Eighty-Five Dianna

I was a killing machine, one made of fire and sharp edges. A weapon was what they all said, and a weapon was what I felt like. Chunks of the ryphors fell from the sky, the pieces of their massive bodies littering the war camp below. Claws, teeth, and flame bit into every single one that thought they could escape me. Their blood stained my jaws, taking any that took flight to the ground. Only a handful remained, and one of them carried that damn commander.

Illian and one of his guards rammed into me, ryphor teeth biting into my skin. My hip exploded with pain, and I burned his ally to a crisp, my tail hitting the commander’s beast hard enough to crack bone. They tumbled to the ground, and I followed, landing next to him. I shifted back to my mortal form.

He grunted, pushing to his hands and knees. Blood dripped down his face from a wound on his head, turning his teeth red as he laughed at me.

“I don’t see what’s so funny,” I said. “You are bleeding more than I.”

His grin only widened as he rose to his feet, cradling his injured arm. The ryphor between us took one last breath, then went quiet and seemed to deflate.

“So you are her? You’ve been making quite a fuss, you know?”

“Yeah, yeah, I heard Nismera is mad, so mad she decimated planets. Talk about a temper tantrum.”

“You’re a fool, girl, if you think it was merely that,” he spat. “She has a weapon now that will leave nothing behind. I guess you can thank your dead ex-lover for that.”

My hand was around his throat before he stopped speaking. I lifted him and tried to speak, but my body decided that wasn’t necessary, and a cool, tingly feeling washed through every muscle and nerve. My legs wobbled, and he laughed, clamping an enormous hand around my wrist. I sank to the ground, my limbs giving out.

“I was hoping you were as easy to piss off as they said.” He tightened his grip, that cool feeling spreading. His eyes blazed with victory as he leaned forward, pushing more of that paralyzing agent into me. “I will wear a medal for your capture.”

I heard a swish, and something sliced through the air. Illian’s gaze remained fixed on me, but his eyes went wide, and blood rushed through my body once more as his hand went limp. His mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out. A bright line bubbled and grew across his throat as he blinked once more before his head rolled to the side, bouncing off his shoulder.

Samkiel kicked Illian’s body aside and held his hand out for me. “I leave you alone for five minutes.” He lifted me and supported me as I regained the use of my limbs.

“It was more than five, and look around. I pretty much sacked the whole place while you were saving Neverra,” I joked before growing serious. “Is she okay?”

“Yes,” he said with a heavy sigh. “Orym and Veruka?”

My hand, nice and mobile once more, whipped out, popping him in his armored chest plate. He looked at me, confused. “Don’t do that again.”

“What? Destroy those who threaten you with my blade?”

“No. You don’t ask me to choose.”

His eyes softened. “Dianna.”

“Don’t Dianna or baby or akrai me,” I said, meaning every word as I pushed him again. He didn’t stumble or even move, really, and that just made me even more mad. “You will not like the outcome if you ask me to choose between you and someone else again. And I don’t care if you huff or roar or stay pissed at me. I am not the hero. That’s your job.”

The corner of his lips twisted. I felt the warmth of his admiration flutter across my mind, and there was even a hint of arousal at my protectiveness. “So, what’s your job, then?”

“Keeping you alive and making sure you don’t make stupid mistakes.” I folded my arms and cocked my hip to the side, watching how his eyes stroked the curve. “You’re terrible at it.”

His laugh was short. “All right then. Where are they? Orym and Veruka?”

I nodded, pointing my thumb behind me. “Safe. I stopped the caravan that tried to escape with them. The commander was what was left.”

His hands slid over my arms, checking me for injuries, and I let him. I knew fighting him would only hold up the process. He noticed the small cuts and tears on my clothes, but I knew he wouldn’t find anything major. Even my hip wasn’t hurting as much. The ryphor teeth must have only grazed me.

“I’m fine.”

“Mm-hmm,” he added before rubbing his hands over my head, his fingers tangling in my hair.

I slapped him away. “Seriously, I’m fine. What about you?”

“I’m good,” he said, glancing around the burnt camp. “More wounded emotionally, but I’ll tell you later.”

“Okay,” I said. “We need to go get Veruka and Orym. They are both banged up pretty bad.”

“All right.”

I turned, leading the way as we walked past the burning remains of ryphors and tents. We came up to the charred caravans surrounded by the corpses of the burnt guards. Veruka held her side and groaned, Orym still passed out in her lap.

“I cauterized her wounds the best I could before the commander escaped.”

Samkiel went to his knees next to her, silver light glowing on his hand as he placed it over her gut. She groaned, and he looked up at me.

“Excellent work,” he said, smiling at me as he healed her.

I shrugged. “I suppose. Commander Poison-Hands nearly caught me.”

“That was my mistake,” he said as Veruka groaned again. “I should have warned you.”

I shrugged. “No big deal. You saved me.”

Veruka sat a little straighter, and Samkiel shifted Orym to an upright position. He moved his hand over his head, the silver light glowing brightly. The sky split with a loud crack, and we all looked up as three ryphors appeared, one of them carrying a general. They hovered above us, staring for a moment before fleeing.

“Fuck.”

“Dianna.” Samkiel surged to his feet as I watched them race away.

“They saw you!” I snapped. “Saw that silver power. They will tell her.”

My body didn’t even ache as I reached for my beast form, the change coming faster than ever before. I shot back into the sky, leaving Samkiel standing beside the destroyed carriage with Veruka and Orym.

“Dianna.”His voice was filled with fear. “Do not go after those ryphors!”

“If they reach her, we are fucked,”I said. “I’ll be fine.”

A screech pierced the air as I forced the flame from my throat, scorching the closest ryphor. Its burning body spiraled toward the ground like a flaming ribbon.

“See?” I smiled in my head, and I wondered if he felt it.

“I did,” he answered.

I streamlined my body and pushed harder, beating my wings against the air, gaining on the remaining two. I had flown far enough away that I couldn’t see him, but I still felt him. It was like a tether linking us, and even though I couldn’t see or hear him, I felt it pull tight, thrumming with the essence of him. That part of me that was hollow and lonely all those years was finally filled. It was just another perk of the ring he’d made me. Maybe this marriage thing was all it was cracked up to be.

The ryphors split, one going left and the other right. Fuck. I couldn’t let them get away. They knew he was here, and now, they knew what I’d been protecting all this time. If they made it back to her, everything would be over. I flew hard, cutting across the wind as I darted left. If I could just catch one quickly, I could circle back.

Smoke bellowed up, blocking my view within snout reach, so I relied on sound instead of my eyes. I extended my wings, gliding on the wind, and listened. A soft whistle of the wind to my right had me pivoting, and I saw the legless beast whip into the clouds. My wings beat once, twice, and I gained speed, forcing myself against the wind, its shape coming into view. The general glanced back, his eyes widening when I opened my jaws. Flame bubbled up, the heat caressing my throat, but his surprised look quickly turned into a satisfied smile, and he dove.

I snapped my jaws shut, preparing to follow, when a reflective shine caught my eye. The smoke separated, and two more ryphors appeared on either side. A net stretched between them, attached to their saddles. It wasn’t made of rope but pure silver light meant to slice me to bits. They stretched it tight, and I realized this was a trap. All of this was a trap made for me.

Fuck.

We can only be mortally wounded in our true forms. Tobias’s words echoed in my head. Nismera knew.

I was flying too fast, and I couldn’t stop. This time, my arrogance may truly be the death of me. I flung my head and mantled my wings, trying to slow my forward momentum, but it was too late.

“Sami.”I hadn’t realized I had reached out to him along our bond until his terror flooded me. He felt my fear, my apprehension, and I heard him scream my name.

I took a deep breath, preparing for the pain of hitting that net, but it didn’t come. Instead, a massive gray and black form slammed into my chest from below, forcing me up. It screeched in pain, a hollow, deadly sound. I echoed his cry, the edges of our Ig’Morruthen wings shedding embers from where they’d touched that net.

His eyes met mine, and my breath caught. It wasn’t just any Ig’Morruthen. It was Cameron. We were both flightless now and spiraling toward the ground, our wings damaged. The air ripped at us, and despite my anger and hate, I curled my damaged wings around him, cocooning us both. We crashed to the ground in a heap of dust and gravel.