Chapter 17 Dianna
DIANNA
“I think I’d be more inclined toward heroic deeds like you if they paid me in liquor or clothes,” I said.
Reggie made an odd noise, and I looked at him in surprise.
The sound could only be identified as a snort.
He was becoming so much more relaxed with us all, and I truly enjoyed it.
I wondered if he’d always wished for what I had.
A family? I knew he had sisters, three fates bound to the mysteries of the universe, and so on. But with us, he almost felt mortal.
We sat at a small table in the far corner of the tavern.
Three people strumming instruments had set up on a makeshift stage, and a fourth was singing as the crowd danced to the music.
The whole town felt lighter after Samkiel had dragged back the head of the beast who had been terrorizing them.
It was currently hanging on the opposite wall, blood forming a puddle beneath it.
“The whole point of helping others is not to expect a reward,” he said, sipping his drink.
I slammed the rose-colored liquid back before placing my glass on the table, the burn sweet and refreshing. “Sounds lame.”
He snorted and shook his head. Reggie coughed, and both of us turned to look at him. His face was scrunched in disgust. “I do not think I enjoy this.”
I had offered him at least three different drinks to see if he liked any of them. So far, none had won him over.
“Usually, the point isn’t to enjoy it. It’s more for the nice tingly feeling you get after.”
He looked at me as if I’d grown seven heads and then looked at Samkiel questioningly. Samkiel shrugged and lifted his glass to his lips, taking a deep swallow.
“Perhaps I will stick to those dark orange ones Cameron likes,” Reggie mused.
Liquor burned my nose, and I cupped my hand over my mouth. I choked and coughed, spitting part of my drink against my palm. Samkiel patted my back as I glared at Reggie.
“You drink with Cameron but make a fuss with me?” I scoffed, wiping my mouth with the back of my sleeve. “I’m hurt.”
He pushed his glass away. “Please, do not be. He wears me down with his incessant pestering. I think he hopes I will become inebriated and give him the answers he seeks, but unfortunately, his efforts are in vain.”
My chest clenched, a bit of my buzz wearing off.
I knew what he meant, and I knew Cameron was still searching for Xavier.
I had seen his wings coast across the light of the moon one night when he thought Samkiel and I were asleep.
He was looking, and I knew he would never stop.
I understood his need to find the missing part of his soul.
“I think Cameron just has a soft spot for you,” I said. “And he also likes to annoy you.”
A ghost of a smile pulled at Reggie’s lips. “That he does. While this is a joyous event for this town and the two of you, I feel I must retire.”
I kicked his foot playfully and nodded toward the makeshift dance floor. “What? No dance?”
His face dropped as if I’d just asked him to skin and eat raw fish. “I fear I foresee no future in which that shall ever come to pass.”
Samkiel’s laugh was big and loud, the sound shivering right through me. Reggie stood and bowed slightly.
“Good night, my liege,” he said to Samkiel and me before retreating down the long hall toward the room that had been prepared for him.
“He hasn’t had a vision in weeks,” Samkiel said, watching Reggie until he disappeared.
I sighed and looked up at Samkiel. “Not right now.”
Samkiel shrugged, but I heard the concern in his voice. “I’m just letting you know.”
“You know, you get this worry wrinkle above your brow when you overthink.”
Samkiel slapped his hand against his forehead and frowned at me. “No, I don’t.”
I tilted my head back and laughed. The conversation and mirth of the crowd drowned out the sound.
This was what I’d wanted. I craved a minute just to exist without worrying or constantly looking over my shoulder.
These people deserved it, too. They deserved a life free from a tyrant who only wished to subjugate.
“I love playing with you,” I admitted, grinning at him.
“Yes, I’ve learned,” he said and dropped his hand, his eyes sparkling with silver heat.
I leaned across the table and brushed my lips against his, tasting the spicy liquor he’d been drinking. “At least you’ll never be bored with me.”
“Never,” he said, flicking his tongue against the seam of my lips.
I sat back and filled our glasses from the bottle. “Here is another drink to enjoy with your favorite wife,” I said, sliding it toward him.
Samkiel chuckled and lounged back in his chair, sipping the alcohol. “You’re my only wife.”
“For now.”
His face grew stoic. “That’s not funny.”
“You know what else is not funny? That you have been hiding the fact that Oblivion has been bothering you, and not just physically. I saw it in your head at Shorerock, and I’ve caught you twice trying to rub it off your hands like dirt when you thought I wasn’t paying attention.
It’s not funny when you don’t tell me these things. ”
I watched his throat bob as he dropped his gaze, staring at the liquor swirling in his glass. “I didn’t want to worry you. Plus, as you have pointed out, we have a list of other things that are much more important to worry about.”
“And the nightmares?” I added. “You kicked me the night before last as if you were running again, and then last night, you woke up covered in sweat.”
“Dianna.” He dragged my name out like a reprimand. “I’m fi—”
“You are my number one priority, Samkiel.” I reached up and cupped his jaw, idly rubbing my thumb over the rough stubble on his cheek.
“Nothing is more important than you, and when you don’t share your burdens with me, it scares me.
I know you’re at war, baby, even in your sleep, but let me fight those battles with you. Please? I worry about you.”
I wasn’t going to let him minimize what he went through with these nightmares or his worries about Oblivion, even if this conversation turned into a fight.
But no anger burned in his silver eyes. There was no hint of rage or flicker of bubbling resentment.
His gaze remained soft as if my touch and presence helped keep him grounded, but I could feel the energy bucking against his control.
He leaned into my hand and closed his eyes, allowing my words to quell the growing storm contained within his skin.
“Likewise,” he said.
“You’re doing it again. The same thing you always harp on me for. One of the reasons you left me,” I said, dropping my hand and returning to my drink.
“I did not leave you, so to speak. I retrieved one thing that could replace what you gave up for me … and I returned,” he said, poking my side playfully.
The townspeople behind us continued to dance to the music without a care.
They didn’t know that Samkiel was trying to adjust to the fact that he didn’t have to carry the world on his shoulders alone anymore.
“All I am doing is trying to focus on and fix the things we can control. My nightmares are just a manifestation of my stress and worry for you. Oblivion is flickering because I lost the one ring that helped me control it. So, yes, I have been having nightmares, but they only started up again after this dream lover of yours appeared.”
My nose wrinkled. “Okay, first of all, he is not my dream lover, you jealous ass, and maybe this Killium can make you another ring since he’s good at that. Also, what are these nightmares about?”
Samkiel tapped his rings against the glass he held, and I could feel his leg bouncing beneath the table.
“Are they the same ones from Onuna?” I asked. “The ones you kept from me.”
His eyes cut to mine before he slammed his drink back, his throat working the spicy liquor down faster than before. The glass hit the table with a chime before he slid it to me.
“Yes, almost the same. Except it’s Nismera holding you, and then you’re just …” he took a breath as if speaking it out loud might make it real, “ashes.”
I fingered the rim of my glass as I watched him. “It doesn’t mean anything, though.”
“Maybe,” he said, but I could tell he didn’t believe it for one second. “Maybe not. I’ve dreamt things before that have come to pass.”
Pain flashed in his eyes, so profound and devastating that I felt it like a blow.
I placed my hand on top of his. “True, but you also dreamed about a talking sandwich once because you were hungry. So, as you said, this could just be a manifestation of stress because, like always, you are worried about me.”
He snorted and grinned at me, but the shadows didn’t leave his eyes. “It is probably that. I have just found the last few months challenging, and I can’t do it without you,” he said.
“You and me both.” I nodded, pouring each of us another glass. “Which is why tonight we are going to drink and laugh and have a good night. We will worry about the world again tomorrow.”
He nodded, his eyes locked with mine. “Just promise me that if you turn to ash or disappear, you’ll take me with you.”
I raised my hand, elbow coming down hard against the table as I extended my pinky. “Pinky promise.”
He smiled back and gripped it with his finger before turning our hands so he could press a kiss to the back of mine.
We stayed like that for a while, smiling, laughing, and talking to one another.
It was a pleasant reprieve, a calm while we pretended we didn’t have a million and one tasks to complete.
When we finished the first bottle, I hopped to my feet and went in search of another.
“You’re trying to kill me, aren’t you?” Samkiel asked when I returned victorious with a new bottle gripped in my hand.
With a wicked grin, I sat down and grabbed our glasses, pouring for both of us.
“Well, I feel the need to know what drunk Samkiel is like,” I said.
He picked up his glass and smirked at me before tapping my nose. “A terror like you, but not as constant.”
“I want to see.”