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I struggled to my feet, my head pounding as he summoned more energy in his hands. “Kaden spelled the blood of every Otherworld creature, everyone in the world that is important to him so that you can’t find him. You should know by now that he won’t be found until he wants to be.”
“Gods, what a bunch of pussies. You can’t even die with dignity. Good to know you’re all running around with your tail between your legs like the good little bitches you are.”
I hit a nerve. Santiago’s hand flicked out, the tangle of green energy blasting from his palm. It hit me in the chest and sent me through the metal wall at my back. I landed with a pained grunt, my lungs not working and my chest concave. The bones beneath my skin popped back into place as I sat up, thankful I had been eating enough, or that blow would have knocked me damn near unconscious.
“You’re stronger now. Powerful. I like it. You finally gave in fully, huh? I guess he was right. All you needed was a little push.”
I tossed my hair from my face as Santiago stepped inside, ducking to avoid the sharp points of metal lining the hole my body had made. He glowed, dimly illuminated by the energy he wielded, and it shone brighter as he summoned more power to his hands.
Bands of green energy shot out, clasping my throat and hauling me up. My feet dragged across the floor as he pulled me toward him. Santiago’s teeth flashed white as his fingers curled, tightening the band around my neck. I just needed to get him a little closer, keep him talking, and keep him thinking he had the upper hand.
“You know, I don’t think you could kill Kaden even if you found him. It will take an army to stop him at this point, and you’re all alone. You have no one, and once he opens these realms, you will wish you’d stayed.” He stopped me a few feet away and smirked, the green tendrils releasing me.
“That’s Kaden’s master plan? He wants to open the realms with iron? The realms only open when Samkiel dies, and iron cannot kill an immortal fucking god. You’re both idiots.”
Santiago laughed like I’d told a joke. “We are? Please, it’s just one ingredient.”
I hid the smile behind my facade as he did the exact thing I needed him to. Talk.
“Oh, just one?”
The smile fell from his face as he realized what he had just said. “You are a bitch.”
“I know, but I’m a smart bitch.” I summoned the forsaken blade from the ring Camilla had made for me and rose to my feet in one fluid motion. Santiago leaned back in shock, swirling green energy dancing across his knuckles. He threw the magic toward me in desperation. I stepped back and brought the blade up, his power bouncing off it just as Camilla said it would. He cast another ball of energy, then another, and we danced for what felt like forever.
Every hit was intentional and deadly. There was a reason Kaden favored us both. I slid across the floor, landing a kick that sent him sailing across the hall and into another room. I chased him, which was stupid on my part. As soon as I stepped into the threshold, Santiago used his magic to slam the large steel door against my head. I stumbled back, knocked off balance, and he threw a tangle of green magic at me. It encased me from my throat to my knees, holding my arms tight against my body. He squeezed and lifted me into the air.
He stepped forward, his hand raised as he tossed me against one wall, then another. Pain ripped through me as I felt my shoulder pop out of the socket, but I had no time to focus on it as he threw me against the ceiling and then slammed me to the floor.
He lifted me into the air again, and I caught the maniacal glee warping his expression. He would kill me here if he could, and if not, he would incapacitate me enough to take me to Kaden. My muscles bunched beneath the magic as I strained.
“I can’t wait to return to him with the iron and you. What’s that mortal saying? Two birds, one sto—” Santiago stopped mid-word. I strained to look at him. He frowned, and I saw the flash of a silver blade.
One minute he stood. The next, his body fell into two separate pieces, split completely down the center. The power binding me disappeared, and I fell to the floor, landing on my ass with a thud. Samkiel’s eyes remained focused on me as he stepped over Santiago’s corpse. He stopped in front of me and reached out to help me up. I glared at him, my nostrils flaring as I slapped his hand away.
“Why did you do that?” I shouted.
He frowned, offended. “Do what? Save you.”
“Save me?” I scoffed. “He had information, and I was getting it until you showed up to play the hero again and killed him.”
“Information? Between him wrapping you in magic or throwing you across the room until you are bruised and bloody?” He looked insulted. “You were—”
“I wasn’t anything, you incompetent ass.”
I hopped to my feet and popped my shoulder back into place with a grunt. I stormed past him and stepped through the hole in the wall. He swore, and I heard his heavy footsteps following behind me, always following me.
“Dianna.”
“No!” I shouted, storming through the ship. “Stop trying to save me, help me, and for the love of the gods, stop following me like a lost fucking puppy!”
“What does that even mean?”
“It means stop talking to me like we’re suddenly friends again because we are not.”
“Great. I despise that word. I wish to be so much more than friends.”
Heat suffused my entire body as a sudden memory of just how much he hated that word flooded in. He did that every fucking time. He always got in.
