Thirty-One Dianna

I yawned, stretching the sleek, feline form I wore this morning. My fur matched the foliage, spotted with rosettes of brown and gold. A small, furry creature with a long tail scampered by. It saw my paw and squealed, racing in the other direction. I placed my head on my paw, watching the camp rise. Guards yelled, and prisoners emerged from their tents to pack up before trudging toward the massive steel caravans.

The guards looked pissed, yelling and pushing at the prisoners. Lack of sleep seemed to be affecting them. The six-legged huroehe that pulled the wagons had been restless all night, calling and neighing in panic. They sensed me, and it sent them into a tizzy, but I didn’t care. I only cared about the god who had just stepped out of the tent a few feet from me.

I’d never tell him, well, maybe not too often, but he was so gorgeous, even covered in those ridiculous beige prisoner garbs. The thin fabric didn’t even begin to conceal the bulge of muscles straining over his powerful physique when he bent or moved. The sight of him set my blood on fire, and I wanted to lick every square inch of him. Of course, I couldn’t because he was also the nicest person in the fucking cosmos, which meant there he was again, offering help to the elf that stepped out next to him. Orym said he wanted to help his sister. A part of me felt that and could relate to him, but another darker part of me didn’t care. I trusted no one anymore, and no matter what he said, my instincts told me Samkiel was in danger.

Samkiel bent to roll up their knapsacks, and while I was annoyed at his effortless heroics, at least he had a nice butt. He looked up and said something to Orym as he helped him break down the tent. They walked to their caravan, two guards coming by to escort them and open the thick latch on the door.

I stood and stalked along the tree line, spotting a thick, heavy tree branch hanging over the top of their wagon. The powerful muscles in my back legs bunched, and I lunged, digging my claws deep into the bark. Birds took to the skies in a cluster, and I flattened my body against the limb. Everyone below looked up, searching the canopy and the sky. It took a few minutes, but the guards eventually shook their heads and turned away. Samkiel smiled softly as he spotted me and glanced away. He always saw me, no matter what form I took.

The two guards ushered Samkiel and Orym into the caravan before joining two other guards. I spied the small air hole in the top of the caravan and dove, shifting my form to shapeless mist. I slipped through the hole and appeared on the bench next to Orym, one leg crossed and my arm on the back of the seat.

“Gods above!” Orym snapped and grabbed his chest. “Can you all do that?”

“Only the really pretty ones,” I said, winking at Samkiel. He smiled at me with pride.

The guards on the outside of the caravan were just far enough away and too lost in conversation to hear us, even with the steel door partially open.

“You really are powerful.”

I cocked my head toward Orym. “Why do you say that?”

“You’re the one who saved him from dying, right?” Orym said, glancing at Samkiel.

I swallowed the lump in my throat along with the visions of the tunnel, the world ending, my world ending. I didn’t dare to look at Samkiel, not wanting him to see a hint of the apprehension and pain that lie inflicted every time I had to play along with it. My lips pressed into a thin line, and I reached across the caravan, popping Samkiel on the shoulder. He winced and rubbed his arm.

“Aggressive.” He smirked.

“I leave you alone for five minutes, and you tell everyone our secrets,” I seethed, narrowing my eyes at him.

Samkiel shook his head. “It was not like that. I saved him, and a part of my power slipped. He saw it, so I told him some minor details.”

“Minor details.” I groaned and covered my face with my hands. “You trust so easily.”

“What does that mean?” Orym asked.

I glared at him. “It means you tell him some sob story about how you and your sister need help to escape an evil ruler, and he helps because he’s sweet. I don’t buy it, no matter what you preach.”

“Dianna.” Samkiel moved as if to separate us.

“I did not tell a story. It’s true.”

Orym glanced at Samkiel as if seeking confirmation.

“I’m sure it is true. I’m sure you want to save each other, but the second something happens—she’s taken, or you’re blackmailed—you’ll switch sides and stab us both in the back.”

Orym stared at me, his face turning a shade darker, but the look in his eyes was one I’d seen a thousand times. It was the look of someone doing whatever they could to survive. He nodded and stood, clearly defeated and not wanting a fight.

“I’m going with Hellem’s caravan to the prison.” He glanced at Samkiel. “I’ll let you know if I hear anything else.”

He opened the door and hopped out, the guards yelling. I shifted, turning into a small bug. Orym spoke with them, laughing and gesturing toward Samkiel. One of the guards shook his head and approached, reaching in to cuff Samkiel’s ankles, chaining him within the wagon. He said something that made Samkiel’s jaw clench, then closed the caravan door. I waited until the noise picked up, hooves beating on the ground and the caravan jolting, before I changed back. Samkiel and I were alone.

Samkiel glared at me.

I shrugged, tossing my hands up. “What?”

He sighed and shook his head but didn’t say anything as the caravan rumbled forward.

I GROANED AND KICKED SAMKIEL’S KNEE. HE’D BEEN MEDITATING FOR the last hour, but I suspected he was ignoring me. I even gifted him the wrapped treats Miska had sent for him. He ate them and said she was sweet, but then returned to that quiet calm.

I sighed loudly. “How long are you going to act like a child and ignore me?”

His eyes cracked open. “Me? Acting as a child?”

“Oh, there it is.” I leaned back, folding my arms.

“Why must you be so difficult?” He rubbed his brow and shifted on the uncomfortable seat. He sat up, breaking out of the pose he assumed when he let his mind wander far from here.

“I’m not.”

“You are,” he said, his voice filled with frustration. “I promised to help. Can you at least attempt to be nicer?”

My lip curled. “No.”

“Why?”

“Why do you trust him so easily, or anyone for that matter?”

He leaned closer, bracing his elbows on his knees. “That’s what this is about?”

“Have we learned nothing? I don’t trust anyone, and neither should you. How many times do we have to be stabbed in the back to learn that?”

What if I lost you again?My lips didn’t form the words, but the sentence coated my tongue like acid. The fear consumed any bit of trust.

I didn’t care if he was mad at me for not immediately being Team Orym. I couldn’t. His own family, the people he would have done anything for, betrayed him. As a result, he got a death spear rammed through his gut, and they left him to bleed to death on the floor. They didn’t just take him from the world but robbed me of him, our future, and any plans we had. They nearly took the one person I cared about the most. I’d never be trusting when it came to him or his safety, never sweet or kind if I thought he was in danger. I wanted to be daggers and steel and something the realms could fucking choke on.

“Dianna.” He said my name softly, dipping his head to catch my eyes. “Akrai.”

I folded my arms and leaned against the wall. “Don’t use that name to make me relax.”

“Baby,” he said, running his tongue along his lips. “We have to make alliances, especially here and now. Do I fully trust him? No, but I trust you, and you’re here. I know you have my back regardless of what we face, as I have yours. He has not once given me any reason to distrust him, and I will not hold him responsible for the sins of others. That’s not fair. Not to anyone.”

I turned from him. I knew he was right. He usually was, but I couldn’t be like him. No matter what life seemed to throw at him, he handled it with grace and understanding, but when someone burned a bridge with me, I made sure that bitch was nothing but pebbles in the waiting abyss below.

“Dianna.”

I blew out a breath and dropped my hands, studying him across the space between us. Unable to tolerate the distance, I stood and stumbled forward. The caravan hit a bump, jolting us both, but Samkiel just watched me. I moved his hands out of the way and pushed him back before straddling his lap.

“What are you doing?”

“We are alone, and gods know when that will happen again once we arrive at the prison. Plus, I’ve missed you.” I idly ran my fingers over the shorter part of his hair near his ear. The marks I had shaved in were almost gone. My knees pressed against his hips, and I slowly rocked my heat against his groin.

He shifted under me, his hands cupping my ass and holding me still. “Who is distracting who now?”

My gaze softened as I slid my arms around the back of his neck. “It’s not a distraction.” I leaned forward, kissing the side of his neck, his stubble rough against my skin. “It’s merely a slight pause in conversation.”

I ground my hips against him a fraction harder. He groaned and gripped the back of my head, pulling me back.

“Don’t try to kiss your way out of a discussion.”

My hips moved again. “What if I wiggle?”

He lightly popped my ass. “Stop it. I’m being serious.”

I rolled my eyes and sighed. “Fine. I’ll play along if we make a deal?”

His brows furrowed. “A deal?”

My hand stilled behind his head. “Gabby was stolen from me because I trusted others. You were . . . I will not do it again. I can’t.”

His hands drifted to my hips, gripping as if to stabilize me on this plane. It was as if he was afraid if he let go, I’d float away to that damaged dark place where all my demons waited. “I know.”

“I told you before, I am not the same as I was before. I will not change, and if that’s a problem, you need to tell me.”

“It’s not.” His fingers flexed on my skin. “You’re not. All I’m saying is that in this war, we will have to deal with and form alliances with those we may not like or trust. I’ve done it my whole life. And sometimes that means holding our tongue.”

His fingers tipped my chin up, forcing me to meet his eyes. I nipped at his hand and said, “I’ll work on that.”

“And keeping things from me?” He tilted his head, a single brow raised as if he already knew every single thing I hid. I felt my body flush. Had he figured it out? Did he know what I’d done?

“What do you mean?” I swallowed.

“I thought we had moved past this.” His words carved my heart into pieces. “I thought after everything, you’d rely on me more. Tell me your plans. Do you want to tell me about the fires in the East?”

Relief washed over me in a cool wave.

He went on. “I know how cocky you are, but leaving the place burnt to embers and a note for her? That’s brash, and it will only fuel her rage when we need to stay under the radar.”

I nodded. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. It was when you were still unconscious. I wanted her to look for us there, far away from the southwest region of the realms and Jade City. That’s all.”

His thumb stroked across my lower back. “I do have a question, though. How did you even know where to go? Where the soldiers were?”

My lips formed into a thin line, knowing he wouldn’t like my answer.

“Reggie.”

His hands flexed on my lower back before moving to my thighs. “Roccurem sent you to the East without regard for your safety or her numbers? He risked you for a distraction?”

“Technically, he knew how many. I just went a tad bit overboard,” I said, holding my finger and thumb about half an inch apart.

Samkiel ran his hand over his face and rubbed his eyes. “I need to speak to him . . . or kill him. I have not decided yet.”

A small laugh left my lips, and I pulled his hand away, clasping it in mine. “No killing. It bought us time, okay?”

“To be fair, I am unsure if a god could even kill a fate, but I am persistent and willing to try.”

“Stop it.”

“I do not like feeling left out when it comes to you. Especially after everything.”

I pressed my lips together. He wanted all of me, and I wanted to give it more than anything, but it was so hard, even after everything, to let every wall fall. I needed to tell him about the tunnel, about what happened, but I was so scared. I could claim I wasn’t, but I was. Nismera scared me more than anything, if I were being honest. With how he was now, it’d only take a second for her to take him from me again. I feared myself and what I would do if that happened. I could fight her armies and dismember threats, but I could not fight death. It held the upper hand, and I always lost.

“I know,” I said. “I’m sorry. Honestly, I’ve been worried about more important things,” I joked lightly, poking at his side.

He didn’t wince like he had so many times before when something brushed against him. The antidote had worked, which meant it was the poison that had made him so ill. I was so worried about him even being alive again that I hadn’t even thought an outside factor could play a role in his lack of healing.

“I also burned down Jade City,” I said, peeking through my lashes.

I expected him to scold me, if only a little, but he just lifted his shoulders. The corners of his mouth turned down as one of the guards barked out a command, and the caravan lurched.

“I expected as much. I assume you saved a few to make the antidote?”

“No, I killed them all. I only saved Miska.”

That vein on his forehead throbbed as his brows drew together. “That was a large city, Dianna.”

“Full of poison makers under Nismera’s rule, Samkiel,” I said, matching his tone.

He pinched my ass hard enough to make me yelp, and I sat up slightly.

“I cannot leave you unattended for a second.”

“Absolutely not.” I smirked back.

He took a deep breath as I settled back in his lap. “We can figure the rest out together, but we will do it together, all right? No more secrets.”

No more secrets, as if I weren’t hiding the largest one. I was truly the worst of the worst, yet I smiled back at him, digging myself into an even deeper hole. Unable to rip that one truth from my throat.

“Or secret alliances,” I added.

He only smiled. “Or secret alliances without discussing it first.”

“I accept your terms, my king,” I said, wrapping my arms around his neck once more, my breasts pressing against his front.

“Don’t call me that here,” he said, smiling against my lips.

“Why?” I kissed him.

“You know why,” he grumbled as the caravan hit another bump in the road.

“I remember the first time I called you that. You glared daggers at me for it.”

His chuckle was soft but heated. “That’s because, at the time, I did not like what it did to me when you said it. We did not get along then.”

“Oh, yeah?” I grinned against his lips, rocking ever so slightly against him. “What does it do to you, my king?”

He groaned, and I felt exactly what it did to him. A wicked laugh left my lips before I pressed them to his again.

“You’re going to get us caught.” He nipped at my lips.

“I know, right?” I rubbed myself on him, a slow, harsh grind that made him grip my hips even tighter. “Isn’t it fun?”

“You’re a very dangerous woman,” he all but growled.

“I know. It keeps me awake at night.” I smiled, placing a kiss on his cheek, then at his temple, then his nose.

“We . . . umm . . . need to discuss.” His forehead pressed to mine, and his hands flexed on my hips. He stifled a groan when I ground my heat against him, savoring the throb of his cock. “The . . . plan.”

His words stuttered on a groan, and I couldn’t help my wicked smile as I moved a fraction harder against him. I loved him unhinged, on the verge of losing control. I loved it when that tough layer melted away, and he let himself off the chain. I loved how I was the one who caused it, and it only made me want to do it more.

“You’re my only plan.”

Samkiel groaned. “I can’t think when you say things like that.”

“Good.” I fit my body against his and slid my tongue against his lower lip before nipping it. “No thinking.”

“Always.” Samkiel’s hands slid down my back and gripped my hips, his mouth claiming mine. I moved against him, and he deepened the kiss. His cock hardened, thick and throbbing against me. He tried to be quiet, but I hoped his soft, little whimpers could be mistaken for the bumps we rode over. Gods, did we both love the rough road. Every rock and dip sent another burst of pleasure through us both. I was having so much fun making him squirm beneath me.

“You have to stop.” He pulled back, licking at his lower lip as if he couldn’t get enough of how I tasted. “I’m going to come.”

I nodded, my hand grasping his chin and forcing his lips back to mine. “That’s the point.”

I fit my mouth to his and sucked gently on his tongue, swirling and teasing. His hips bucked, pressing his cock against my sex, my clit aching from the rub of fabric separating us, and I knew he was imagining my tongue on his cock. I groaned, letting him taste my pleasure and need.

Samkiel’s breath came in pants against my lips as he started to move under me. His abdomen tightened as he kissed me deeper, taking control of my mouth again. His grip on my hips turned painfully tight, and he pressed me down harder, grinding his cock against me. He pulsed and twitched beneath me, a groan leaving his lips that I muffled with another blistering kiss.

I dragged every little bit from him before slowing and smoothing my movements and sitting back on his lap. He released my hip, and I could feel the throb where he had held me. His fingers skimmed the pulsing ache between my legs, and I grabbed his wrist, stopping him before his hand could slip inside.

“You do that, and we both know we’ll get caught.”

He grinned and withdrew his hand, wrapping me in his arms and pulling me close. “I can honestly say I have never done that in the history of my life.”

I giggled. “Really? Not even in your wild youth with those handsy nymphs?”

He shook his head and rested it against the wall, completely relaxed and spent. “Not even once. I’ve never wanted someone as much as I do you.”

“Yeah, you better say that,” I said, nipping at his chin.

“How do you do that?” he asked, a smile playing on his lips.

“Which part?”

“Drive me completely insane.”

“It’s a gift.” I pressed another kiss to his lips.

Samkiel tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, tenderly swiping his thumb across my cheek. “Can you do it to me forever?”

My eyes softened along with the angry, blackened heart in my chest. “Forever,” I said softly.

He only smiled, shaking his head as he relaxed under me. “I cannot wait to show up to this prison with a stain on my trousers.”

“Trust me, baby. Your clothes are nothing but stains. They won’t even notice.”

The caravan jolted sharply to a stop, and Samkiel’s hands tightened around me.

“What is it?” he asked as I peeked outside. “Why the sudden stop?”

“Because we made it to the prison.”

He moved beneath me, turning to gaze out the steel slits as the caravan started moving again, only much slower now. The higher we climbed, the sharper and more jagged the hills became, snow capping the gray peaks. I swallowed, not realizing how high we’d gone. Clouds billowed around the cliff edge, and I watched another wagon pass over the solid, wooden bridge.

“That’s a prison?”

Samkiel grunted beside me. “Yes. That’s Flagerun.”

It stood out against the mountainscape with its smooth, circular top. There were no windows or ledges as if it wanted to blend into the cliff itself. The only signs of life were the torches lit out front and the guards holding back their large, snapping beasts. As we approached, the felines they kept on leashes thrashed. Even with the whips the guards used, they didn’t obey. Fear. They were afraid because we had just snuck an Ig’Morruthen through the gates.