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“Other than that book, Azrael took his secrets to his grave,” Vincent said, folding his arms across his chest.
“It would appear so.” I looked at Vincent and nodded toward the door. “You’re dismissed, Vincent. I need to speak to Logan alone.”
Vincent’s eyes flicked between Logan and me before he nodded and walked out. We listened as his footsteps carried him down the hall.
“You’ve been sneaking out after missions. I presume you’ve taken pictures of the map Dianna stole and have been hitting the caverns.” Logan sighed and met my gaze. “And please do not lie to me.”
“I did.”
“What did I tell you?”
He sighed. “Samkiel.”
“No!” The word left my lips in a thunderous roar. The lights flickered, not only in this room but throughout Arariel. The people below gasped and looked around nervously.
“I told you to take others with you. You didn’t. I told you not to go alone. You did. I told you—”
“I love her, Samkiel,” Logan snapped, his hands raising in frustration. “You know that. She is my entire world, and I refuse to let her stay a second longer with that psychopath. I’ve bedded women. I’ve fought in battle after battle, standing at Unir’s and your side for centuries, and none of it was worth it. She is. So yes, I have been sneaking out. I’ve been looking for her.”
The lights returned to normal, the city shining once more. I nodded and turned away from him. “I forbade it, yet you did it anyway. Defying a direct order from your king is treason. Punishable by death.”
He moved into my peripheral vision and folded his arms. “You plan to kill me?”
Silence fell between us.
“No.” I sighed. “You’re the closest thing I have to a brother.” I glanced at him. “Unir’s famous guard and my friend long before my second. I only wish for you to be safe.”
“I can’t give up on her.”
“I know.”
“Just like you can’t give up on Dianna.”
I turned away from him, looking past the city into the darkness beyond. “Look down there, Logan. Hundreds of families gathered, connecting, laughing, and loving. She lost all that and more. Kaden took her sister from her and, in the process, stole the last link to her mortality. He took her anchor, and everyone expects her not to go mad?”
“Vincent means well. He is just scared. He knows Kaden has the book and worries for you. We all do. Plus, you know he will always be blindly protective of you. You saved him from Nismera.”
“I know.”
I felt Logan’s gaze burn into me.
“You may leave now.” I glanced down, fiddling with the mask he’d given me. “I’ll be down momentarily.”
Logan didn’t move. “You are not the cause of our damnation, Samkiel. You never were.”
A small smile curved my lips. “The war was because of me, Logan. No matter what you or they say, it was because of me. This world celebrates survival because ours fell, and it fell because of me. Enemies older than I gather forces for another war because of me.”
“You can’t take all the blame, nor should you. Wars and battles were a way of life long before you or before your father came into power. I know you have been through a lot more than any of us, but—”
“I was happy.” The words left my lips without me realizing it. “I was happy for the first time in my long existence.”
“What?”
“I know I didn’t seem like it when I first came back. Thousands of years of emotions are stacked inside my head, things I never wanted to share with anyone until her. Then, she came crashing in like she did everything. It wasn’t anything at first. We could barely stand the sight of one another, but somehow, she snuck behind every defense I had and got under my skin. It was the most intense thing I had ever felt. All she did was talk to me, hold me through the worst of my nightmares, and she got in. She is everything I am supposed to protect you all from, and a part of me knows I cannot live without her.”
“Do you love her?” Logan asked, his eyes filled with understanding.
“She is killing, feeding, and becoming everything he ever wanted. She is relentless in her pursuit of vengeance. Apparently, even I cannot stop her. Dianna is what they warned us about. The monster they taught us to fear. She has used everything I shared with her against me, trying to hurt me when all I wished to do was protect her, to save her. She sent dream eaters after us, attacked the council, attacked you all. I have skinned creatures alive for even threatening to harm any of you. The part that makes me ill is that my blood and mind scream at me to think as a king and protector. Maybe I didn’t know her as well as I had assumed. Maybe she showed me exactly who she was, and then….”
