Thirty-Three Dianna

It had been two days since we arrived here, and I knew for a fact this was not like the prisons of my world. These prisoners were left here to rot and die while they waited for Nismera to come. The guards made sure they were fed and forced to take one cold shower a day, probably to keep the stench to a minimum. Beyond that, no one truly cared what happened to them.

There were prisoners here who had gone mad in their darkened cells, scratching at the walls, wishing for death, and cursing the guards who kept them from taking their own lives. I wondered how many were just forgotten, truly and utterly alone, locked in a cave below the ground in the dark.

I carried my tray of food toward Samkiel and Orym. They sat at their regular table near the wall, huddled together and talking. I snickered at the rumor running through this place about the two of them being lovers. I could see why. Samkiel was the prettiest one here, even with the overgrown five o’clock shadow. I supposed I should be jealous, but no one here was a threat to me, and I was more than happy to stir that rumor just for fun.

“I told everyone you two are in love,” I said, sitting down in a heap. I still wore the look of a short man, my head shaved, and a scar running across my jaw. He was someone I had seen on the streets back on Onuna, and I’d assumed his form to blend in here.

“You did that?” Samkiel asked, his spoon half-raised to his mouth.

“Yup,” I said, taking a bite of what looked like some type of fruit, struggling not to gag in front of him. Solid food was not my friend. I wanted and craved blood, but that was a conversation for another time.

“Why?” Orym hissed, his tail flicking.

“Two reasons.” I held up my finger. “One, it gets the guards off all of your backs when you are seen huddled and whispering to each other all the time, and two, for my own selfish one that if now I want to have my way with Samkiel and he happens to moan too loud, they will never think twice.”

Samkiel snorted around his food and shook his head. Orym scowled and glared at me. He knew it was a good plan. He just hated to admit it.

“Listen,” I said, taking another bite of my fruit. “I can only be strong for so long, okay? You think far too highly of me, and I have been without him for weeks. How much control do you think I have?”

Samkiel nudged my leg under the table. “Stop teasing him.” He grinned and kept his leg against mine.

Orym shook his head, mixing the mush on his tray before taking a bite. “While I think half of that is a great idea, it does put a mark on our backs. What if they separate us?”

I waved my hand. “Pfft, they won’t. I was doing my normal surveillance of the area, and the guy with the tentacles back there and Mister Uptight Guard with the goatee were not sleeping last night. Trust me. They don’t care.”

Both Samkiel and Orym turned to look at the two. The prisoner with the tentacles sat with a bunch of others but kept glancing up as the guard walked along the catwalk high above. He nodded, and Mister Tentacle got up and left as we watched. Samkiel and Orym grinned at me, and Samkiel went back to eating.

“Told you,” I said, taking another crunch out of my fruit. “Also, I wonder if the tentacles kind of hurt and if he’s into it. In my world, they had these tiny suction cup things.”

“It depends on the species,” Samkiel said, and then his spoon stilled in his mouth as both Orym and I stared at him. He lowered his spoon, his eyes widening a fraction as he looked at me. “Not that I would know or remember . . . ever.”

My eyes narrowed. I banged the fruit down on my tray and pulled my leg away from his. When I scooted away from him, he reached under the table and tried to pull me back. I slapped at his hands, both of us in a small match of push and pull before Orym cleared his throat.

“I heard they moved Savees to the lowest level after he ate a guard’s arm off when they tried to touch him. Only a handful are forced to stay down there.”

I raised my brow as Samkiel tried to put his foot near mine, and I stepped on it. “Who is Savees?”

Samkiel glared at me.

“Savees is a prisoner that was with us on the trip here. I still think they did it because of what he is,” Orym answered.

“Savees is one you stay away from,” Samkiel said, folding his arms and leaning on the table.

I ignored him and looked at Orym. “What is he?”

“I don’t know, actually. All I know is he is from the Otherworld.”

Otherworld. My heart thudded. Reggie said some beings from the Otherworld may look for me since I’m here now. My mind reeled as Orym kept talking, but I ignored him. I needed to find Savees. What if he was the orange-eyed one that had been calling me? My dreams had not relented, and the one the other night felt so damn vivid, even if all he did was sit on that throne, begging me to come to him. I didn’t realize I’d stood until Samkiel grabbed my arm.

“Where are you going?” Samkiel asked.

“To investigate a little further.”

“Dianna,” he hissed. “What did I just say about staying away from him?”

“I thought we had a conversation about alliances, remember? What if he can help us? You trusted Orym. Let me talk to him and see if we can trust him, too.”

“Why? Why do you think he’d even help? Beings from the Otherworld are not that . . . giving. They always require something in return.”

“Oh?” My brow flicked upwards. “Slept with one of them too?”

Samkiel reached for me, but I shoved his hand away. “Dianna . . .” he said as I moved past him.

“You’re in trouble,” I heard Orym say, a hint of humor in his voice.

“Yes.” Samkiel sighed, watching me leave the small cafeteria. “I am in trouble.”

I COMPLAINED ABOUT A STOMACHACHE TO ONE OF THE GUARDS. It wasn’t a complete lie. That damn fruit upset me. He walked me toward the lower level where the cells were located. We reached a dark hallway that I knew was rarely used. My hand reached out, catching him by the throat, my grip hard enough that he couldn’t call for help. I dragged him toward the dark corner, out of sight of anyone walking by.

His eyes widened as the shell of the man I wore melted away to reveal my true form. I rose in height, dark hair spilling down my shoulders. “Don’t panic. Everything is fine.”

His jaw grew slack as he blinked.

“Good boy. Also, I wasn’t lying,” I whispered. “My stomach does hurt. I can’t keep anything down, and I’ve already eaten all the wildcats you had here. I need something more.”

My fangs emerged, and I tipped my head back before striking. I bit deep into his throat, warm, smooth blood filling my mouth. My eyes rolled back, and I almost moaned. This was what I needed, what I craved. I felt his heart slow and realized I couldn’t leave a dead guard here. I forced myself off him, slicing my thumb and healing his throat. He looked at me, woozy and dazed.

“Go lay down. Tell your little friends you’re just tired and need a break, okay?”

He nodded.

“And you never saw me. Good?”

“I never saw you.”

“That’s right, cupcake.” I patted him on his back and watched him leave before wiping the blood from my chin and licking it from my finger.

I changed forms again, assuming the small rodent creature with large ears and a tufted tail. I scurried down the stairs, jumping down each step and continuing past the level with the cells.

The stairs ended, opening up into a dark and oppressive damp room. Water trickled in from the cracked walls, leaving puddles on the uneven floor. I didn’t hear a heartbeat or breathing and wondered if Orym had gotten it wrong. Or maybe whoever they sent down here was already dead.

“You smell . . .” a voice echoed from my right, “old.”

My ears perked up, and I turned. A giant rock leaned against the wall, and now I knew why I hadn’t seen any cells. They had barricaded him in. I shifted back to my natural form and placed my hand on the jagged, circular rock. I shoved it aside and immediately wished I hadn’t. The stench of death filled the air, and when I stepped in, I saw why. Rotting corpses hung against the wall, but luckily, it was the living one at the center that spoke to me.

I pressed my hand against my nose and took another step forward, my gaze remaining focused on the hanging body. He seemed smaller than my dreams, more sleek. His skin was pale, making the red rings around his arms stand out starkly. They looked like some type of tattoos.

He lay against the wall, his arms suspended above his head and pulled tight, wrapped in chains that cut into his muscles. He smiled a toothy grin, the dried blood on his face cracking. I swallowed and stepped closer, just now noticing the pointed ears. They were like Orym’s. Only this creature had a tuft of hair that looked softer than feathers at its tips. When I stepped closer, I saw his one good eye was a swirling white shot through with blue. They were not orange. My heart settled, and I blew out a breath.

“I knew it was an Ig’Morruthen that landed that night. No thunder sounds that deadly,” he said, and I wondered if his fangs were sharper than mine. “You’re a fool if you think they don’t know it, too. That she won’t know what’s being held at her prison.”

“What do you mean?”

“Why would an Ig’Morruthen come to a prison buried in the Death Mountains if not to collect something?”

“What do you know?”

His smile was pure feline. “I know a lot. But what do I get if I tell you? Everything has a price.”

I didn’t feel the air stir behind me, but his overwhelming presence caressed my every nerve.

“I told you to stay away from him,” Samkiel said, stepping in front of me, his arms folded across his chest.

“Ah,” Savees said. “You are not with The Eye at all, are you?”

Samkiel said nothing.

“Is he what you came to claim, dark one?” Savees asked.

“Something like that,” I replied. “Now I’ll ask you again, and this time you will tell me what you know, or I will open your belly.” I raised my hand, extending my talons slowly. “With my claws.”

A sick smirk formed on the creature’s face. “You’d only be doing me a favor. You think I want to stay in a world where that godly cunt rules? I’d rather die like my brethren than be subjected to her deeds.”

I dropped my hand and shot Samkiel a quick look. We did need alliances.

“What if I could offer you something better?” I asked.

Savees lifted his head and gave me another toothy grin, his fangs flashing in the low light. “I could think of something better before I die here, but I think the foreboding one next to you would protest.”

Samkiel took a menacing step forward but stopped when I lifted my hand, the back of it resting against his chest. “Stop. He’s just horny and dying like most prisoners here. It means nothing.”

“It’s disrespectful,” Samkiel all but growled, and I wondered for a second who was more beast, the guy on the wall, me, or Samkiel, when someone talked badly about me.

“You should probably apologize,” I said to the Otherworld being on the wall. “He will kill you.”

“I don’t care about any blood rebels from The Eye,” Savees snarled, snapping his teeth.

I knew what was coming but stepped back regardless. Samkiel slipped those rings on his hand and was at Savees’s throat in a second, an ablaze weapon held against his neck. Samkiel shoved him hard enough against the stone that it shuddered.

Savees’s eyes got so big I wondered if they would pop out of his head.

“Told you to apologize.” I shrugged, keeping my arms folded. “He is not fond of anyone who is mean or crass to me.”

“Y-you’re . . .” Savees couldn’t catch his breath. “You’re supposed to be dead.”

“I am not, but you soon will be if you ever speak to her like that again. Apologize,” Samkiel snarled, tipping Savees’s head back a fraction more, the blade cutting a thin line across his throat, blood running down his neck and pooling at his collarbone.

Savees’s ears flattened against his head. “I’m sorry. I swear. I’m sorry.”

Samkiel let him go, not bothering to check on him. He flicked the blood off his blade and called it back to his ring. He stood behind me, his presence a comforting warmth at my back. Samkiel was a sword and shield, always my protector.

Savees gasped for air, his body trembling. “What do you need from me?”

“I need to know how to get into the upper room.”

After a long talk and less back talk from Savees, we officially had a plan. It was half-cocked, but I was willing to try, even if Samkiel was less than keen. We barely made it out of the room before Samkiel whirled me around, pushing my back against the cool stone. His hand clenched on my jaw, and his lips slanted over mine in a punishing kiss.

“Don’t pull away from me again.”

I blinked, not knowing what he was talking about, but then I remembered what happened in the dining hall earlier.

“Seriously?”

His leg wedged between my thighs, the hard muscle pressing against my sex at just the right angle. I moaned, and he ate it with a kiss, claiming the sound. “I don’t like it,” he said against my lips.

I bit at his lower lip and tugged hard. “Well, I don’t like you reminiscing about the good old days with beings that aren’t me.”

His brows furrowed. “I wasn’t, nor would I ever. I’m extremely comfortable with you, Dianna. That means I can be my entire self. I may say things, but I never meant to hurt you. I share every part of myself with you. Besides, there is no competition when it comes to you. Not for me.”

I swallowed as my blood heated, pumping harder at his words. I wanted to kiss him again, to ravage him against this wall, but I also heard his heart. It thudded wildly, matching my own. The pulsing vein along his neck taunted me, begging me to feed. I fought the urge. I couldn’t, wouldn’t hurt him. Not when that wound on his side still caused him pain.

I nodded in response to his words before placing my hands on his chest and pushing him back. He released me, but I caught his expression.

“That’s not fair.”

“What isn’t?” I asked, starting up the steps.

“So you can touch me, but I cannot touch you?”

I halted, turning ever so slightly. “Do you really want me screaming in this prison? We still haven’t found that stupid weapon, and I don’t need Orym pouting because our cover is blown. After all, you fuck too good.”

He nodded, and his brows ticked up as if he agreed fully with what I said. It wasn’t a lie, but it also wasn’t the full truth. I was way too hungry at this point not to rip his throat open the next time he was inside me.

“All right,” he said, glancing down at me. “But when we leave here . . .”

“Yes.” I rolled my eyes dramatically. “You can ravage me for hours once we are out of here, my king.”

“Dianna,” he warned.

Shrugging my shoulders, I smiled and sauntered up the steps. I had to cover the yelp when he popped me square on the ass.

We made it back to his cell. Orym wasn’t there, and Samkiel sat down next to me. He sighed and asked, “Are you so pissed at me that you’d venture down there when I told you to stay away?”

“No,” I said. “And I can handle myself, in case you forgot.”

“I didn’t, but you do not know every Otherworld being, Dianna. I have no idea who or what he is. Some can kill with a glance, others with gas you’d never smell until it was too late.”

“Well, he doesn’t look like he can release a deadly smoke bomb. He literally has hair on his ears. He’s probably not dangerous at all. Maybe he is a soft, squishy feline.”

“I do not care what he has. Do not risk yourself like that again. Please,” Samkiel growled low in his throat.

“I won’t . . .” I paused. “I’ll try not to.”

“Well, work on that.” The corner of his lip tilted as he rested a hand on his knee. “Why did you go, anyway?”

I let his question hang in the air for a second before I released a breath. I needed to tell him. My dreams weren’t stopping, and after seeing things out of the corner of my eye back in River Bend, I started to worry that maybe I was being followed.

“I have to tell you something, and you are going to be mildly upset.”

He was quiet for a second before he nodded. “All right.”

We sat knee to knee as I told him of my dreams. I told him of the place, the man with orange eyes, and how long it had been happening. He said nothing as I finished. Only looked at me with a twinge of hurt flashing through his eyes.

“Are they . . .” He chewed on his words, growling softly. “In your words, sexy dreams?”

I couldn’t help but smile. “No, never. I only have those about you.”

The haunted look left his eyes, replaced by one that made me think of when he showed up for our ice skating date. He looked surprised or excited. I wasn’t sure, so I went on.

“It always starts the same. I’m in this bone graveyard of massive beasts, and I know where to walk, where to go. When I make it, he’s just sitting there on this throne. Waiting.”

“Waiting?” he asked. “Waiting for what?”

“Me.”

His face hardened as if I’d just threatened him. “He will not have you.”

I placed my hand on his. “I know it’s just creepy, I guess. When Orym said someone from the Otherworld was here, I went. I had to know if it was him, but it’s definitely not.”

“Why would you think he was from the Otherworld?”

My lips pursed into a thin line. “Well . . . Reggie may have said since I was here, powerful beings from the Otherworld may reach out.”

Samkiel sat back and nodded, glaring at the wall. “All right, so Reggie told you, and you confided in him over dreams of a mysterious man.”

I leaned forward, grabbing his face and forcing him to look at me. I made him face me, placing a kiss on his lips. “Don’t be jealous. I was going to tell you, but it’s not like we have time.”

“We’ve had plenty of time. You could have told me anytime, and I could have told you just the same, if not more.”

“I’m sorry.”

His eyes didn’t soften at my words. “What else am I missing, Dianna?”

You died.

It was on the tip of my tongue. It was right there. If I told him, it would make sense to him why I’d asked Reggie and not him, why I felt so empty when it came to feeding, and why, above all, I had been so overprotective. I could tell him, and then I’d have to tell him everything. It would ruin his hope for The Hand. I would have to tell him I had given up the one thing he wanted most of all, traded it for his life, and a part of me was terrified. It meant I’d have to tell him my one true fear and why touching him reassured me so damn much. Why I desperately needed to know that I was wrong and that he still wanted and cared for me. What if I’d given up our mark, and we weren’t mates anymore? What if I had saved his life but, in turn, ruined mine?

“Nothing.” I shook my head, and he stared at me. “Nothing.”

He leaned back a fraction, gazing at me, and I thought he knew just how terrible I was at lying. I thought he knew it all, but my stress died the second he held his hand toward me, his pinkie finger extended. “Pinkie swear.”

“Pinkie swear?” I repeated.

“Yes, it’s the law and an unbreakable promise, as you said before. I will only believe you if you do.”

I couldn’t stop the grin or the god-awful feeling I had when I hooked his finger with mine and lied and lied and lied.

I was a cruel, awful bitch.

And I loved him.