Two Vincent. One Week Later

I scooted across the long rumpled bed, picking up my pants and stepping into them as the water from the bathroom shut off.

Steam cooled and spread in tendrils, attempting to escape the beast it had just cleaned. My eyes roamed, looking for a distraction and catching on the intricate shell sitting on the carved dresser.

My head tilted. “You kept this?”

“Yes, it’s yours or what’s left of the first piece of armor I gave you. I told you I have missed you, pet,” Nismera purred from behind me, the floral scent of bommsberries coating her skin. It was another attempt to hide the lethal creature beneath. She may not have had horns, scales, or fangs, but a beast made of light was still a beast.

I watched from the corner of my eye as she ran her hand through the ends of her silver hair, separating the pieces that had curled around one another.

Pet. Always a pet. I wondered if that was truly how she saw me, but I knew the answer. Missed me was a loose term. Nismera never loved like others, never cared like others. She used what she had, and when she could no longer use it, she eradicated it.

I turned as she walked across her room, my eyes following her naked, lean-muscled form as she grabbed her garbs off the large, clawfoot chair. I watched without a hint of lust or longing, not craving her as I once had eons ago. What I’d done in this room with her had been out of survival, duty, and perhaps a belief that I deserved it. Maybe I did deserve her after the way I had betrayed my family. I swallowed the bile rising in my throat, refusing to reveal the disgust I felt for myself.

“What of me now?”

She spun, zipping up the side of her shirt. “You will assume your position as if you never left. The High Guard of the legion, Hectur, will be demoted. He was merely keeping your spot occupied while you dismantled Samkiel and The Hand, anyway.”

The Hand. The way she said it made it sound like a curse. Guilt ate at my gut, causing it to roll, and I swallowed my apprehension. “It will cause an uproar, I am sure.”

Nismera smiled as she jumped and wiggled, sliding into the sleek dark pants before buttoning them and sitting on the bed. She slipped on steel-heeled boots and met my eyes. “There will be none. Anyone who disagrees will be strung up like a new flag outside the stone walls that border this city. They will fly high as a warning to anyone who dares challenge me.”

I nodded, knowing she meant every word. The scent of decaying flesh lingered in the air. I had smelled it the second the portal closed.

She was on her feet and beside me in a flash. A single finger ran under my chin, turning my gaze back toward hers. She wore that famed three-skulled cape around her shoulders, the hollow eyes mocking me even here.

“Worry not, pet. You were Samkiel’s second for so long. Maybe you forgot your place is and will always be by me.”

I shook my head. “I never forgot.”

“Good.” Her finger curled beneath my chin, and even though it was but a small, simple digit, I could feel the power beneath her touch. I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that with one flick, she had the strength to fling my head off my shoulders and toss it across the room as if it were nothing, as if I were nothing. I knew I was nothing to her.

“I also have your room prepared. You are in the east wing, top floor.”

I swallowed, trying to hide my satisfaction. The east wing was far from her large rooms here on the west. Excitement thrilled through me that I’d at least have my own place.

“You will accompany the witch to and from her station.”

My excitement died.

“Pardon me, my liege?” I asked, trying to mask the bitterness I felt.

Nismera clamped the large, circular pin that held her half-cloak to her shoulder, her legless beasts engraved into the metal. “Which part was hard for you to understand?”

“The witch.”

“Camilla is a magnificent power source, my only one since Santiago proved useless. I need her to repair an ancient artifact of mine, but I do not trust her. You, I trust. You will accompany her to and from unless I need you, then I will ask the other guards. Your room shall be across from hers. I need to make sure she follows my rules. Too much freedom given to any beast, and they assume they can roam freely.” Her smile was as cold and empty as any abyss.

“Yes, my liege.” I forced a smile to match, even though I loathed this plan of hers.

Her hand dropped as she smiled at me. “Now go mingle with the other generals below. I need you to be cordial with your legion. I have other things I need to address.”

I simply nodded, and she left the room.

MY BOOTS ECHOED OFF THE CREAM AND GOLD STONE FLOORING, TINY specks dancing beneath my feet as I walked. It was a sign of royalty, something this whole city reeked of. Nismera was king of all twelve realms now and wanted to make sure everyone knew it. As I walked out of her chamber and toward the lower foyer, I was met with bowing and downcast eyes. The wardrobe assigned to me had too many tassels and chains, and I did not care for any of it. Nismera loved power displays. She always had. Power was all that mattered to her. Every piece of furniture and glass column was hand-crafted and placed how she liked it. All of it was as gaudy and wild as she was.

Laughter and hollering sped down the long, wide corridor, reminding me of the family I had condemned. I moved toward it, my chest clenching.

I pushed the large, thick, chiseled doors open, the music and laughter dying. All eyes shifted my way. The hall was almost as large as the main entranceway, with long wooden tables hugging the walls. There were chairs hidden in almost every corner and a staircase lined with jewel-encrusted tapestries.

A long table held a feast. Battered and dirty generals sat in various spots. Some watched me with food hanging out of their mouths, others with cups held to their lips, forgetting to swallow. They stared at me with two sets of eyes, others with four or more. Some had tentacles where arms and legs should be, and others with wings, large and thick, jutting from their backs. I didn’t see any of Grimlock’s reptilian horde, but I assumed they wanted answers on why their general went with Nismera and Isaiah and did not return.

A throat cleared as a burly troll, cloaked in furs and leathers, stood and raised a glass the size of my head. “Welcome, our High Guard of the legion, Vincent.”

My lip curled at the loud, boisterous display, my ears ringing as everyone cheered. The troll who shouted moved from the back of the room, making his way to me before clasping a hand on my shoulder and shoving the massive drink into my hands.

“Come, sit with us.”

“Who are you?” I asked, brushing his hand off.

“My name is Tedar, Commander of the Eighth Legion.”

Maybe it wasn’t just generals in here.

He led me toward a large seating area in a dim corner of the room. I went because I had nowhere else to go. The chair he plopped into fit him, but its match almost swallowed me whole. The liquid in my glass sloshed to the side, spilling some on my hand. I leaned forward and placed it on the center of the table before wiping my hand on my pants and leaning back. Laughter and chatter filled the room once more as Tedar leaned toward me.

“You’re a legend now, you know that? Every whisper among realms speaks of what you did, and now you are High Guard?” He whistled between thick teeth. “You’re above every commander and general now. They’ll hate it.”

“You don’t.”

“Gods, no. There are only six High Guards now, including her brothers, so less responsibility for me. You and your legion will always go first into battle now.”

My brows lifted. “Battle? I don’t think so. I think we will just follow orders.”

“Say what you want, but the sky bleeds silver now. The World Ender is dead, and The Hand of Rashearim now walks around blindly, listening to every demand like a whipped hound. There are, and will always be, those who jump at the bit when the largest power player exits the field, and guess who just did?”

I swallowed, trepidation burning in my throat. He was so callous, so joyful for what I did, and I felt grimier than sludge upon a boot. I reminded myself that I had no choice. He did not know my will was Nismera’s will. I shook my head as Tedar rambled on.

“. . . I have to say it’s such a relief. No one ever thought he’d die. That’s gotta feel amazing for you. You did it. You helped.”

My stomach rolled. I had avoided looking toward the sky since then, especially at night when his power seemed to mock me, begging for answers. My chest tightened, and the air suddenly became far too tight.

“I serve my king now, as she wishes. Nothing in the world has the power to rival Nismera now,” I repeated.

Tedar leaned forward, drawing attention to a large, chipped tusk as he smirked. “Not from what I heard.”

My brow ticked up, and I scanned the room, noting a few generals glaring our way, speaking in low tones amongst themselves. “And what did you hear?”

Tedar leaned closer as if to whisper. “Listen, everyone talks, and after they cleaned up the massacre in the East, everyone knows now.”

My face scrunched in confusion. I had heard nothing of this. “The East? What happened in the East?”

“The World Ender had a lover and not just a fling like in his past. They say she is a beast made of flame and hate, and she followed you lot back. His beast. The female Ig’Morruthen.”

Dianna. He meant Dianna.

I nodded and sat up a bit straighter as he rambled on, the sounds of this room fading into the background.

That power radiated from the doorway, the same as his father, and I didn’t need to turn to know Samkiel was leaning against the doorway of the foyer. I rubbed my wrist, shaking my head.

“Let it go.”

“Is that any way to speak to your future king?”

I heard the concern in his voice.

“Future. You still have to surpass your father.”

Heavy boots echoed as he entered, his battle armor encompassing him entirely, that damn sigil cape flowing behind him. It’s the same one his father wore every damn council meeting.

“Why do you let her—”

I cut him off, spinning to face him. “I don’t let her do anything.”

His eyes widened a fraction, and he watched me carefully as he said, “You can join Logan and me. My father wishes for me to have my own kingsguard even though that will not be the name you claim.”

A snide snort left my lips as the large curtains blew near the opened expanse of a window.

“I decline, future king.”

“Why will you not let me help you?”

I glanced toward the door as if I could see her watching me, waiting.

“Vincent.”

His voice snapped me out of the trance I had fallen into.

“Why do you always wish to help so many?” I asked. “What’s in it for you? You are destined to rule this realm and everyone in between. You don’t have to pretend to be benevolent. They will lick the dirt from your boots, regardless.”

Samkiel shrugged, lifting a single shoulder, his hair curling around the shoulder of his armor. “I just want a better realm, a better world. This one is kind of shit, and I am over egotistical gods.”

“Respectfully, I feel like yours is a mirror.”

His lips quirked. “Mine is bearable.”

I believed him. I believed he wanted something more, something better, even if the world he saw was only a fantastical dream spun by oracles.

“Even if I participated and won, she would never let me leave. Her claws are too deep, my prince.”

His eyes shifted, the silver glow similar to Unir’s and Nismera’s. “You let me worry about her. Just come, try, and meet the others. There is no harm in that.”

Harm. He didn’t get it. No one did, but against all reason, I nodded. He said nothing else before he left, and I stared at that empty expanse of a doorway. He said try, and try, I would.

The memory faded as the roaring and whooping came back, glasses slamming against each other and tables. The generals from across the cosmos, all vicious and vile, cheering and celebrating his death. All of them know her next move will be to liberate the realms. She had taken and converted the most cruel and deadly for her reign, and now, nothing would stop her. Nothing ever could, so what choice did I ever have?

Samkiel was a light. He promised peace and change, and I had helped snuff it out. A part of me hoped I burned in Iassulyn for eternity for it. Another part of me knew Dianna would hunt me, hunt us all like she did for her sister. I would be lying if I said I wouldn’t welcome it.