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My fingers curled into a tight fist. I relaxed my hand immediately, but I knew he’d seen. I didn’t know why his stupid comments hurt me so much, but they had. Ignoring the flicker of pain in his eyes, I held my hand out. He grasped it and lifted my fingers to the thin scar at the hollow of his throat. I felt him swallow as if my touch affected him, but I knew that couldn’t be right. Samkiel did not want me, and who could blame him?
“Everything has a weakness, even gods. I got this scar from a hateful goddess long ago. If I weren’t immortal, it would be a weak spot.” I pulled my hand back, and he took a step away, forcing a smile. “Makes it easier to cut my head off, I suppose.”
I clasped my hands together, holding in the heat from his touch. “You probably shouldn’t tell evil Ig’Morruthens things like that,” I half-joked, glancing back up at him.
“Well, when you see one, let me know.” He flipped my staff toward me with the end of his, and I caught it reflexively.
“What about the giant scary beasts from your past? Even them?”
“Especially them. If they are soft, it’s an illusion to make you think you can get close to them. You will need to strike at their eyes to kill them. If it’s a scaled beast, they usually have a soft underside where they bend or move. The trick to killing them is getting close enough before they rip you to pieces, but as I said, they have a weakness nonetheless.”
The world came rushing back, and I truly looked at Tobias, studying him. He stood, his mighty body coiled and his eyes glowing as he spotted me. He threw his head back, the spikes of his crown quivering as he laughed. His heavy body hit the ground, readying for a charge. But I’d seen my target. Beneath the thick plates of scales, I’d seen a pure orange glow—a soft spot. Triumph blossomed in me.
Tobias came at me, and I leaped out of the way. Logan and Neverra shouted my name, but I waved them off. Tobias collided with the far wall, more stones falling from the ceiling. He shook his head and hissed, taking a moment to recover. This building was too small for his size to be an asset. Two reanimated winged corpses descended on me, and I dispatched them quickly, sending them back into the arms of death.
The undead attacked Logan and Neverra. If I’d thought Xavier and Cameron were a deadly duo, they had nothing on Logan and Neverra. Every move between these two was as effortless as a perfectly choreographed dance, familiar and beloved to each of them. They bounced off each other, their swords striking, leaving bodies in pieces. Now I understood, seeing it with my own eyes, why The Hand were so feared. All of them together, plus Samkiel, would make a deadly force.
“What are you doing?” Logan shouted at me. I stood, ignoring the tremble in my legs and the demands of my body to feed it.
“I have a plan,” I shouted back, and Tobias’s massive head swung toward me, weaving hypnotically from side to side.
“I’m going to hold you here until Kaden returns and then make you watch as we cut those celestial bitches limb from limb,” Tobias hissed as he coiled, preparing to strike.
A new plan surfaced in my head and one I needed to thoroughly piss him off for.
I shrugged, my shoulder screaming. “You can try, but I figure they'll last longer than Alistair ever did.”
His eyes tightened into thin slits as those lips curved back. He let out a deep sibilant hiss and charged me head-on, mouth agape.
“Dianna!” Neverra shouted as I leaped at Tobias and was swallowed whole.
Forty-Six
Logan
Horror gripped me as I watched Dianna run toward Tobias, her sword clutched in her hand. He slithered so fast across the stone floor I could feel the vibration beneath my feet. My heart skipped a beat as Tobias opened his massive jaws and engulfed her. Neverra and I faltered, watching his scaled throat constrict as he worked to swallow her whole.
He turned his reptilian gaze on us, his eyes blazing with triumph. He hissed, his lips pulling back, exposing fangs sharp and vile. His intent was clear. We were next. His long body slithered toward us almost lazily.
Neverra looked at me, love shining from her eyes, and I nodded at her. Neverra was my only peace; if we died here, at least we’d die together. I had found her again, and that was all I ever wanted. She smiled at me and raised her weapon. My amata knew my heart, and I was never alone.
“I love you,” I whispered.
“And I, you,” she responded, the words filled with everything we didn’t have to say.
We turned as one, silver armor flowing over our bodies with a single flick of our rings. We raised our weapons, ready to advance. Tobias stopped, his jaw going slack as if caught by surprise. He raised his massive body and writhed. His hissing turned frantic as he looked from his midsection to his side and back. Then we saw the bright ember glowing in his belly. A sword pierced his tough skin, followed by a scream so loud it damn near shook through every realm. The blade thrust out, glowing bright and hot as it moved from his center to his head, splitting him in half.
Neverra and I gaped, watching his giant body fall like a felled tree, the ground shaking with the impact.
Dianna stood at the very center of the gore with her arms outstretched, feeding power into the flames consuming the corpse. When nothing but ashes and embers remained, Dianna tipped her head back, her chest heaving like a warrior savoring the aftermath of a long battle. I saw it then. Saw why Samkiel loved her so damned much, even if he refused to say the words. He risked his crown, his throne, and the damned world for her because Dianna was a queen worthy of any king.
She wiped the viscera from her brow and smiled at the sky. The remains of Tobias floated around her on the wind before escaping through the open ceiling. She called the sword back into her ring and glanced at us. Samkiel wanted an equal, and by the old gods, they had delivered.
Neverra caught my eye, sharing every thought I had through our bond, and nodded in agreement. She was our queen now. If Samkiel chose her, we would gladly follow her through every realm and back.
Dianna’s brow furrowed, her face and body covered in blood and gore, the ash and soot sticking to her. “What are you wearing?”
I looked down at the silver battle armor covering me from head to toe. With a flick of my ring, my helmet disappeared. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Neverra withdraw hers as well.
