Eighty-Eight Dianna

The door closed with a click behind me, and I heard Cameron settle for the night. It was deep into the night, and the castle was dimly lit, but I didn’t need night vision to know a grumpy god was there.

“Eavesdropping, huh?”

Samkiel leaned against the wall, his arms folded. He seemed relaxed, but by the way he held his body, I knew he was pissed. “You’re not allowed to feed him alone.”

I snorted, not needing my ring to know what he was feeling. His eyes were hard and glittering, and I could read every emotion that flickered in their depths. Yup, definitely grumpy. I grinned before standing on my toes and grabbing the front of his shirt, pulling him down to place a kiss on his lips.

“Are you sure you’re not part Ig’Morruthen?” I asked against his lips. “The jealousy and territoriality are identical.”

He made a noise in the back of his throat before returning my kiss. I pulled back before we could get carried away and nipped at his lower lip.

“He can’t help how he feels,” I said. “Don’t make this more difficult on him, okay? He was turned, used, and left.”

“Like you?” he asked.

I chewed the inside of my lip, thinking of how to word the next part gently. “Not really. Kaden helped me more.”

That didn’t help. Samkiel bristled, the perfect line of his jaw flexing. “Before or after he asked you to . . . How did you word it? Blow him?” Samkiel said, and I felt the storm in his voice.

I rolled my eyes. “Okay, that was a poorly timed joke. Kaden may be scum and evil incarnate but we . . . He and I . . . We weren’t together until after I survived Thrash, and it was always consensual, even if he turned out to be a cheating asshole afterward. It wasn’t always like that.”

It was the truth, and Samkiel told me that was what he wanted from me, so I’d give it even if it pissed him off. There had been good times between Kaden and me, but they were brief, and the bad far outweighed them.

Samkiel looked away, his jaw clenched. “I like this fantasy I have in my head where you are mine and mine alone, and you have been for centuries.”

I couldn’t help the small laugh that left my mouth, thinking of a few other fantasies I had shown him. “I like that fantasy too, but if that were true, I wouldn’t know how to do that one thing you like so much.”

He shrugged with every bit of arrogance and confidence I had come to love so much. He nuzzled my neck, his breath hot against my ear as he whispered, “You’d be surprised. I’m a great teacher.”

I snickered and swatted his shoulder, pushing away from him. “Okay, teacher. Now, tell me why you were really eavesdropping. Miss me?”

“Actually, yes,” he said, straightening. “But also because Orym sent a message.”

Orym and Veruka had taken a few days to heal before they packed and left. It was bittersweet. I knew Orym wouldn’t stay once he got his twin back, but Miska took it the hardest. She was so used to having no friends that she latched on to the ones she had made. Orym promised to send her wisps and visit when he could, but I knew those would be few and far between. They were spies and hunted ones at that.

I crossed my arms. “He found something?”

Samkiel nodded. “Yes, he and Veruka both did. I am assuming it’s another member of The Hand. I say we both go, but now I’m concerned about Cameron.”

I bit my lower lip as I thought about it. “We won’t be gone that long. I can bring him another meal before we leave. Even starved, blood like that can last for a full day, two at most.”

Samkiel looked at the door, his brow furrowed with worry. “Will he be okay?”

I didn’t know which part he truly meant. Physically, yes, he would, but emotionally? That type of healing could take years, and even then, he wouldn’t be as he was before. Pain that cut that deeply left scar tissue.

“Yes,” I said, knowing he read what crossed my mind even if he did not say it. So I changed the subject. “I think we have a few more weeks before he can practice feeding on others without killing, and yes, before you say anything, I planned for you to come with me for those super fun adventures.”

Samkiel grinned, and it took my breath away. “Thank you.”

“So what’s the plan?”

Samkiel sighed, rubbing at the stubble on his chin. “We meet at a local safe house. I plan to take Miska in case we get into a true fight, and someone is injured. I thought we should take Roccurem as well.”

“Why Reggie?” I asked.

“I may love Cameron, but I heard him feed. If, for some reason, he breaks out, I do not wish to leave anyone behind he could feed on. I know he’d burn himself to pieces trying to get to Neverra and Logan.”

I nodded in agreement. Thrash was a tricky thing and one I didn’t fully understand. I barely remembered my change. The memories were fuzzy until I had it under control.

“Okay, when do we leave?”

“Now.”

I sighed and started up the stairs. “I think we are already way overdue for a vacation.”

Samkiel was a step behind me, just as he always was. He was my soul given form. It was the only way I could put into words how I felt about him. It was as if a part of me lived in him.

He cleared his throat. “I heard what you said.”

“I assumed, given the way you were all puffed up in my defense.” I smirked.

“Not just that,” he said.

I paused and looked back at him, one foot on the next step. “Everything?”

Samkiel nodded twice.

“Nosy.”

“Did you mean it?” Emotions were swirling deep in his eyes. They glowed, but not Otherworldly, not as if he were angry, but with a raw, keening vulnerability, and I knew what he was referring to before he even said his next words. “The part where you said you loved me. Before . . .”

I smiled as I turned to face him fully and stepped down one step so we were eye to eye. I lifted my hand and lightly placed it against his cheek, his stubble rubbing against my palm. In the chaos of everything that had happened to us these last few months and both of us finally admitting what our hearts already knew, I realized I’d never told him. “Samkiel, I have loved you since we left Reggie’s vortex, and sometimes, when I think about it, I think I loved you before that too.”

Samkiel leaned forward, his lips pressing lightly against mine. It was not a kiss of want or need but of pure love. Even if my body was a hollow, aching thing, if no soul filled its darkness, and the only thing sustaining it was the beating of my heart, he owned every part of it, every part of me.

“You own me as well.” He smiled against my lips, pulling back.

I swatted his arm, a small playful pat, and he grinned at me. “I keep forgetting you can read my mind. That’s cheating.”

He grinned and slipped his hand into mine, leading me upstairs.

“I’m still not used to this,” I said, wiggling my fingers around his.

He grinned at me and winked. “It’s okay. I’m a great teacher.”

I laughed, the sound echoing off the walls and filling our new home.