Chapter 24 Dianna
DIANNA
It had taken us three full days to track down an encampment. It wasn’t as large as Nismera’s other war camps, but it was the closest. Trees surrounded the camp, and the nearest town was just a few miles through the forest.
Fire crackled, sending smoke in a spiraling column into the sky.
We hadn’t planned for a huge fight, but Nismera’s troops had charged us the moment we landed.
They had fought, but were no match for the three of us.
The battle had been short but intense, and now the insects in the forest had resumed their chattering.
Samkiel sat at the table in the commander’s tent, his armor dirty and ink smeared across the side of his head where he’d rubbed his temple.
“They have already hit most of these regions,” Samkiel said with a sigh. “There is nothing new here.”
“So it’s the same old take-over-what-she-can bullshit?” I asked.
He rubbed at his jaw and sat back in his chair, his brow drawing down. “Maybe.”
“What are you thinking?”
He dropped his hand. “I’m thinking this doesn’t sound like Nismera.
These aren’t plans to claim territory and a region.
She already has them, and they have been secured.
Yet she is sending these small units to them?
These are cities, some small, some overrun and ragged.
It doesn’t make sense. Her hubris and ego are far larger than small patches of land.
It’s almost as if she’s looking for something or someone, but trying to stay under the radar about it.
It can’t be me. She has made her search and hatred for me far too known. ”
The tent flap was thrown back, and Cameron entered with a groaning general in tow. “Found her.”
Cameron dragged her in and pushed her to her knees.
Half her head was shaved, soot and dirt turning the spiky white hair covering the other side a dark gray.
A good portion of her body was burned almost black, and parts of her armor were dented from falling from her dying Ryphor.
Cameron had chased her down, and from the looks of it, his aerial training had indeed come in handy.
Cameron held her by the back of her armor collar as I crouched in front of her. She grimaced, her one good eye glaring at me. I heard Samkiel rise and saw Reggie step forward out of the corner of my eye.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
Her chest plate rose and fell as she swallowed her defiance, using it as another layer of armor while her one good eye continued to scan the room. “I don’t answer to the false king or his whore.” She spat at my feet. “Die.”
My brows rose. “That’s a terrible name, honestly.”
Samkiel stomped toward us. I raised my hand as if those five digits could stop the maelstrom forming behind me.
She sneered as best as she could, the skin around her burned face crackling.
I knew this was nothing but bravado because I could smell her apprehension and fear.
She kept it barely contained, but it brewed just below the surface.
“You think we fear you or him?” Her eye cut to the man behind me.
“She will wipe the world clean of you and anyone loyal to you. They all will.”
I glanced back at Samkiel. “They?”
“Perhaps Nismera’s legion?” he replied.
“Or that nasty bitch has something else up her sleeve.”
He nodded once but didn’t say anything else, letting me continue. I turned back to our captured general.
“They? Her legion? I’ve already seen half of you.” A small snort left my lips. “You all aren’t that scary. You’re all pathetic. Weak.” I leaned forward, whispering softly, “I’ve faked better orgasms than the performance you all put on. You’re all lackluster at best.”
Her smile morphed into a laugh, revealing the red sheen of her teeth. Cameron’s grip tightened on her collar as she leaned closer to me.
“Your arrogance will bury you,” she said. “Bury you both. You have no idea what our king has or what she has planned.”
Hook meet bait.
“Oh, so not her legion, then.”
But as the general smiled, I realized maybe I had not won.
“No,” she said, “her armada.”
I glanced up at Samkiel to see him frowning, his confusion telling me he didn’t know what she was talking about.
I’d give her credit. She didn’t back down.
She watched us and laughed again. “You are both so clueless. You have no idea what is coming, and just so we’re clear, I wasn’t running from you.
I was running to spare my life when she arrives. ”
“Nismera?”
She shook her head and looked up at the tent’s ceiling, her grin firmly in place. A loud boom cracked the air. Cameron and I dropped to our knees, hands covering our ears as it echoed off the trees. It sounded as if a bomb had gone off in the sky right above us.
The tent vibrated, my vision blurring from the sonic blast. I saw the general get to her feet and hobble away, neither Cameron nor I in any shape to stop her.
Another blast hit, this one putting us all on the floor.
I gritted my teeth, my head throbbing. The sonic high-pitched echo pulsed against our eardrums until I felt blood drip from them.
I licked my lips, the coppery flavor filling my mouth as it poured from my nose.
My jaw clamped tight, my teeth gritting as I writhed on the floor.
Cameron was on the ground twitching, the black mist of his beast jumping and ebbing, trying to protect him. I had no doubt mine was doing the same.
There was another blast, and lightning speared the sky.
Next to me, Samkiel’s back bowed, and I could see that his mouth was open in a silent scream of agony, the sound rocking him to his core.
When silver blood began to pool in his eyes, the beast in me that had claimed him roared to the surface.
The ancient predatory need to protect, to defend that which I could not live without, broke my beast free.
Whatever was making that noise was hurting not only me but also them, my family.
I ignited the fire in my chest, the burn of it overriding the pain.
In a corner of my mind, a dark and jagged Gathrriel smiled proudly and stood.
“There,” he said, his voice primal. “My vessel.”
Wings erupted from my back as scales replaced my skin.
Horns grew from my head, and razor-sharp talons replaced my nails.
Before I had finished the transformation, I was bursting through the tent.
I rocketed into the sky and slammed through the massive ship hovering above us.
It exploded, and debris flew in all directions, fire bathing me in orange and red waves of heat.
I turned and hovered, watching the pieces of golden metal burn and crash to the ground. A warship?
I spread my wings wide and threw my head back, a war cry ripping from my throat before I dove for the ground, returning to my mortal form just before my feet made impact.
The warship was broken into three pieces, smoke crawling from each.
I strode toward the largest pile of wreckage.
Whoever had been piloting it would pray for death by the time I was finished with them.
I gripped a piece of the twisted hull and ripped it off, looking for the pilot or crew.
Flames licked at the broken interior, and wires sparked.
I smelled death below the acrid scent of burning metal, fabric, and plastic.
Blood and tissue splattered the inside of the ship, and were those … feathers?
What the fuck?
The ground shook, a thud coming from behind me, then another.
“How did you manage to break out of that?” Cameron asked, coming to my side. Blood stained the sides of his face where it had leaked from his ears.
“What the fuck is that?” I said, pointing at the mess inside the burning wreck, ignoring his question.
Samkiel came to my right side, wiping at the flecks of blood from his ears and the sides of his face, seemingly completely recovered. “We leave,” he said, grabbing my hand and gripping Cameron’s arm. “Now.”
I spluttered, trying to form words and get the answers I knew he had.
He ignored it all and took us into the sky, flying us away from the wreckage.
Samkiel had never moved this fast with me.
He was a flash of silver, and I swore we outpaced time.
He took us high into the mountains and settled the three of us onto a thick branch overlooking the clearing and the mess far below.
“What—” I started to ask.
Samkiel raised his hand to his lips, nodding back towards the wreckage. I followed his gaze and watched as a small cloud of fog fell over us, misting the tree tops. It was deep enough to conceal, but not dense enough that we couldn’t see.
Cameron remained silent, his complete focus on the burning encampment below.
We waited, but when nothing happened, I grew bored and leaned in close to whisper, “What was that? That noise?”
“It was an idea.” A haunted look crossed his face, one of shock and disbelief. “I thought it was just talk from a woman who dreamed far too much.”
“Wait, what woman?” I asked and crossed my arms, my lips thinning in annoyance. From his tone, he seemed far more familiar with her than simple war buddies.
“Dianna,” Samkiel said, tossing me a look that screamed that now was not the time.
I tossed a hard look back, brow raised and hip cocked. “Samkiel.”
He avoided my gaze, obviously not wanting to fight, and I knew I was right. Yes, Samkiel had exes. Gods, anyone our age would have far too many to count, but I doubted the list would be as deadly as his or mine.
“That’s not the most important question right now,” he said, avoiding answering.
“Fine.” I sighed, knowing we’d talk about it later. “Then tell me about the noise. What was that?”
His jaw flexed as he tried to find the right words. “Simply put, it was an extreme sonic energy burst. It was meant to incapacitate and hold us.” Samkiel cast a worried look at me. “That blast was meant to disable, not kill.”
I swallowed, watching him as a million and one questions cluttered my mind. I had never heard of it, but from what he’d said, it was something from long before Rashearim fell.
“Hold us for what?” I asked.
A whirring sound vibrated the air. We all looked toward the sky as the clouds parted and three warships emerged.
They looked like replicas of the ship I’d smashed to pieces.
The sleek but foreign design bristled with jagged points and weapons.
Their streamlined shape made it evident that they were made for speed, their powerful engines easily propelling them through space.
Lights burst from the undersides of their hulls, scanning and searching the area below.
This was Nismera’s armada. Or at least a small glimpse of it.
I glanced at Samkiel and Cameron, their pale faces making me very nervous.
The ships lowered one by one, dust curling around them as they reached the ground.
Doors opened, and soldiers marched down the long ramps.
There were only about five per ship, and their wings flared as their feet touched the ground.
With their shining armor, they looked like beings I had thought were myth.
If angels existed, these would be them. I wondered if the stories from Onuna were modeled after these beings.
“Oh fuck,” Cameron hissed, and I heard Samkiel’s heart beating rapidly.
I looked around to see what had caused their distress.
They were both focused on one of the ships.
Soldiers stood at attention around it as a tall woman walked down the ramp, a muscular adrueth walking beside her.
A winged helmet partially covered his face, leaving only his mouth and lower jaw visible.
Even from this distance, I could tell she was striking in her beauty.
Her long brunette hair was braided and artfully pinned away from her face.
Twin swords were strapped to her back, and her gold armor hugged her lithe form.
A long swathe of white fabric slipped between her toned legs as she walked, armored boots reaching mid-thigh.
Her wings were held with warrior strength, and they were such a bright white dusted with gold that they seemed to glow.
She turned her head toward the tent we had left, surveying the wreckage.
To my utter disdain, our broken general limped over, covered in dirt, blood, and soot.
She reached the beautiful angel’s feet and crumbled to her knees as they spoke.
We leaned a fraction closer, trying to listen, but with the distance and crackling flames, we heard nothing but murmurs.
The beautiful angel said something, and the man standing at her side smiled and stepped back.
The angel reached back and drew her sword, the movement as quick and smooth as a viper’s.
With practiced ease, she severed the bloody general’s head in one quick strike.
She lifted the head by her white hair and tossed it to one of the soldiers.
He caught it without flinching and barked a short command.
The soldiers returned to their ships, clearly satisfied with what had taken place.
We watched silently as the ships returned to the sky and disappeared.
I turned to face Samkiel and Cameron as soon as they were gone.
“Who the fuck was that, and why do you look like you’ve both seen a ghost?”
Cameron sighed. “I would prefer a ghost.”
“As would I,” Samkiel said.
That told me everything I needed to know.
Finding that she had warships and a weapon that could bring both gods and monsters to their knees?
Piece of cake. Seeing my husband and best friend turn pale white at the sight of a beautiful winged warrior queen?
Definitely the least amusing part of my day.
“Let me guess?” I sighed deeply. “Ex?”
“Yes.” Samkiel at last turned to face me. “Milani.”