AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He raised his hand between us, extending his small finger. “Pinky promise? A dark-haired beauty told me long ago that it is practically the law in her world.”
I grinned and grasped his finger with mine. “Pinky promise.”
He yanked me forward, our hands pressed between us as he sealed the vow with a kiss.
Seventy-Nine
Cameron
The walk away from Samkiel’s home was quiet. We all planned to go back tonight and pack before heading to Onuna. Logan and Neverra walked arm-in-arm in front of us. They stopped on the path, chatting with Imogen, their laughter carrying on the flower-scented breeze. Imogen kissed Neverra’s cheek and hugged Logan. I heard her tell them goodnight before she shot into the sky, her light the first to go.
“Well, that was fun,” Vincent said from behind Xavier and me. I just nodded, my hands in my pockets as Xavier and I walked toward the end of the bridge.
“Yeah, Xavier and I had a bet on when she would make you cry. Although I didn’t see a tear, it was damn near close to you pissing your pants,” I said, tossing a taunting look over my shoulder at him. Vincent sneered but didn’t say anything.
Xavier laughed as he tossed the coin he’d won from me into the air.
“I’m glad you two can find humor in this. It still only proves my point. She is volatile,” Vincent said, his voice harsh.
I shrugged. “I had fun even if the dinner took a turn.” It was an understatement. My chest still ached at Samkiel’s words. The Hand was no longer needed. I shook my head, clearing it. “You were quieter than normal, Vin.”
“What am I supposed to say? Congratulations on not being a dick like the other gods? Thanks for giving us our freedom? Samkiel never kept us like pets, but this felt different, more permanent.”
Xavier grunted in agreement. “Yeah, it did.”
The three of us stopped at the end of the bridge. The breeze died down, and the trees went quiet.
“I mean, that’s the plan. If Kaden is dead, there are no more big bad monsters to fight. No more worlds in danger of being destroyed. Dianna leveled the Otherworldly playing field, killing almost all of his lackeys. What else is there?”
Vincent glanced back at the palace. “There are always more monsters to face.”
I snorted. “You really have a hard-on for her, don’t you?”
Vincent’s head whipped toward me as Xavier muffled a laugh. “Absolutely not, but she is still Kaden’s blood, which means her powers are only dormant. Not gone. What happens if she truly unleashes, huh?”
“Vincent,” Xavier said, reaching out and gripping his shoulder. “She isn’t Nismera.”
Vincent glanced at Xavier’s hand before shaking it off, his face twisting with the normal angry expression that we all knew so well. “You know what I mean. Even with Kaden gone, there will always be one monster left.”
Xavier didn’t back down, either. “Yeah, and if that happens, which I doubt since she could have killed us all after her sister died, Samkiel can handle her.”
I scratched my ear, glancing back at the palace. “And from the sounds coming from the palace right now, I think he has already started.”
Vincent’s lip curled in disgust, cobalt lines flaring across his body. “Whatever.” He took to the night sky in a gleam of light, leaving Xavier and me alone.
“I still think he has a hard-on for her.”
Xavier chuckled, placing his hands in his pocket once more. “I think he is overprotective of us all and doesn’t trust her, which makes sense. Even without her powers, she is terrifying.”
I shrugged. “Well, he won’t have to worry about it much longer. It seems we are all going our separate ways.”
I waited for Xavier to take my bait, to proclaim they may all leave, but we would stay the same. My chest had felt tight from the moment we’d arrived. I smelled the tension long before I stepped into the palace, and I knew I wouldn’t like it, and I didn’t. I had never imagined that we would not be together forever. It seemed I was wrong that we would stick through everything.
“Speaking of that. I need to talk to you.”
Xavier’s tone caught my attention, and I stood a bit straighter, no longer slouching against the bridge railing. “Talk to me? About Elianna? Listen—”
“No, well, yes, but not really.”
