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The pulsing heat in my eyes died, and I watched as the metal cooled. The beating against the door stopped as soon as I started speaking. I heard him sigh and then a thud as he dropped to sit on the floor.
“You’re a hopeless romantic idiot.” It was the last thing I heard him say as I took the metal stairs two at a time.
Eleven
Samkiel
Thunder clapped again, and I knew it had not originated from the swollen clouds crowding the sky. I stood on the deck, unable to take my eyes off the massive dark wyvern that circled the ship. She knew I was here with Santiago, and I could feel her calculating her odds.
She cut through a swath of clouds and I turned, waiting for her to reappear. The rhythmic beat of her powerful wings stopped, and the only sounds were the howl of the wind, the ceaseless brush of the sea against the ship, and the patter of the rain. Where had she gone? I knew she wouldn’t just leave. I turned in a slow circle, stopping when lightning flashed, illuminating the deck for an instant before darkness fell again, concern and tension building in my chest. Another bolt danced across the sky, and my heart skipped. One moment I was alone on the deck. The next, she was standing a few feet from me.
It was as if she’d appeared from the darkness itself.
Gods, was she always this beautiful? It had been far too long since I had seen her last, and I was hungry for the sight of her. She stared back at me, her eyes glowing red, their depths too alien for me to read her emotions. The outfit she wore hugged her body lovingly. I had memorized every one of those curves in my dreams when sleep took me against my will. The wind cut, blowing sharp and cold, the storm growing.
She cocked her head, her body still as if listening for something below. I realized she was searching for him even as she stood here with me.
“I dislike being apart from you this long,” I called to her.
Her head snapped toward me, those crimson eyes shifting for a split second, and I swore I saw a hint of hazel. Joy sparked through me that my words had some effect on her, even if it was fleeting. It hinted at a chance, a small sliver of hope. Her eyes stayed on me this time, but she still did not speak, the rain and wind building to a tumult around us.
I gave her a slow smile, working at keeping her focus on me. “See something you like?”
Dianna’s lips twisted in a small grin. “I forgot how massive you are. Too many mortal men, I suppose.”
She meant for that jab to sting, to distract me, and it did hurt. She was not mine, not entirely. Given what we’d been dealing with at the time, we’d never discussed being exclusive, but it burned me to my core that she was with anyone else, and she knew it. I saw it on her face.
“Thanks for leaving your clues, by the way,” I shouted over the clap of thunder. “I thought you’d at least be more careful. Unless you wanted me to find you.” Dianna moved to the right, slowly, deliberately, then back to the left, pacing. She reminded me once more of the riztoure beasts, large, beautiful, sleek, yet fearsome felines from Rashearim. She was all of that, and here she was, sizing me up like prey.
“Webster was a lowlife arms dealer who sold more than weapons. He deserved what he got.”
“If you didn’t want me to find you, you probably shouldn’t set places aflame.” I paused, another part of me raging to the surface. “Or leave your lacy undergarments behind.”
“Lacy undergarments?” Her laugh rolled off her tongue like a purr, echoing through the storm. “They are called panties, Samkiel. You know that, and you’ve seen plenty.”
“Yes, but I distinctly remember yours.”
“I’m glad. I left them as a parting gift,” she called back with another tip of her chin. “Another way to tell you that the girl you’re so desperate to save is long gone, and she is not coming back.”
I smirked, ignoring her blatant attempt to push me further away, even as it ripped at my heart. I had another plan.
“I will admit, I enjoy the fact you thought of me while you were with others,” I called over the raging storm. “Did it help you come, or are you still deprived, my Dianna?”
Whatever retort she’d prepared died the second those words left my lips. She faltered, and even though she corrected herself almost immediately, I saw her reaction to me calling her mine. I saw the flicker of recognition in her posture as if she still craved and treasured those words. In that moment, I knew I’d won. She knew it too.
“I’ll take your silence as a no.”
I watched her shake her head, rain plastering her hair to her face. “Please, is that jealousy I hear? Does the mighty World Ender, the legend himself, get jealous? I don’t remember that in your memories.”
“I am not fond of others touching what’s mine.”
“Yours?” A sharp laugh escaped her, followed by a huff of smoke that curled from her nose. “When did we agree on that? When we hated each other? The one night we finally touched? Or was it when I stayed with you when they took her? Which part?”
“Dianna.” Her name came out as a plea.
“Samkiel.” She mocked me, clicking her tongue. “Besides, your jealousy is misplaced on Malone. He only lasted a few minutes before I ripped him to pieces.” Her smile was deadly.
I tried to act as if her mentioning her tryst so nonchalantly didn’t set my nerves and temper in overdrive, but the sky betrayed me. A bolt of lightning split the sky, followed by a clap of thunder, my energy disrupting the atmosphere. She caught it, her head tipping back as a laugh made of sin left her lips. The rain poured on her face, water flowing down her neck.
