remembered. The general beside her lifted a single clawed hand, and Gryhpors emerged from the tunnel. He turned on his heel, the thick-plated, scaled, legless creatures following him out. I felt the remains of Rashearim tremble in revulsion.
“Would you like to see another world fall before I snuff that pretty light out entirely?”
My heart beat rapidly in my chest as an idea formed. I could use the last sliver of power I had left to sustain me for a little while longer, or I could use it for one last act of defiance. I could save the people on Onuna. It was Dianna’s world. She’d shared it with me, showing me its blinding lights and overzealous mortals. I had grown to treasure all of it. They would not meet Nismera’s wrath or pay like Dianna and her sister had. No one should have to pay for my family’s mistakes again. I couldn’t stop what was to come for everyone, but I could for those on Onuna.
She laughed as she saw the light build in my hand. “Do you think you’re in any state to fight me, Samkiel?”
“No, but I won’t let you destroy them.”
I whispered a chant, one my father had taught me so long ago. He had hoped I would never need to use it, and it was ironic I had to use it because of his secrets. I needed to save as many as I could. Light burst from my hand, bathing this world and Onuna in silver light. I could send them away.
I only hoped I could wrench all of them from her treacherous grip. If the realms were opened, I knew at least one world they would be safe on. At least one.
The chant done, I closed my hand into a fist, and the last bit of energy I had tore from me. I sagged to the floor, my heart feeling as if it would stop any second.
“You will not have any more blood while I live.”
Nismera, Kaden, and Isaiah stared in shock as waves of light shot toward the sky. I smiled, my task complete.
“Unir sat on a throne that resembled the sun and carried a staff that could build worlds. He tried to carve peace when he truly was nothing more than the monsters he claimed to hunt,” Nismera said, spitting cold, heartless
venom at me. She tapped her talon-gloved hand on that golden-tipped spear.
“You’re just like him, and you will die like him.”
She dragged the curved tip of her blade across my cheek toward my neck. The cold iron bit into my throat as she ran the blade across the same scar she had made the last time we met. The same wound that had nearly decapitated me so long ago. She flicked the necklace Dianna had given me to the side, unaware of how important it was to me.
“Does this bring back memories?” She twisted the golden spear in her hand, pressing into my flesh. “Do you remember how my steel feels, Samkiel? I have thought of it plenty. That battlefield. How, if I could have just been a second quicker, your blood would have soaked the dirt? I would have loved to have seen Unir’s face when he realized his most precious thing in the world was dead. The thought brings me pure joy.” She pressed the spear’s tip harder against my neck, and I gritted my teeth. “I hope he is watching from the heavens above and weeps when I reclaim my crown, my throne.”
I knew what was coming and had no strength to even stand, much less fight to stop it. Nismera’s grin turned vicious. Time slowed, and I looked at the three wide-open portals behind her. The same ones The Hand, my family, had gone through. I’d never see them again. My power was gone, and I could feel my life draining away. Even if Nismera’s blade missed, I was still done.
“I have not killed a god in ages. Let’s see if I still got it.” Nismera pulled her arm back, ready to thrust that spear through my neck and finish what she had started long ago.
My last dying thought as that blade came closer was not the cruel grins of my enemies or the traitorous family that stood around me. No, it was of
her.
Dianna.
Her laugh. Her warmth. The way she tasted, the way she felt. How she had held me, healing wounds that hadn’t mended in centuries. The way she spoke to me. How she had taken me across Onuna. The multicolored lights of a festival that was too loud but with her was fun. How she showed me the sweetest food. Cared for me. A small gift given on a balcony I had made by hand in a castle just for her. The short brief time we spent truly together and how maybe she could have loved me if time had allowed it. I remembered her smile and the way her nose scrunched when she was
annoyed with the things I said. Her playfulness when she swatted at me for the comments she secretly loved.
Paradise, that’s what she was to me and what I’d so desperately miss. I knew that even in death, I’d find no peace in the afterlife, for there was no peace without her. My only regret was not telling her sooner how deeply she’d burrowed into my heart, becoming a piece of my soul.
A sharp roar blasted through the air, followed by a snap and a crunch.
Nismera paused, and we all looked toward the doorway. The reptilian general’s large, sharp-toothed head rolled by. It came to a stop, its tongue lolling and the whites of its eyes showing.
“Gross, I will never get this out from under my nails.”
A jolt went through me, my battered and bruised heart struggling to
pound in my chest.
Dianna.
I almost wept. But no, she couldn’t be here. Not with them.
Nismera’s lip curled in a snarl as she looked at her dead general and
back.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Was that yours?”
Dianna’s shoes squeaked across the floor, soaked in the blood of all that had stood in her way. Her crimson eyes met mine, and my heart clenched at the sight of her. Her powers were back with a vengeance.
Isaiah seemed dumbfounded, and all of them took a step back. Whoever the general was, it was enough to make Nismera’s seconds pause. Nismera glared at Kaden, menace rolling off of her in waves. Kaden lowered his head in submission.
“Gods, you all really do talk a lot. I guess it’s all the egos,” Dianna said, shaking blood and gore from her hands. Her lip curled in disgust, and she brushed a piece of flesh off her shoulder. “But, I will admit, it did save me some time. Especially since I had to eat and disembowel so many monsters to get here.” She strolled into the room, and everyone went silent. Nismera gripped her spear so tight her knuckles turned white.
“Di—” I tried to warn her not to fight, not them, not Nismera, but my words died when Nismera kicked me in the side of the head so hard my vision blurred. I didn’t need to see to know that Dianna was closer now. I could sense her and all her power, waiting, coiled, and ready to strike.
“You come for your wounded amata. How cute,” Nismera hissed.
I tried and failed to raise my head. The best I could manage was to turn my head so I could see Dianna. She glanced at me, signaling with one hand for me to stay down and be still.
“What can I say? I am protective of what’s mine. Everyone in this room has made a mistake in touching him. I’m sure Kaden can enlighten you on the consequences.”
Nismera’s laugh echoed off the council walls. “Oh, what a naïve half- wit you are. Do you really think you frighten me, child?”
Dianna didn’t flinch. She smiled and took a step to the side. Nismera and the others followed her every move, taking a step away from me.
“That’s it? That’s your line? You know, I have seen you in his nightmares and heard stories about the powerful Nismera. Come on. I’ll give you another try. Tell me you’re going to rip my skin from my bones or something.”
If I could have laughed, I would have. Of course, Dianna would insult and taunt one of the most terrifying goddesses known in our realm.
Nismera’s back stiffened. She took another step toward Dianna, the generals at her side. Isaiah summoned his helmet back, all of them ready to take her on Nismera’s command. I saw then what Dianna was doing. She was baiting a trap and moving them away from me.
My smart, beautiful girl.
“You are arrogant, just like him,” Nismera all but spit.
“I’ve been told I have a mouth.”
Nismera’s small chuckle was riddled with annoyance. She spun her golden spear, keeping pace with Dianna. “I am glad you are here. Now I get to kill Samkiel’s mate in front of him. That will bring me joy.”
“You know, I gave you another try, but if that is your evil, intimidating speech, it’s lackluster, to say the least.” Dianna’s eyes burned a shade darker. “I can do better. I see a room full of overgrown children pretending to be rulers. You all stand around here, whining about your daddy issues.
For fuck’s sake, you all had to bind Samkiel to beat him. You think that’s power? Please. You’re all pathetic.”
That was all it took. Nismera handled insults like she handled everything else—with extreme violence. She lifted her spear and pointed at Dianna. The others charged. Fear for her shivered through me. I grimaced, trying to push myself to my feet. I would not let her die alone. She had come for me, come back for me. If we died, we died together.
It turned out that my efforts were not needed. The room exploded in a milky white burst, stars and dust scattering in every direction, shielding
Dianna and me.
Roccurem.
A thunderous roar ripped through the room, Nismera voicing her rage.
Roccurem cried out in pain, and the flare of white light was nearly blinding.
The room came rushing back, blinded generals bumping into each other.
Nismera’s eyes burned, glowing silver veins running through the burning white. She snarled, looking for Dianna and the fate that had just betrayed her. Unable to locate her targets, her head whipped toward me. She shoved her own generals out of the way. Hate twisted her features as she stomped toward me, but it was too late. Dianna was quicker. Dianna slid across the floor. Her arms wrapped around me, and Nismera’s blood- curdling scream shattered the remaining windows as the floor beneath us opened, swallowing us whole.
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