Chapter 50 #2
I dropped the wall of flames behind me and focused my remaining power, imagining where I wanted to go.
Where was the safest place I knew? Space ripped, and Kaden’s eyes widened, the whites showing as he realized what I was doing.
I tore a portal in the fabric of Yejedin, and a wound inside me I thought I had closed split wide open.
“I guess I’ll never know then.”
I turned toward the light that spilled from the portal and pushed Logan and Neverra through. Kaden roared, and I felt the air move as he rushed toward me. I fell.
It was mere moments, seconds, if any. I didn’t land on a hard surface or a road or another world. Instead, Samkiel caught me, cradling me against his powerful chest. His familiar scent filled my lungs, and something in me that had wound too tight eased.
I had fallen, and Samkiel caught me.
I’d wanted to take us somewhere safe, and the portal had led me straight to him. Truly, though, where else did I have to go?
I glanced up through the portal and saw the cavern full of blood-red eyes glaring back at me. Kaden’s expression, horrible and filled with wrath, was the last thing I saw before it closed.
I wept. I had failed her.
Again.
I made a choice that wasn’t Gabby.
Again.
And I hated myself for it.
* * *
My eyes opened to a light-filled room. I sat up slowly and looked around, running my hands through my hair, gathering it away from my face. The room was enormous and familiar, although I was sure I had never been here before.
My eyes went wide, recollection washing over me.
It was the room from Samkiel’s dream, only clean and whole.
There used to be holes in the walls and ceiling from where he’d reacted violently, fighting his nightmares.
A column marked each corner. Intricately designed, they soared, twisting and curving, before spreading like vines just short of the ceiling.
It was larger in reality than in his dreams—an enormous room fit not just for a king but a god.
The area hollowed out for the closet disappeared behind a wall, seemingly curving away from the room.
Two large dressers flanked a carved doorway tall enough for Samkiel to walk through without having to duck.
Groupings of overstuffed chairs took up one side of the room, and soft fur throws draped over the backs.
My heart had been pounding since I woke, my body already aware of what had taken my mind some time to understand.
I was not on Onuna anymore. I was on Rashearim.
My head throbbed, and I cradled it in my hands, memories colliding. I fell through a portal, and he caught me. Had I been so far gone again that he’d fed me? Was I in another blooddream?
I threw the covers back, having to almost crawl to the edge of the bed to get off it.
It could easily fit eight people, and from the feel of it, it was brand new.
A sheer white nightdress swirled around my bare feet, the woven lace and crisscross design across the bodice definitely the fashion of Rashearim.
I was clean. The blood and gore of Yejedin washed away.
I wondered if he had bathed me and felt a blush scald my cheeks.
As I strode out of the room, the floor was cool beneath my bare feet.
A hall opened before me, and I moved toward the staircase leading to a lower level.
There were no noises or whispers as there had been in his other dreams, but I couldn’t shake the fact that I wasn’t alone.
I turned around, expecting to see someone behind me from the chill that went up my spine, but there was nothing.
Deciding it must just be a result of waking up in a strange place, I turned and started down the steps.
I trailed my hand along the dark gray wall to steady myself.
I picked up the edge of my dress and stopped on the bottom step.
“Fuck.” The word escaped me on a low breath.
I was so wrong. I wasn’t in a house. It was a godsdamned castle. The ceiling soared so high that I had to lean back to see it. Chandeliers hung a few feet away from each other, glimmering in the sunshine that spilled from the open window.
If this was a blooddream, what was I supposed to see?
The air shifted behind me, a tendril of my hair caressing my cheek.
I spun and met a wall of muscle, my nose an inch from the realm’s best chest. My gaze traveled up the strong column of his neck, caressing the hard line of his jaw, before staring into the clear beauty of Samkiel’s eyes.
He looked exactly how he did on Onuna, not Rashearim.
He wore no armor, no long wavy hair, or shrouds of guards around him.
“Why is this still happening?” My heart thudded in my chest, and dread filled me, forcing me to step back. “I don’t want to dream of you anymore. I can’t,” I said, my voice shaking.
His head cocked slightly to the side as he stepped forward. “You dream of me?”
I winced a sharp pain radiating through the center of my head. I grabbed it and stumbled. A solid, warm hand grasped my elbow, holding me up. I felt his touch. Heat radiated from his palm, and I knew I wasn’t dreaming.
“Dianna?”
I tried to focus on him, but his form kept shimmering.
“You’re blurry.”
My head lulled back, and I teetered right on the edge of consciousness.
I braced for the pain of falling, but my body never hit the floor.
Strong arms wrapped around me as the now familiar darkness slowly claimed me again.
I would be lying if I said it wasn’t pleasant for the brief moment I remembered it.
Samkiel’s embrace was so warm, so comforting.
I had been cold, lonely, and lost for so long.
The last thought I had before unconsciousness claimed me was how at peace I felt, and that truly terrified me.
* * *
You won’t get another chance…
Pain sliced through the side of my head.
… fell in love with him while Kaden took your sister…
I groaned and rolled over, covering my head with a large pillow.
… remember that I love you…
My head pounded.
… seek revenge for the sister that’s not even of your blood …
Voices whispered, begged, and screamed in my mind.
You are running out of time.
I swore, tossing and turning. If I could just make it stop.
I heard heavy footsteps, and then the bed sank next to me.
A sharp pain pierced my brain again, and I whimpered.
A large, warm hand settled on my forehead.
I stilled, the dull ache melting away, leaving a soothing calm over my whole body.
I sighed, feeling as if I might survive this, and fell back asleep.
* * *
A hot beam of sunshine across my face pulled me from sleep.
I stretched and sat up, my eyes half closed.
My eyes shot open as I remembered where I was.
This wasn’t a dream. I leaned forward, rubbing my hands over my face.
At least the voices were gone, and my head didn’t hurt.
What was happening to me? I lay back down on my side, the silk sheets wrapping around me.
My eyes focused, and an ache formed in my chest, the room spinning around me. There, in an intricate silver frame, was a picture of Gabby and me at the beach.
My breath faltered. I had promised her we would visit this beach again after we’d found the book. It was the only picture Kaden had allowed me to keep in Novas. I grabbed it and brought it closer, my finger tracing her smiling face. I felt my eyes prickle, but my lips tightened in anger.
I needed answers, and staying in a bed on a world not my own would not get me them.
With the picture frame in my hand, I rolled out of bed.
A breeze entered the room through the large window, sunlight dancing across the floor.
I strode toward the door, my bare feet making almost no sound.
Voices from below caught my attention, and I stomped down the flight of stairs, the long nightdress dancing behind me in my fury.
The voices grew. I recognized Samkiel’s, and the feminine one belonged to Imogen.
Without my permission, a memory clawed its way to the surface of my mind.
Pain tore at me, ripping at my heart and mind.
I stopped short, grabbing my head with another wince.
The night I’d gone to Kaden only to find him with another.
That had been the first night, but there had been another and another after that.
He had taught me that love was not meant for creatures like us.
I forced anger to replace my pain and squared my shoulders, gripping the picture frame against me a fraction harder.
I marched down the steps, not caring if they heard me coming.
If this wasn’t a dream, I wanted out of this place and off this world.
My head swam, but I ignored it and stayed upright, striding across the open foyer.
This wasn’t just a home but a damned palace.
It was so massive you could fit a thousand people or more in here, and they would still have room to move about, unbothered by each other.
The walls were no longer crumbling, and they glowed with a warmth missing in the desolate space he had lived in before.
Light poured in through a massive window to my right, casting a golden glow over the assortment of chairs and the large lounge sofa in the middle of the room. A fireplace took up nearly one wall, and thriving potted plants added spots of color and freshness.