Forty-Six Dianna

The mountains of Flagerun were no longer covered in snow. Instead, flames licked at them, forming rivers of molten rock. Behind me, the forest cracked and trees snapped. Embers floated on the air, the sparks funneling toward the sky in a plume of smoke. I ripped the head off a soldier and tossed his body into the fray. Others screamed as they tried to escape the fire by running down the slope, but the flames caught them, turning them to ash.

His voice rose above the sounds of battle, broken and cracked, ordering someone to leave. I hopped atop the rock separating us and grabbed the person he was speaking to. Wrenching her head to the side, I sank my fangs deep and drank. I tossed her drained body at his feet, her bloodstained helmet making an odd clanking sound when it hit the rock. I braced my feet and slowly clapped. “Well, would you look at that? A golden prick army led by the biggest prick of all.”

Flames hissed against the snow, sending steam into the air. Vincent stared at me, a myriad of emotions flashing through his eyes. I saw shock, fear, rage, and something that looked like despair. My smile deepened when I noticed he hadn’t escaped from the fire unscathed. His skin was burned and pink along his neck, face, and left arm.

“Surprised to see me?” I asked, tipping my head to the side.

This changed everything. Luckily for me, I had a plan.

“Dianna.” He spoke my name behind gritted teeth. “I have to say I am. You were halfway across the realms last I heard.”

“Well, you heard wrong, but I’m not surprised, given your sources.”

Vincent crossed his arms over his chest and nodded once. “So it’s true then? You are protecting Reggie. Isn’t that what you called him? Honestly, I thought you’d mourn longer, but you did fuck anything that moved after your sister died. Guess it’s a pattern.”

My smile never faltered. He expected me to lash out, to charge him. I saw the way he pressed his foot into the ground, readying for the attack. He wanted me unhinged and out of control. I tilted my head. “How do you want this to go? Do you want me to send your ashes back to Nismera? Do you think she will care?”

I jumped from my rock and landed in a crouch, grinning when I saw him flinch. Placing my boot on the chest of a soldier’s corpse, I yanked a spear from his side. “I don’t think she will,” I said, spinning the weapon between us. “I don’t think anyone will care about the celestial who was too weak to stand up to a god for his family. Who would care about a warrior who didn’t even try to stop her? A man who was too weak to save the people who loved him the most, even when he didn’t deserve it? I think you’re just a sad little boy who hides behind his weird mommy issues, draping himself in armor and blades to feel good about himself. Who would love that? Love you? That’s why it really hurts, isn’t it? That, no matter what cruel thing I did, Samkiel loved me. Your family loved me. But you? We both know they will never forgive you, never love you again. So I don’t think anyone is going to miss you. What do you think?”

“I think you’re the same raging bitch,” Vincent spat, his celestial adyin glowing a bright blue.

“No.” I smiled. “I’m worse, actually.” And then I charged.

He wasn’t aware of my feedings. He didn’t know how much power I had been harboring, how much rage, hate, and anger I had honed to a fine-tipped blade, readying it to pierce the very hearts who ripped mine out. But he and the realms were about to find out just how much of a hateful bitch I could be.

STEEL RANG AGAINST STEEL, ECHOING THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS OF Flagerun. Every hit I made, he parried or blocked. We darted around each other, both of us glaring and filled with hate. It was a dance we were destined for since the day we met. I hated Vincent, and he hated me. Vincent’s blade sliced through the air with a whistle, aiming to slice my head off. I ducked and spun. Using a move Samkiel had taught me, I raised my spear and slashed across his face. I smirked, glad I had managed to get that stupid helmet off his head in the first moments of the fight. Vincent stumbled back and touched the cut on his cheek. He pulled his hand away and looked at the bright blue celestial blood coating his fingertips.

Vincent smiled at me, his eyes cold and calculating. “Spinning uppercut. Samkiel actually taught you something. With how the two of you were going at it, I didn’t think he would take time away from fucking you to train you.”

“Careful, Vincent, you sound jealous.”

“The only thing I am jealous of is that you will find peace when I kill you in the next few minutes.”

He charged, aiming for my midsection. I hopped back, blocking his downward strike, my blade taking the brunt of the hit.

“You know,” I huffed, pushing him back, “I actually feel sorry for you. I always wanted a family and a home, and here you are, tossing it away for some washed-up, old hag who wants to be a ruler.”

Vincent braced his back foot on the slick stone and swiped his spear up. I spun away and rolled, snow and ice sizzling against the burning rocks.

“You’re even more of a fool than I thought if you think Nismera doesn’t already own these realms.”

“Yeah?” I said, stepping back once more. I had a plan, and like a puppy, he was following me right into my trap. “Couldn’t tell. Especially when she sends her lackeys to do the hard work.”

He scoffed and advanced. “You wouldn’t last a second against her. No one can. If Nismera ever shows up, it’s not for capture. It’s for death.”

“Gods.” A sick laugh left my lips, and I took another step back. “You really have a hard-on for her.”

His grip tightened on his spear, and he lunged forward, slashing at me again. I shifted to the side, and he slipped, slamming into the rock I pressed against. His spear hit the stone and fractured from the force. Vincent growled and tossed it to the side. I took advantage of his momentary distraction and jabbed him with mine. He bent back, dodging my blows, one after another. I’d be a liar if I said Vincent wasn’t a good fighter. He was part of The Hand, and Samkiel had trained them to be the deadliest warriors in this realm or the next. They were designed to fight beings like me or worse, but where he excelled at fighting, I was born from blood-thirsty rage. It was in my very makeup.

I spun the spear over my head, and he stepped in, his fist coming at me. I rammed the tip into the ground between us. Vincent moved back, and I smiled.

“You missed.” He smiled, sliding his foot further from where the spear stuck deep into the ground.

“Did I?” I asked, tipping my head as a crack formed around the spear tip and spread toward the rocks surrounding us. The boulder at my back let out a horrific groan and split. I pushed him toward it and stepped back. Vincent’s eyes widened as he stumbled. The rock came down on top of him, the force of it collapsing the cliff edge. We fell, rocks and boulders tumbling around us.

Wings erupted from my arms, just a partial shift to get me back to the top of the jagged cliff. I landed and dusted my hands off before willing the leathery appendages away.

A piercing pain ripped through my abdomen, forcing a gasp from me. I glanced down to see the tip of a silver sword protruding from my body. He ripped it out and slammed it back in. I screamed, my body lifted into the air and tossed aside.

I coughed, blood stinging my mouth. I tried to push up but slipped, pain igniting through every nerve in my body. There, in the snow with a blade dripping with my blood, stood Vincent, unscathed, unarmed, and with a weapon made by the gods themselves.

“You have all the makings of a goddess, you know?” Vincent slung my blood across the snow and took a step closer. “Your hubris will be your downfall. You are arrogant and cocky, rude and unskilled, and above all, just fucking annoying.” He kicked me onto my back, and darkness edged my vision, my body shuddering with pain.

“How?” I rasped. “How can you have that?”

Vincent shrugged, looking at the blade. Its shine was almost the same as Samkiel’s and far brighter than anything the celestials could wield. Celestials could not wield godly weapons. They were far too powerful and could burn them alive. My gaze snagged on the gauntlet he wore and where it connected with the sword. I didn’t have to guess who had given him that protection. Fuck. The Ig’Morruthen in me snapped and hissed, knowing that regardless of form, a godly weapon could kill me.

“Nismera made this.” He nodded and knelt before me. “Strong enough to kill a fate, which is what I was here for, but your death will bring me so much joy.”

“I suck with swords,” I said, punching him in the face. “I’m better with teeth and claws.”

Vincent tumbled back onto his ass, and I struggled to get up. He screamed in frustration and launched himself to his feet, wiping the bright blue blood from his face. I had just managed to get upright, clutching at my abdomen, when he swung that sword at me. I ducked, landing another punch to his gut. He stumbled back, and I placed my hand on the rock for leverage before kicking out, slamming my foot upside his head. He shook his head but didn’t stop coming at me, aiming for my legs, my arms, my head, any part he could reach. I wouldn’t lie. He was quick, and I felt his sword get close to my skin so many times.

Ignoring the pain in my gut, I tried to figure out how to disarm him as we danced around each other. I rolled behind a thick fallen log, and that sword came down, splitting it in half. I had an idea. It was a stupid idea, and I would have to be quick. Samkiel would be out of that tunnel soon, and he would come straight here after he saw what I’d done.

I rolled again, dodging as he slammed the blade down after me over and over again, and then I saw it. I felt the breeze as it lifted along the cliff. The edge beckoned me, and I jumped to my feet, grabbing his arm with one hand and head-butting him hard enough to throw him off balance. He stumbled, and I followed, kicking and punching as we went. He thrust the sword toward me, and I caught his arm against my body as he tried to slice me, the sharp edges and spikes of his armor cutting into my skin.

I lifted my leg and slammed my foot into his groin. Even with the armor, the kick was powerful enough to double him over in pain. I twisted his arm, flipping him over as I shuffled back a few feet, the rocks slipping beneath me. Vincent raised up, snarling at me as he pushed to his feet. He took a running start and raised his weapon. I grounded my feet, and when the blade came down, I grabbed his wrist and snapped it. His cry was sharp, but not as sharp as when I twisted the sword around and rammed it through his heart.

I jabbed the blade further into him, his eyes flickering cobalt blue, then dull as he grasped it, blood coating his lips. “This is for Samkiel, for Logan and Neverra, and Imogen. For Xavier, for Cameron, and everyone else you’ve ever hurt, you traitorous bastard,” I snarled, fire erupting in my palm. I slammed my hand against his face, smirking as my flames danced over his skin and slid beneath his armor.

His jaw went slack in a silent scream of agony as he stared down at me.

“I’ll meet you in Iassulyn,” I snarled, yanking the blade free and tossing his burning body off the mountain.

As he tumbled, I heard him gasp one word: a name. My knees met the ground before I could process what he’d said. I held my midsection, blood dripping past my fingers. The wound burned like it had been doused in acid, and I hadn’t realized how much blood I’d already lost until Vincent disappeared. I pulled my hand away and looked down. What a mess. Fucking godly weapons. Fuck.

A flashing streak of silver split the glowing sky, and the air curled around me, each hot breath a harsh contrast against the cold world. The ground shook with his landing, and his silver boots had barely touched the ground before Samkiel was at my side. He caught me before I landed face-first in the icy snow. My vision blurred as I looked up at the silver king kneeling before me. His hands were warm as he lifted me, and I hissed in pain when he held me close. My knight, my savior.

His hand hovered over the wound in my abdomen, and worry creased his brow before he lifted and surveyed the area with murderous intent, looking for the one who had hurt me.

“I killed Vincent.”

Samkiel’s head whipped to me, worry pulling his brows together. I stared at his face, my head falling back against his arm. No blue light raced toward the sky, but my last thought before I fell unconscious was how I killed Vincent, and with his last dying breath, I thought I heard him whisper Camilla’s name.