Chapter 49 Dianna
DIANNA
“W
hat if we just run away together?” I smiled at Samkiel as we lay on the floor.
I loved the days we were able to spend a few more minutes locked in our room before facing what lay beyond our door.
Plus, Samkiel had designed our room with enough soundproofing that even the old dead gods couldn’t hear me when I begged him for release.
Our bedroom was a disheveled mess, but I didn’t care.
He’d fix it like he always did, just so we could break it anew.
His laugh was big and joyous, his hair a tousled mess with small downy feathers caught in the curls from one of the pillows I’d ripped open during our play.
This was one of my favorite versions of him, when his ghosts no longer haunted him.
I was so glad I could give that to him. Sometimes he looked at me as if I were the only thing holding him together.
Gods, I was a sappy, moronic fool in love, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.
“Hypothetically, where do you want to go if we do?”
I tapped my finger against my swollen lip, my feet swinging behind me as I lay on my stomach on the floor. “Well, I do like our city, so I don’t want to leave it. Maybe we can just hide it and us from the world. You know, once you’re done saving it.”
My mocking tone on that last bit earned me a playful glare. He pounced, wrapping me in his arms. Laughter burst from me as his hands found the most ticklish spot on my ribs. He chuckled, and it was a chorus of happiness. I prayed to whoever was listening that I could keep it.
I GROANED AS I sat up, and I pressed my hand to my sore neck, the ache in it subsiding as voices flooded into the dimly lit room.
“… a fool to bring her here.”
“I had no choice,” Kaden said.
My eyes finally adjusted, focusing on Kaden through the gloom.
Anything else he might have said died as I launched myself at him.
Kaden hit the floor, his breath whooshing out of him as I rolled him over, straddling his waist. My fist connected once, twice, three times before he caught it, holding me there.
“I meant what I said,” I snarled. “I’m going to kill you.”
“If I die with you on top of me, at least I’d enjoy that,” Kaden said, forcing my body closer to his when he grabbed my other wrist and pulled my hands above his head.
I struggled against him, and he grunted, his grin turning cocky as my body ground against his.
My lip curled in disgust, and I growled, trying to lift myself off him.
A low chuckle came from the other side of the room, and I realized we weren’t alone. My head whipped to the side, and I noticed the dark, short-haired man for the first time. He stood before a wall of skulls, his pale yellow eyes with the slitted vertical pupils glowing in the dim light.
“Please, continue,” he said, waving a bronzed hand toward us. “Preferably naked, if you so wish.”
I tore my hands from his grip and hopped off Kaden so fast my hair whipped across my face.
Brushing it back, I struggled to my feet, making sure to kick him hard in the ribs.
I backed away and turned to keep both of them in view.
Now that I was no longer on the ground, everything was a little clearer.
My eyes darted around, and I swallowed, realizing we were in a fucking mausoleum.
There were rows and rows of skulls, all different shapes, sizes, and species, tucked into every nook. We were in a catacomb of death.
“Figures. You never did take me anywhere nice,” I snarled, glaring at Kaden as he pushed himself to his feet. “Where is Samkiel?”
Kaden just cradled his ribs and tossed me a glare.
I spun, searching the rest of the room for Samkiel.
Torches sprouted from the walls, casting gold light into the room.
The plush lounge I had woken on sat against the far wall, carved snakes twisting around the thick legs supporting it.
Trinkets were scattered between his skull collection, and the prevalent color of the decor in the room was dark orange.
I wondered if it was his favorite color.
Gold coins sat scattered on the heavy, long desk.
A pile of jewels took up the entire right side of the desk, some having tumbled onto the floor.
A sick feeling washed over me, and I wondered if the riches had belonged to the owners of these skulls.
My question was quickly answered when I noticed the two skeletons standing guard behind him.
Their worn and tattered clothes hung from their bones.
One was missing a jaw, and the other carried a dented shield.
They were unlike what Tobias made. No flesh hung on their bones, and no life remained in them.
It was as if the only thing keeping them upright was whatever dark magic this being willed.
Kaden was standing on the other side of a circular dais. What appeared to have once been an altar rose from the center, but it looked like someone had been using it as a workbench. Ancient texts, bones, and strange vials were scattered over its surface.
“Welcome, Ayla Deyanira,” the powerful stranger said, “to the Otherworld.”
My breath caught as I truly looked at him.
This man possessed an alien beauty that was almost painful to look at.
His dark hair was cropped close and spiky.
Stubble dusted a jawline I feared was sharper than Samkiel’s.
His dark tunic blended with the shadows, and I hadn’t realized how tall he was until he stepped from their depths.
I hated that I had to lean back to look up at him.
It made me feel submissive to a predator who thought he had an advantage over me.
His tunic was open almost to his navel, displaying a sculpted chest and far more abs than you would expect to find on a man.
Necklaces encircled his throat, some short, others long.
The gold made his tan skin almost gleam, the bracelets around his wrists heavy and thick, the rings on his fingers matching.
He was devastatingly handsome in an Otherworldly way, and he moved with the confidence of a being who knew his place in the world, and it was at the top.
“Deyanira?” I said. “That’s not my last name.”
He reached out, curling a long strand of my hair around his finger. “Oh, but it is, and my gods, the power you hold.” His nostrils flared as if he were inhaling my scent, and he flicked his gaze toward Kaden. “Does she always smell like this?”
I didn’t want to look behind me to see his answer, but the way the man’s smile widened, I knew Kaden had nodded in affirmation. I scowled and swatted his hand away. Shock flickered in his eyes as if no one had ever raised their hand to him, much less popped him.
“How about we keep our hands to ourselves,” I said, glaring at him. “And I may stink, but it’s only because we’ve been trekking through this insane realm filled with disgusting swamps.”
His smile made my gut turn. “Oh, I meant no insult. You smell of power, Ayla Deyanira. Pure raw power.”
“That’s not my last name,” I gritted out. “It’s Martinez.”
“Oh, but it is,” the man said, gesturing toward the massive ceiling above.
“They whisper your name like a curse through these realms, Ayla. The babe that, against all odds, survived and returned. You were destined for such greatness that the gods themselves feared it. Celestial born, Ig’Morruthen turned. ”
My jaw set as he tossed my lineage and my past back at me, and he was doing it in the same room as the bastard who had turned me. “Glad to know I have a reputation.”
“That you do.” His eyes flicked from mine to Kaden’s. “And you? You brought your most prized possession here. For what?”
“I am not his,” I snapped.
Both ignored me as if I were beneath their notice or attention.
“That is not why we are here.”
“Oh?” The man’s brow flicked. “Do tell? Is it because you wish the crown for yourself? I heard you proclaim yourself King of the Otherworld on Onuna.”
I watched as the undercurrents between them turned tense, their gazes locked, fire meeting fire.
Kaden had proclaimed that, and people had fallen into line so willingly on Onuna.
I imagined that to those who truly held the title, it would seem nothing short of traitorous.
I swallowed, not ready or willing to have to fight this beautiful bone man.
If I died because I had to fight for Kaden’s life, I would be seriously unhappy in the fucking afterlife.
“Yes, a mere title that made mortals bow. They tend to love the theatrics,” Kaden responded.
The tension held, thick and suffocating.
Fuck. I willed my talons forward. If a fight broke out, I would definitely take the three skeletons on the left first, two with chipped swords and one with a brittle-looking spear.
Doable. I could probably use some of the things off the altar as weapons.
The biggest threat was going to be this strange man, and my instincts screamed at me that fighting him would be an issue.
Unconsciously, I shifted, putting myself in a better defensive position, but then the man smirked and his eyes flickered. “And here I thought you were attempting to replace the crown you’d never have because your father saw you more as a pet than a child.”
Kaden bristled. The man didn’t catch it with his cunning gaze, but I did. I knew Kaden. If I had a heart, a ripe, unbruised one, that hadn’t been shredded and used for so long, that he hadn’t broken again and again, perhaps I’d feel pity for him. Fortunately, for us all, I did not.
“And you’ve since dropped that title, I’d assume,” the man asked, and I noticed that the skeletons ringing the massive carved room were all staring at Kaden.
An eerie magic flowed from them. It wasn’t like Camilla’s, but I still felt it.
They all moved on his whim, and I wondered how many he had surrounding us that we couldn’t see.
“Of course,” he said. “I meant no disrespect.” Kaden swallowed, and I noticed the apprehension in his voice. Whoever he was, he had enough power that even Kaden was backing down. It was something I had never seen happen.
“I know you don’t. I’m fond of you, Kaden. You gave me Dahlia.”
“Dahlia?” I asked, looking at Kaden.
“One of his wives,” Kaden said, not bothering to cast a look my way.
No, he kept his attention on the beautiful man who apparently didn’t know how to button a shirt.
What was it about this guy that made Kaden react like a predator meeting another?
Afraid to expose his throat in fear it’d get torn out. “It was a very long time ago.”
“Indeed.”
My head spun. Wait. “Wives? As in plural?” I asked the beautiful stranger. “How many do you have?”
“Three.” He flashed an all-too-bright smile, four teeth on each side, sharp fangs.
“Three?” I said. “And they’re all okay with sharing?”
They both looked at me. I didn’t realize I had asked that out loud. Three? I’d incinerate Samkiel until only his boots were left if he even suggested another wife. I was far too possessive and territorial.
“I assure you it’s mutually beneficial.” The man’s smile was pure, arrogant male. “Would you like to find out? I would not say no to a fourth. Especially one as beautiful and powerful as you.”
“No thanks,” I said. “And don’t flatter yourself. Multiple partners aren’t new to me.” I hope those words cut Kaden as they still did a part of me. “I’m just surprised Kaden would actually find anyone a partner.”
He chuckled at me before looking at Kaden. “I like her. That fire burns not only in her blood but her mouth too.”
Kaden ignored him and said, “I have come to ask for a favor. In hopes of settling the debt we share.”
The man turned slowly, the movement so predatory that I readied myself for his strike. “Ah, yes. Well, you see, there is only one problem with that.”
“Of course there is.” I huffed, crossing my arms. Why couldn’t anything be easy for us for once?
“How so?” Kaden asked.
“Well, you see, I can not grant any favors of the Otherworld. Only the king can, and that would be Umemri.”
Kaden seemed taken aback by that comment, and I wondered why. I assumed there would be one here. This realm was vast, and Samkiel had told me about the princes who ruled the Otherworld. It made sense that they would have a king they answered to.
Kaden’s throat bobbed. “Umemri?”
The strange man shrugged as if just saying the name hadn’t made Kaden’s eyes dilate a fraction. “Yes, he sits on the throne of Icnima now.”
Kaden sucked in a breath, and I was tired of being left out and talked around. I leaned forward, waving a hand in the stranger’s face. “Hi, yes, my name is Dianna, by the way. Not Ayla. You clearly lack basic manners, but what’s your name?”
They both looked at me again, and every skeleton turned my way. It was so eerie that a part of me wished I hadn’t spoken up. The man seemed almost surprised that I was speaking, but he smirked, clearly loving my verbal bite.
He pressed his hand to his chest, bowing slightly. “My apologies,” he said, before rising. “My name is Eryx, and I am a Prince of the Otherworld.”
“Oh,” was all I managed to say, my sarcasm dying along with every thought I had.
Well fuck, that explained the copious amount of power surrounding him, and now suddenly I wished to be anywhere but here.
Kaden hadn’t just dragged me to the Otherworld.
He’d brought me right to one of its most dangerous rulers.