Chapter 43 Imogen
IMOGEN
Alow mechanical buzz vibrated against my feet as the warship we were on soared through the sky.
I sat in the emptiness of my mind, having long given up on trying to reclaim control over my body.
The guards had shown up after Samkiel’s light had torn through the sky, and Isaiah disappeared.
I grimaced at the thought, disgusted with myself for how hurt I felt that Isaiah had abandoned me after saying he would protect me.
Perhaps I was a toy to him, too, and he just grew tired of me.
I hated myself for even caring. He was a murderer, the worst of the worst, and an accomplice to Samkiel’s death.
My only feelings toward him should be contempt, yet when the back of his knuckles caressed the side of my face, tucking my hair behind my ear, it was the first time I had felt anything since my capture.
I stood with my back straight and my arms held at my sides as they spoke, staring at wings of the purest white flecked with gold.
They belonged to Milani, the Queen of Trugarum.
She had the largest fleet the realms had ever seen, and ruled the sky, every sky, with her enormous armada.
Nismera was all too happy to bestow wealth, jewels, and gifts upon Milani, including selling me to her like I was some kind of guard dog.
Her generosity was reflected in the extravagant finery and tech that surrounded us.
This ship was her primary residence and the size of a small city.
The massive windows in this room showcased the beautiful sky and clouds.
The sunlight pouring in seemed drawn to Milani, dancing off the gold in her wings and highlighting her ethereal beauty.
It would be awe-inspiring if I didn’t know what a cunt she was back when she was nothing more than her father’s pampered princess.
That was back when she and Samkiel had their brief fling, which likely led to the allegiance that resulted in this.
If only he had known what he was actually offering her in their trade.
“Why do we keep her?” Ennis, Milani’s sick and twisted brother, asked, tossing his head toward me.
Her smile was an angelic, pure thing, but it was a lie.
She was anything but angelic, and the idea of her being pure was laughable.
Her brunette hair was pulled to the sides with two large feathered clips, mirroring the intricacy of her armor.
Her breastplate flared across her chest, coming to points at her shoulders.
Stylized, white double wings, matching those in her long, luxurious hair, were embedded in the gold pauldrons.
Her wings flared behind her as she stepped down from the massive dais.
“Nismera’s orders. Apparently, she is what they are looking for, and if she is here with us, well … How do you catch any beast?” She stopped in front of me, flicking her nail under my chin. “You set a trap.”
My stomach dropped.
“I’m surprised you haven’t bruised her up by now, Sister,” Ennis said.
Milani’s smile was sweet and cute to those who did not know the vindictive bitch she was.
“She is no longer the one I wish to bruise.”
“Oh, right. His wife,” Ennis said with a cruel grin before biting into a round purple fruit.
Milani stared daggers at him and pointed a menacing finger. “Don’t ever say that again. We both know it’s not real.”
He rolled his eyes and chuckled, chewing on his bite of fruit.
She caressed the side of my head as if to smooth back my hair. “You really thought you stole him from me all those years ago. I hated you so damn much. He wouldn’t even return my letters because of you, and now I find out he tossed you aside, too. I pity you. We’re basically sisters now.”
If I could have recoiled, I would have. I wished I could speak or slap her hand from me or tell her the reason Samkiel didn’t talk to her and left her was how psychotic she was, how she tried to seduce him to secure a throne out of pure lust for power.
Ennis laughed at her insanity, nearly choking. Oh, how I wished he would just keel over dead.
She leaned closer to whisper against my cheek, “Now, he will be mine. Forever this time because Nismera gave me a very special gift.”
She pulled back and snapped her fingers, holding out her hand expectantly.
Ennis sank his teeth deep into the fruit, holding it there as he pulled a sheathed dagger from his armor and handed it to her.
She gripped it, her wings rustling in excitement as she unsheathed it.
The blade shimmered, the entire knife pulsing with magic.
I had no clue what that dagger did, but if she was planning to use it on Samkiel, it couldn’t be good. My body remained impassive, despite my brain scrambling with panic for him. I wished I could warn him. This was all so wrong, a fate worse than any torture. They wouldn’t even let me die.
So as the hateful siblings prattled on, and I stood as an unwilling, silent sentinel as always, I let my mind drift to the murderer with hazel eyes and warm skin, wishing just for a moment that he would find me again.