Chapter 76 #2
I exhaled slowly and sat back, trying to remember the details of the dream. They seemed so hazy and far away now. “I don’t know, Samkiel. Maybe it was just a dream, my mind finally trying to process all that had happened and jumbling up events. But my instincts are telling me there is more to it.”
“I don’t doubt you, Dianna. But the moon could just be a symbol. Dreams are interpreted as the viewer sees fit. The moon represents change and passage of time. It is a power able to shape the tides. You have experienced a lot of changes and upheavals, important and life-altering ones.”
I placed my hand on my chin as I sighed. “You’re so smart.”
He gave me a sheepish grin. “Flirt.”
“Okay, well, it’s a start, I guess.” I reached for the papers, but his hand clasped over mine.
“Dianna.”
“Yes?”
“You should have taken me with you.” He glared at me, and I lowered my gaze, staring at the document beneath our hands. “This isn’t something you should learn or have to go through alone.”
I shrugged. “I wasn’t alone. Neverra was there.”
“Neverra took you?” He cocked his head to the side, more curious than angry, but something else was bothering me.
I ignored his question, unable to contain the pain of my doubts. “Does this mean Gabby isn’t my sister? I mean, I know what I’m looking at, and I know what it says, but—”
“This changes nothing. Nothing, Dianna. She still is and will always be your sister. The same one you grew up with, the same one you experienced life with, the same one you died for, lived for, and fought for. Blood is the least of what makes a family. Trust me.”
I did trust him. Samkiel would always tell me the truth. I leaned forward and grabbed the neckline of his armor. Pulling him toward me, I kissed him. Once. Twice. Three times before I sat back down.
“Now you kiss me?”
“I needed to tell you what I had done before you kissed me. You needed to know because I did not want you to feel deceived or manipulated. I know what that is, and I would not have you feel that at my hands, Samkiel.” I gave him an angelic smile and started to gather the documents. “Plus, you were being nice.”
“Thank you for protecting my heart, Dianna,” he said, his eyes brilliant with an emotion I was afraid to name. “And, I’m always nice. You, on the other hand…”
I glared at him. His returning grin was brilliant and playful. For the first time, I noticed the thin layer of dust on his face. I wiped at my lips, my hand coming away with a gray line smeared across the back.
“Why do you taste terrible?” I asked with a grimace, really looking him over for the first time tonight. Gray dust coated his armor, the only shiny spot, my handprint on his chest, directly over his heart.
“There she is.”
“What happened to you? Are you okay?”
He chuckled, the deep masculine sound resonating in my soul. “Sorry, and yes, I’m fine.”
“Then why are you disgusting?” I asked, arching a single brow.
“I thought that was a quality you favored in me?”
Heat flared, burning away the sadness that had gripped me so viciously. “Hmm, maybe. I can think of a few others, though.”
The corners of his mouth lifted in an evil grin. “I think you need to show me.”
My stomach flipped every time Samkiel smiled, but the ones he flashed when he thought something filthy were downright devious, and they made my entire body run hot.
“Maybe after you shower. I don’t have my super magical powers, and I refuse to get an infection because you’re gross.”
His laugh reverberated across my skin, my soul. “I’d just heal you.”
“Mm-hmm.” I stood and held out my hand to him. “Come on.”
He took my hand and allowed me to pull him to his feet.
He didn’t fight me as we headed upstairs, and he laughed when I shoved him into the bathroom.
I started the shower as he stripped behind me.
Once the water was warm enough, I stepped out of the way, and he walked in.
I turned and grabbed a cloth from the counter.
Wetting it, I wiped the dirt from my mouth and face.
I watched Samkiel in the bathroom mirror as he rinsed the grime from that beautiful, powerful body.
He caught me looking and smiled. “You know you don’t have to ask. Come join me,” he said, temptation itself.
“I already showered. You’re the one who got home late.” I placed the cloth down and turned toward him, leaning back against the counter.
Suddenly, every bit of his attention focused on me. He stilled, water flowing over the carved muscles of his chest and thighs.
“What?” I asked, cocking my head.
“Home?” he asked, his voice husky and low, but I heard him.
I hadn’t even thought about it. The word had slipped out easily. I stared into the deep gray of his eyes and realized that he had become my home.
I didn’t bother trying to hide it. I was a terrible liar, anyway. “That’s what it feels like with you.”
He smiled as if I’d just handed him a priceless gift.
I rolled my eyes. “Oh, don’t make that face.” His smile widened, joyful and triumphant. “Now it’s your turn.” I folded my arms. “What happened today?”
Samkiel’s smile faltered, and he reached for a bottle of shampoo. “I killed Porphyrion.”
Samkiel had told me about Porphyrion the other night while we ate—the giant they’d found locked up in Yejedin. I pushed from the counter and joined him in the shower, running my hands over his body, looking for wounds this time.
A growl of pleasure rumbled in his chest as my fingers danced over the slick hard ridges and planes of muscles. I put my hands on my hips, ignoring the water soaking my hair and clothes.
“Are you hurt? I told you—”
“You told me what?”
I glared and pinched his side. He jerked away and glared at me. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, and you have no right to take me to task for doing something risky when you traveled back to Onuna while Kaden is hunting you,” he said, rubbing the shampoo into his hair, his biceps flexing.
I pursed my lips and flicked water at him before sitting on the shower bench. “Fair.”
He chuckled and ducked his head, stepping beneath the water to rinse the soap from his hair. I watched the water cascade over his shoulders and down the sleek, powerful lines of his back and—
“He told me about Kaden and who he really is.”
Cool dread crawled over me, replacing the warmth of my desire.
“What?”
He turned toward me and picked up the soap, rubbing it over his abdomen. “You won’t believe it.”
“Who is he?”
“One of my father’s ex-generals.”
“Your father?”
He nodded as he washed his groin. He handled his cock with brisk practicality, but I still had to glance away from how mouthwatering he looked.
“Yes, along with two others who presumably died in the Gods War.” He lathered one powerful muscled thigh, then the other.
“Kaden created the Kings of Yejedin, which is why they were so fiercely loyal to him. It makes sense now why he hates me so much. If there was a falling out with my father, or if he did not support my birth.” He sighed.
“Just more ancient enemies, as if I do not have enough.”
“One,” I said, holding up my finger. Samkiel glanced toward me, reaching for his feet. “One powerful enemy left. I killed Tobias and Alistair, so as soon as whatever the fuck is blocking me is gone, I’ll—” I stopped. I wasn’t alone anymore. No. I needed to learn that, too. “ We will kill him, too.”
He grinned. “Flirt.”
I smiled as he stepped under the full spray, a weird sense of relief washing over me. I knew I should care more about Kaden being some overpowered general, but the truth was, I didn’t give a shit about Kaden. Not anymore. I only cared about this man.
A lock on a door in a house rattled.
“Well,” I said, unable to deal with the strength of my reaction to him right now. “At least we have some answers now.”
“He said something else, though. Of course, he reminded me how my family had lied, but he also talked about me, what I’ve done, what I was trained to do, and who I am. Then I proved him right by ending him. It just makes me feel….” He paused, and I caught the change in his mood.
“Makes you feel like the old you?”
“Yes.” He nodded. “I wanted to be Liam after Rashearim fell, but every time I turn around, I am reminded that I am and will always be Samkiel. The World Ender. Feared among stars and realms. A king. A conqueror. I don’t want to be feared.
” He sighed and turned the water off. “I just want to help people.”
“You do. You have.” I stood up and grabbed two towels.
Stepping in front of him, I handed him one for his hair and dragged the other towel over his shoulders and arms. “You’re the strongest being I know.
” I slid the soft cloth over his chest and abdomen as he rubbed at his hair.
“You are truly good, no matter what label the old gods or the world give you.” I dropped to my knees, drying off his thighs, one leg at a time. “You’re never scared of anything.”
“Debatable.” Samkiel’s voice had dropped an octave. His cock twitched, and I smiled up at him, happy to see those storm-colored eyes sparking with desire rather than swimming in pain.
I stood and moved around him. I dried the water from his broad shoulders and back.
“You are brave and sweet, and you have saved my life more than once. You risk your life for others with no regard for what happens to you.” I pulled on his arm, turning him to face me.
“I’ve heard the stories. Gods, I’ve seen half of them in the blooddreams.” I wrapped the towel around him and tugged him closer.
“You are both equal parts your mother and father. Strong and resilient like him. Kind and compassionate like her. You’re a protector, a guardian, and,” I reached up and wrapped my hand around the back of his neck, pulling him down to me as I went to my tiptoes, “my best friend.”
A smile lit his face, chasing the shadows from his eyes. I ran my thumb against his jaw. “I liked everything until that last part,” he said.