Chapter 86 #2
“You think me a monster, but you have no idea what I did for you and what rules I broke. I had to wait a thousand years because you got under my skin—a thousand years with you. I thought I could use Ava instead of you at first. Then I could keep you. I’d convince them you were mine, not his.
But even with her celestial blood, it wasn’t enough.
She was weak and damaged, so I fed her to Tobias.
I halted plans for you, searched for that damned book, hoping there was another way that I could keep you. ”
His fingers slid idly across my jaw, and I struggled to get out of his grip. His eyes told me everything he said was true, though I knew Kaden, and he didn’t lie.
“I love you. I do. In my own twisted way. I tried to push you away for centuries, but I can’t get you out of my head, my flesh, my soul as damaged and dark as it is. You can look at me with hate and loathing, but I love you, Dianna. I always have.”
Bile hit my gut, and I cringed away from him. I shook my head, my voice barely above a whisper. “We were never in love, Kaden. You don’t treat someone you love how we treated each other. That’s not love.”
“Oh, but what you feel for him is love? You’ve known him for minutes compared to what we had.”
“What Samkiel and I have is different. It’s messy and painful at times, but it’s real.
He would never hurt me, no matter what I said or did.
He would never hurt the people I love or use them against me.
Samkiel’s kind, he’s good, and he cares.
He cares about me and accepts every part of me—the good, the bad, and the ugly.
He has seen it all and stayed. You broke me completely, Kaden.
Every chance you got, you broke me. Samkiel healed me.
” I didn’t cower beneath his angry stare. “That’s. Love.”
He recoiled back as if I had stabbed him square in the heart, and maybe I had. Behind those damned eyes, I saw every bit of his anger and frustration. The room shook, and I knew it wasn’t from another doorway he was opening but pure, unadulterated rage. I didn’t care. Not one bit, but I should’ve.
“I convinced them to let me keep you.”
“What?” I gasped. “You killed Gabby, Kaden, and if you kill Samkiel, do you really think I would ever forgive you? You might as well kill me, too, because if you don’t, I won’t stop until you are dead.”
He pushed off the stone slab and tossed the book to the side, sending it skittering across the floor. “You’ll forgive me. You’ll get over it. I’ll wait centuries if I have to, but you will be mine. What are a few thousand years between lovers, right?”
“You are insane,” I choked out, fighting against those damn restraints.
“Love,” he sighed, “it makes you crazy.”
I opened my mouth to tell him he knew nothing of love, but pain stole the words from me.
Sharp spikes pierced my arms, legs, and back, agony slithering across every nerve, tearing a scream from my throat.
I lay there, unable to move, feeling my blood pour from my body, hot, thick, and filled with my repressed power.
The room shook, rubble falling to the ground as the stone above me split, forming a fissure in the world. It gaped, and past the jagged edges, I saw unfamiliar stars, an open purple sky, and a glimpse of a red moon, whole and bright.
“Every thousand years, the equinox crests on the anniversary of the fall. Samkiel changed the universe itself when he slammed the realms closed. Now his death will open them all. No more boundaries, no more limits. No more guardians.”
No guardians, no protectors. No peace.
The words ricocheted within my skull.
The room trembled, and the ground shifted, steam hissing from the jagged cracks forming in the stone.
The room glowed orange, heat filling the cavern.
Two Irvikuva moved above me as Kaden lifted his hand.
A smaller rectangular altar rose from the floor.
Azrael stepped forward and fit the spear into the stone slab, and I soon realized it was the same mold used to make it.
Vincent and Cameron didn’t move from their spots, watching Azrael. The two Irvikuva moved around me, lifting two circular bowls. My vision blurred, my body tired and weak, and I realized what was in those bowls. Blood. My blood.
The Irvikuva stretched on their clawed toes, pouring my blood into the mold with the spear. Darkness crept in around the edges of my vision, and I slipped in and out of unconsciousness. A hum vibrated the air, jerking me awake. I forced my eyes open to see Kaden lift the spear.
No longer coated in rustic metal, it shone with an iridescent glow. Runes glowed along the shaft, and sharp curved blades sprouted from both ends.
“It’s beautiful. I hope it’s painful as I rip him to pieces with it.”
“When I get out of this, I will kill you,” I groaned, pulling against my restraints hard enough to tear the skin beneath the cuffs.
“No, because when you wake up, I will be all you have left in this wretched world.”
Kaden looked up at the blood-red moon above.
With a flick of the dark bracelet on his wrist, horned armor, thick, spiked, and reminiscent of his wyvern form, took hold of his body.
Red eyes glared at me from the depths of his helmet.
The Irvikuva started to howl and yip, their screeches and hoots echoing through the cavern.
Realization clicked, and my stomach sank. I was wrong, so wrong about him.
“Azrael, keep your daughter here until we return for you both. She is forbidden to leave,” Kaden commanded.
Azrael merely nodded. He was a soldier obeying orders, not a father.
My head rolled weakly toward Kaden. “I know who you are,” I whispered.
His clawed, gloved hand swept the hair from my face. “It doesn’t matter now.”
He held his hand out, a curling flame portal bursting into existence. Xavier jumped in first, followed by Cameron. Kaden took a few steps and swung those crimson eyes back to me. “Let chaos reign,” he said and disappeared, the words breaking my heart.
I knew what was about to happen, and I couldn’t do anything about it.
My body ached, and I didn’t even have the strength to cry.
I tried to move, to break free, but only managed to push the spikes deeper into me, shredding me.
Dry sobs shuddered through me. I couldn’t save Gabby.
I couldn’t save Samkiel. I couldn’t save anyone.
Kaden had left, but his words remained, sinking into my skull, bones, heart, and soul.
Consciousness faded, and the world went dark.