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Intended.
Betrothed.
My world spun. My head was crowded with noise, the same noise left on the screen when Gabby and I had fallen asleep while watching a movie, trying our damndest to squeeze as much time together as we could. I always woke up to that blistering static as she continued to sleep, her hand plastered to her face. Now, just like then, I turned it off, and everything went dark, quiet, and empty. I had trusted him, yet he had lied like everyone else. I had hesi—
And a lock on a door in a house quieted.
“You really didn’t know?” Kaden asked, and I realized I had been quiet for too long. “Aw, sweetie, I thought you guys were best friends and all of that, but he didn’t tell you?”
I blinked back the emotions that reared up, threatening to drown me. They hid a far more devastating truth. “Whatever Samkiel and I had was merely a convenience. It was never permanent. I do not care who he fucks.”
Kaden smiled, and even if he wasn’t in his physical form, I could still feel the power that radiated from him. “You’re many things, Dianna, but a liar is not one of them. Remember, love, I have eyes and ears everywhere. They should be back from that council meeting. I say let’s have a look for ourselves.”
Kaden reached into his pocket and pulled a slab of obsidian from it. Its smooth surface shining like a mirror against the light. It rippled, and a room appeared, not just any room but the large conference room in Silver City.
“I had one of my lackeys add this while you two were out fighting somewhere.”
I glanced at Kaden. “Why are you telling me this?” I asked, my voice barely audible.
“Because I don’t think you’ll care after seeing this.”
Voices spilled from the mirror, drawing my attention.
Samkiel’s hand rested under his cheek as he looked through what appeared to be an ancient book. Several stacks of paper and what resembled a map sat next to him. He looked so tired, half slumped over in his seat. I could see others moving in the background. Laughter and jokes spilled from Cameron and Xavier as Logan paced toward the far side of the room. The Hand was there, but that wasn’t what made me stop. Instead, I focused on the tall blonde who came to his side and offered him a drink. He took it from her, giving her a warm smile when she placed a hand on his shoulder and rubbed it. It was the smallest act and yet one that had the remains of my world tilting on its axis.
His betrothed.
His intended.
She comforted him now, taking my place so effortlessly, where I was the cause of his distress.
Bile rose in my throat as I remembered another time he’d held a damned mirror in front of me. Only it was the truth of my relationship with him and not a damned shard of glass. Kaden had shown me then, in the most heartbreaking way, that anyone was replaceable. I had vowed never to get attached to anyone like that again, and I had held to it. Until Samkiel. Now, I had no right to be upset.
Kaden whistled. “They make a cute couple.”
“Absolutely perfect.” The words left my lips even if my chest burned.
“That,” he nodded at the mirror, “is what he needs. Do you really think she would hurt him? Stab him? Assault his friends and the world he is sworn to protect? Even if you kill me, he will need his family, and you will never be a part of that. We are what they hunt, what they fear. You know this. Can you really say you care about him and be that selfish?”
The rest of The Hand moved around the room. All lost in conversation. He turned toward them and soon joined in the discussion. I saw it then; the ivory castles on distant worlds with clouds dancing between the peaks. I saw the birds weaving through the rays of sunshine. Imogen walked toward him in a gown made of diamonds and gold. The others stood with bowed heads in their finest clothing. I saw a crown on his head and hers. I saw it all, what he could have. The realms would be in order without chaos, death, or pain because I would be gone. Kaden would be gone once I was done, and there would be no more darkness in his life.
He deserved that because he was good and kind and honorable. I knew I couldn’t be selfish with him as I had with Gabby. I’d held her back, not letting her live the life she wanted, the life she deserved, until it was too late. And that one harrowing truth rang loud and clear in my ears, heart, and soul. I’d known it the second she died, and vengeance consumed me.
Samkiel and I were not meant to be.
What we had, as short as it had been, was not real. Samkiel deserved so much more than me. I couldn’t take the life he was destined to live. A curse, that’s what I’d been to Gabby. I wouldn’t force that on him.
The pain in my already broken heart dulled, and I breathed a sigh of relief when I finally felt nothing. The last nail in whatever coffin encased my heart. An icy wave swept over me like a blanket, solidifying my resolve.
Kaden placed the obsidian slab back into his pocket.
“They may not need you, but I do,” he whispered, stepping closer, his large frame invading my space. “I always have.”
I swiped my hand across my cheek, furious that I was still capable of tears and that I’d cried in front of him.
“Is that your master plan? Show me his ex, and I’d come back to you?”
“Not his ex, his current.”
