Chapter 59 Dianna
DIANNA
I woke up with a start.
“Samkiel!” I called, not instantly remembering why panic had clawed me from sleep, but then it all came rushing back to me.
I fought my way free of the covers, tossing them aside to run my hands over my head and down my body.
My clothes were still tattered, but my skin was whole, and my hair had grown back.
I had healed from that damn blast. It was absolutely mortifying to be caught by flames when fire lived inside of me, but the way it had burned had felt more like refined raw energy.
Samkiel wasn’t with me, and I was no longer in Goldpass.
The reality slammed through the haze clouding my mind, and I lunged from the bed.
Running out of the room, I sprinted down the stairs, following the sound of deep male voices.
Hope spread through me. Maybe it had all been a nightmare.
I pushed the doors of his study open, half expecting to see him there as if I hadn’t watched him get kidnapped.
“… all I could get,” Kaden was saying, but his words cut off when I walked in.
They all turned toward me. Cameron, Isaiah, and Reggie straightened from where they had been hovering over the desk, studying the papers spread out.
“You’re up,” Cameron said. “How do you feel?”
“Fine,” I said. “We need—”
“We know,” Isaiah cut in. “What happened? How did he get taken?”
I rubbed my head. “Samkiel was fighting that weird guy, his ex’s brother.
I don’t remember his name. I was in the air, knocking around the ships.
Samkiel’s attention was split because he was ensuring that no debris landed on the city.
Someone snuck up on him, and he went down.
I saw it and landed, but the moment I did, I was hit with a damn electric whip.
It was wrapped around me, and there was so much current in it that all of my muscles had seized.
I couldn’t move, and I couldn’t get free.
I remember Samkiel rushing toward me, but something hit him from behind.
Some kind of beam, I don’t know what it was, but his whole body lit up, and then he froze …
and just stopped.” My voice broke on the last word, and I swallowed down the grief and panic threatening to take me over.
Reggie nodded, but the others just watched me.
“What happened with you two?” I asked Kaden and Isaiah. “I lost track of you in the fighting.”
“Imogen is back, Dianna,” Cameron said before Kaden or Isaiah could say anything. “Isaiah helped.”
“Well, at least he did something useful,” I quipped, shooting Isaiah a hard glare.
Isaiah bared his teeth at me in a feral grin. “More than you. At least I brought her home. All you managed was to let Samkiel be kidnapped, and then you lost Vincent, Camilla, and the medallion.”
“Isaiah …” Kaden said, his tone careful.
“Shut the fuck up, Isaiah,” Cameron said. “I made sure Imogen was cleaned up, Dianna. She is resting as comfortable as she can be down in the cells with Nev and Logan.”
“Speaking of that, you have no right to keep me away from her. I want to see her,” Isaiah demanded.
“No,” I said without preamble, ignoring his protestations. “What do we have? I know Milani is in the southern realm. Let’s start there,” I said.
Kaden shook his head. “It’s not that simple.”
“It is because I am making it that simple,” I said. “If we all go, we can—”
Kaden released a sigh and ran his hand down his face. “She owns the Southern realms, Dianna, and you’re nothing but dust with the firepower she has.”
“So?” I asked, tossing my hands up and walking to the desk they were all hovering over.
I grabbed a fistful of papers and waved them in his direction.
“What do you want me to do, stare at fucking papers all day? Nismera’s armada has my mate, which means it’s one step closer to Nismera herself, and if she gets a hold of him—”
“We know,” Isaiah said, clicking his tongue. “You’ve been asleep for a day. If Milani was going to take him to Nismera to be killed, I’m sure it would have happened already.”
My eyes widened. Cameron cursed, and Kaden rolled his eyes as if they agreed not to fill me in on that part. I knew why he wouldn’t. Because I would become erratic, and he was not wrong. A day? Fuck. I needed to get out of here. Search every camp or place I could find. Track down more ships …
Kaden grabbed my wrist, snatching the papers out of my hand.
“First, these are maps. Second, what did you think you were going to do? Was your plan to take on an entire legion? Oh, wait, you didn’t have a plan, and here you are again, wanting to go off half-cocked and get us all killed.
They’ve got him. You cannot outfly her. You cannot withstand her weapons.
You will die, Dianna, and then none of this will mean anything,” Kaden seethed.
Memories assaulted me from the way he spoke to me and held my wrist, the pain of our past roaring back like an inferno. I snapped and ripped my arm from his grip, the sound of my palm connecting with his face coating the air.
“Don’t ever put your hands on me again.” I ground the words through my teeth, pushing him out of my space.
There had been a time when I’d been so fearful of defying him.
I knew if I snapped back, he’d dangle Gabriella in front of me like a damn treat before a hungry beast, bringing me to heel.
And fuck if it hadn’t worked perfectly for him for years.
But she was gone now, and so was that damaged, scared girl who thought blood and claws could hide her broken heart.
The room went deathly quiet. Isaiah hadn’t moved a muscle, but I felt his eyes bore into me. I knew if I attacked Kaden, he’d be tempted to rip my head off, bond or not.
“I’m sorry,” Kaden said, licking the blood from the corner of his lip. Perhaps I’d hit him harder than I’d thought. “The weapons she has on that ship could not only rip you apart, but us, too. In case you forgot, we are all fucking connected.”
My head tipped. “So?”
“So?” He scoffed. “Do you not understand anything I said?”
“I do,” I said. “I know you don’t get it, but when you truly love someone, you’ll risk anything.”
Kaden’s jaw tightened in frustration. “You are not thinking clearly.”
“But I am. I followed warships with no regard for myself because I knew what they were taking meant more to me than myself, and no, I didn’t care what they held or what happened to me, let alone you two.
” I cut my eyes to Isaiah. To my surprise, it almost seemed like he could relate, but Kaden just scoffed at me.
I whipped my head toward him. “I don’t know why I am explaining it to you.
The only thing you’ve ever cared about is yourself and what others can do for you,” I said, disgust coating my words.
I spun away from them, but I caught the look that crossed Kaden’s face at my words.
I didn’t wait to see if they followed me, nor did I care.
We were connected. I knew that, but Samkiel was kidnapped, and my body was suddenly acting as if it had lost all moorings.
My knuckles rubbed at the center of my chest. As hard as I tried to fight it, the hollow ache was soaking into my very cells as if something was missing, and every cell was rebelling.
“What’s wrong now?” Isaiah asked, and I shook my head, not having realized they were both watching me so intently.
“Nothing,” I said, dropping my hand and starting to pace. I could feel Kaden watching me, but I didn’t owe him anything, much less a peek into my pain.
“All right,” Isaiah said, not meeting my eyes. “Well, we have another problem to consider. We think they may also have the medallion.”
Cameron snorted, folding his arms as he leaned back against the edge of the desk. “You guys suck at recon.”
Isaiah made a rude gesture in his direction, which Cameron returned. I swore that if they weren’t mortal enemies and Isaiah a complete and utter psychopath, they would probably be best friends.
“Why would you think that?” I asked Isaiah, stopping and placing my hands on my hips.
“They left so quickly, and we did not see any signs of Camilla or Vincent,” Kaden said. “My guess is they killed them and took the medallion, or they have them on board as prisoners. Either way, I assume it’s in their grasp.”
“I don’t care where either of them is at this point.
That’s not my concern. Whatever that medallion is, it is extremely important.
So, if the fleet has it, great. We can get both.
Samkiel is by himself with that psycho bitch, and I won’t let him stay to endure gods knows what before she sends him to Nismera,” I said, blowing out a breath. “If she hasn’t already.”
Isaiah opened his mouth to say something, but Kaden cut him a hard look, and he snapped his teeth closed with an audible click.
My eyes narrowed. “What was that?”
“What?” Isaiah asked before clearing his throat, still refusing to look at me.
“You know something.” I snorted. “Of course you do. You two were a part of the inner circle of her evil regime. So, tell me.”
“It’s not important right now,” Kaden said. “It will just distract you, and I’d rather not have you react without thinking, bent on blind rage, and end up turning us all into dust.”
“Tell me,” I snarled.
“We should focus on the medallion,” Kaden replied.
My fingers flexed on my hips. “Okay, first, let’s not pretend you suddenly care about the greater good. Two, tell me now and I won’t have to beat the shit out of you and lock you back in the dungeon.”
Quiet settled over the study, and the sun shone a fraction brighter as it rose higher into the sky.
Isaiah sighed, shooting Kaden a questioning look, but Kaden ignored him.
I looked at Reggie, but he was watching Kaden and Isaiah with barely concealed contempt.
Cameron seemed to have enjoyed the banter between us, but I think he just liked the idea of them doing something that would make me beat both of their asses.