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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.
