AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Why do you do that?” I asked, unable to process all that I was feeling.
“Why do you wish for me to dislike you so much?”
“I just don’t understand why you still care. Why do you still like me after everything I’ve done? Why do you still want me? It just doesn’t make sense, Samkiel.”
He caught my gaze and held it. His eyes were soft and warm, and I swore he was staring into my soul. “I’d be a liar if I said I did not still have feelings for the woman who ripped her heart out to save me, her sister, and the world. The one who will risk everything for someone she cares about without ever thinking of herself. The one who likes loud music and overly sweetened treats and shares everything with me. The woman who ties promises to her small finger. The one who pretends she hates happy movies because she doesn’t think she can ever have her own happy ending. The woman who wields and breathes fire on a whim and loves flowers even when she tries to deny it. I have seen the best of you, Dianna, and now I have seen the worst. I am not leaving. You do not scare me.”
We sat looking at each other. The only sounds were those of the ocean and the breeze rustling through the trees. My heart pounded. No one had ever seen so much of me, and I had never felt so exposed. I didn’t know what to do or how to act. He deserved so much more, so much better than me. Yet he looked at me as if he would rip the world to pieces for me, and I knew I would do so much worse for him.
“You do not have to say anything, nor am I asking for anything, but I need you to understand that pushing me away will not work. I am a very patient immortal. Especially when it comes to those I care for.”
He said it as if he hadn’t just rattled my entire world, his words resonating with some fragile part of me.
I pulled my knees up and wrapped my arms around them, watching the show Rashearim was putting on for us. The colors were breathtaking as they changed and shifted, swirling like an aurora borealis. It was quiet again but not uncomfortable. Somewhere between the temple on Onuna and the remains of Rashearim, Samkiel had become essential to me. He had been my anchor even when I was lost and didn’t recognize it.
“Gabby liked sunsets. I would often catch her watching them.”
“There are twin suns on the outskirts of Nebuluinium. They cast a magnificent glow as they set, lighting up the whole sky in a prism of color. She would have liked those.”
“Maybe she can see them from where she is?”
“Definitely.”
I didn’t know if he said it to appease me, and I didn’t care. It made me happy to know it was even a possibility.
“I never got to say goodbye. I think that’s what hurts the most. But at least she told me, right?”
“I think she knows. If there is any way for her to watch over you, I have no doubt she is doing so. Gabriella was a fighter just like you, strong, resilient, and stubborn. Even with the realms sealed, she’d find a way.”
My eyes filled with tears. “She would.”
“I also think that sometimes two people can love each other so very much that not even death can separate them.”
“You are such a romantic,” I joked, which got me another small laugh from him, but his words sank to the very depths of my soul. I shifted closer to him, fitting my arm beneath his massive one, my hand curling around his biceps. I rested my head against his shoulder, the muscles beneath my cheek bunching. He froze as if he was afraid he would scare me away.
“Do you think it will ever stop hurting?” I looked up at him as he turned toward me. “My heart?”
“If there were some way I could help to make the pain less, I would do it. I would bend any rule I could to make it so for you.” He gently wiped away the tears I could not stop. “But even with all my powers, I cannot heal a broken heart, and I can not rush grief.”
“I know,” I whispered, closing my eyes and savoring his touch as he ran his knuckles across my tear-streaked cheek. I laid my head back on his arm, inhaling deeply of his familiar scent. Samkiel brushed his lips across the top of my head, letting me seek comfort in any way I could.
“Can we stay here until the sun sets?” I asked.
“Of course,” he said, resting his cheek against my hair.
Neither of us said anything, watching the sun disappear beyond the sea, but something shifted between us. A piece that had been missing fell back into place. It was something cosmic, and I thought I heard fate whisper to me.
Samkiel said he couldn’t fix a broken heart, but how could I tell him he already was?
* * *
Samkiel yawned again as we entered the palace. I could feel his exhaustion beating at me. There had probably been a lot to do after everything I had done. I imagine he had been busy keeping the world spinning.
“Goodnight, Dianna,” he said, pulling me from my thoughts. He smiled and moved toward the couch. I could tell by the way he moved he planned to crash on the couch and pass out. Call me selfish, but I didn’t want to sleep alone anymore, and I wanted him close to me.
“You can stay.” The words spilled from my lips.
He stopped, half bent as he prepared to sit, and looked up at me, his brow furrowed.
