Chapter 14 Dianna
DIANNA
“Dianna Andrea Martinez! Stop, this instant!” he bellowed from behind me.
My hand landed on the table, and I vaulted over it.
If he caught me, I was done for, and I was not about to lose something so precious to me.
My breath caught as I rounded another passageway.
I could hide here in the shadows or slip into the inbetween, but either way, I knew the large brute chasing me would sniff me out in a second.
He was worse than a hound when he wanted something.
But maybe … I ran, ensuring I was heard, and darted around another corner.
This place was like a maze. There were so many corridors and doors in here that any fool could get lost. He wasn’t a fool, but I hoped it would at least slow him down.
I charged down the steps four at a time, and when I heard the pounding of feet behind me, I knew my hope was in vain. Lucky for me, I always had a Plan B.
Light poured from a hallway to the right, and I could hear the clink of silverware on plates and voices raised in celebration.
I spun around the corner, the power at my back pushing me onward.
I felt fingers slip through the ends of my hair and dropped onto my knees, sliding through the doorway.
Three sets of startled eyes focused on me.
“Hide me,” I begged, and the smallest being at the table giggled, seemingly amused at my soon-to-be demise.
The tallest of the three gave a sad shake of his head, looking at something behind me. “I am afraid it is too late,” he said.
Like fuck it was. I wasn’t giving up without a fight. I darted forward and grabbed the young girl. Holding her against me, I spun to face the threat in the doorway.
“Don’t come any closer!” I yelled. “Think of the children!”
Samkiel rolled his eyes, and Miska squealed in glee. I gripped her tiny arms gently, careful not to bruise as I held her between us.
“Do not use Miska as a body shield, Dianna! It is beneath you,” Samkiel all but demanded, crossing his arms over his powerful chest. I was momentarily distracted by how his biceps bulged, but I quickly pulled myself together. This was serious.
I faked a gasp, lifting Miska’s arm toward him. “Shield? How dare you? She’s a great and powerful …” I leaned close to Miska and whispered, “What do you want to be?”
“Mage!” she exclaimed, her smile wide and her pointed ears lifted high in delight.
“A great and powerful mage,” I said, deepening my voice to add drama as I maneuvered her arm toward him. “Back, I say.”
Samkiel rolled his eyes again. He was getting really good at that. I was obviously rubbing off on him. “Dianna, give me your ring,” he said. His tone was commanding, but his eyes were dancing, and I saw him fighting his smile.
“Never,” I hissed. “Miska, run! He’s gone mad with power,” I squealed and grabbed her hand, pulling her toward the long, thick wooden kitchen table and darting to the other side of it.
Samkiel gave chase, and she screamed in glee, the sound lighting up the kitchen.
A deep pink painted her cheeks, and water gathered at the corners of her eyes as we ran.
Samkiel could have just jumped over the table and ended this, but hearing Miska laugh so hard she was crying after everything that had happened was music to the whole house.
When Samkiel went right, we went left, keeping the table firmly between us.
He snarled playfully, and the sound resonated deep in my core.
I stopped and stared at him, biting my lower lip as lust tightened my core.
He grinned and playfully snapped his teeth at me.
Miska squealed and held her hands out, intoning something I was pretty sure was gibberish.
Samkiel clutched his chest and stumbled back before pretending to fight his way through thick mud.
“Cameron!” Samkiel said, slapping his hands on the table at last. “Quit sitting around and help me.”
Cameron sucked in his teeth and looked at Reggie. “What’s the probability I’ll survive?”
Reggie shrugged. “A low eight percent.”
Cameron shook his head. “Sorry, fate said I would lose this one. I’m going to sit it out.”
“Mutinous traitor,” Samkiel growled at him.
“I have a plan,” I said to Miska. She looked at me earnestly as I removed my ring and placed it in her hand. Her lavender eyes widened as she fisted the precious jewel in her small hand. “Guard it with your life and run.”
Miska ducked under the table as I launched myself over the top, catching Samkiel by surprise, but not by much.
He snatched me out of the air and twisted me, tucking me under one arm against his side.
The air rushed out of my lungs as he ducked low, reaching for the tiny healer who barely managed to avoid his grasp.
She was almost to the door when he yelled, “You’d leave your queen defenseless, Miska?”
Miska skidded to a stop, her long, messy braid of iridescent pale hair swishing as she turned. I pushed against Samkiel, craning my head to look around him, and saw her clutching my ring in both hands.
Her eyes darted between Samkiel and me before making her decision. She walked back, accepting defeat with a sigh and holding the ring out. “I’m sorry. I failed.”
I huffed and playfully bit Samkiel’s shoulder. “It’s okay. He’s a powerful adversary.”
She smiled as Samkiel placed me on my feet and took the ring from her, ruffling her hair before turning to me. “You two are trouble.”
“You love it,” I said, wrinkling my nose at him.
“Why do you need it back?” Cameron asked, a grin on his face as he watched us. “Trouble in paradise? I’m surprised, considering you two nearly burned the study down a few days ago.”
Samkiel gave Cameron a hard stare, and I gave him my middle finger and covered Miska’s mouth when she opened it to ask the questions I could see brewing in her eyes. Cameron snickered.
“I just want to try a few adjustments,” Samkiel said.
Samkiel had been downstairs most of the day, sequestered in a workroom just past the most comfortable dungeons in existence.
It was a small place for him to tinker and store his weapons.
He had finally emerged, smelling of smoke and sweat, his arms and clothing smudged with dirt and metal shavings.
He had come to me, wanting my ring, but last week, when he tried a few adjustments, he chipped the damn band.
I wasn’t afraid to admit I loved the damn thing.
Not only was it something he had made for me when I thought we were over, but it was physical proof we were married and truly finally together in every way possible.
And the jewel was really big and shiny, and I liked staring at it, and if he chipped it, I’d chip him.
“Don’t break it like last time.” I raised a brow.
The corner of his lip lifted. “Why, Dianna, I didn’t know you cherished it so.”
I shrugged. “It’s pretty, that’s all.”
He grinned. “Terrible liar, as usual, but I promise not to break it this time. I think I transcribed the rune wrong, but after a few tests, I figured it out.”
I took one last look at the sparkling jewel between his fingers, hating the hollow feeling of not having it in my mind. “Fine, just be careful,” I said, playfully rolling my eyes.
“I will,” he promised.
I patted his shoulder and turned away from him. “I was talking to the ring.”
The air stirred behind me just before his hand landed on my retreating ass. Both the yelp and laugh I let out were genuine. He stalked from the room, heading back downstairs.
“I’m sorry,” Miska said, glancing up at me. “I failed you.”
“It’s okay. We lost the battle, not the war,” I said, patting her head.
She huffed, catching her breath with the biggest smile on her face.
“We will have retribution, and it will be swift!” I screamed at Samkiel’s retreating form. I grinned when his mocking laughter drifted up the stairs.
A FEW DAYS later, my new and improved ring sat happily on my finger. I still smiled to myself every time I thought of the secret message Samkiel had inscribed on the inside of the band. I loved him so damn much, and I made sure he knew it too when I went to my knees and …
I pitched forward, my face meeting the ground.
Dust rose in a plume around me, filling the air.
I lifted my head and spit the dirt from my mouth as I stood.
Brushing the debris from my clothes, I cursed and glared at the large stone I’d tripped over.
My spine tingled, and I spun, expecting to see someone behind me.
I took a breath, then another, my fist half raised and covered in flame.
The trees danced in the wind, and I caught the sound of soft, light footfalls beneath the rustle of the leaves.
Miska came down the path, catching up with me in the next second.
I extinguished my hand, hiding it behind me as the smoke settled.
“I … can’t … run … that … fast …” a sweat-drenched Miska huffed as she crashed to a stop beside me and placed her hands on her knees.
We were stopped at a curve in the path Samkiel had made for us when we wanted to run.
No matter which direction we went, all the trails led back to the palace.
A part of me thought he did it because Cameron had told him how lost I had gotten on the remains of Rashearim.
“You are doing great, actually,” I said. “You only asked to stop eight times. That’s three less than last week.”
She huffed, wiping sweat from her brow before wrapping her arms around herself. She turned from me as if the rolling landscape offered some sort of freedom.
“What’s wrong?”
She was quiet for a moment before she glanced at me. “I’m scared.”
My head tilted ever so slightly. “Why? You’re safe here. Everyone is.”
“Scared of what’s to come,” she added. “Reggie says he cannot see past a certain veil of darkness. You and Samkiel are heading to the Otherworld, and Cameron keeps patrolling over the city like he’s waiting for something.”