Chapter 64 Samkiel
SAMKIEL
Warm light filled the elegantly decorated hallways.
I’d quickly come to realize this wasn’t her warship, but Milani’s actual home.
Ennis entered the dining room right on my heels, closing the doors behind us.
The scent of breakfast made my stomach growl, but I wasn’t here for just food.
Milani had sent word that she finally wanted to talk about peace.
I just hoped that it wasn’t another ploy to manipulate me into her bed.
Guards stood against the walls, silent and staring straight ahead, but alert.
One thing you could always count on with Milani was that she loved her luxuries.
Soft music floated from hidden speakers, and fragrant flowers created a colorful centerpiece down the length of the massive table.
Sunlight spilled in, creating an illusion of paradise.
Small birds chirped, flying through the gaudy floral chandeliers before darting out the open window.
It may have looked like paradise, but I knew the snake she truly was.
Milani’s father had taught her that the only thing that mattered was power, and she had learned well.
Their family motto had always been power above all.
She was a high-born heir of her realm and would let no one forget it.
At one time, I thought we may have had something in common, both of us born into royalty with responsibilities neither of us had asked for, but after one conversation with her, I’d known how wrong I was.
Milani smiled at me, Ennis sitting at her side like the noble hound he was.
His white shirt looked like someone had painted it on, revealing and highlighting every plane and bulge of muscle.
The gold trim matched his intricate headpiece, and I was so tired of seeing the color that I considered banning it from the realms.
“Kiely!” she squealed, and gods above and below, I remembered how much I hated that nickname. I had to stick to the plan. I repeated the mantra over and over in my head. Stick to the fucking plan.
She rose from her chair and ran to me, her arms tossed wide as if I were a long-lost lover returning from war when I’d just seen her the day before.
Her too-tight white dress rode up her thighs, the small train swishing against the floor with every step.
She wrapped her arms around me, the large feathers decorating her bodice stabbing me.
I kept my arms at my sides, refusing to hug her back.
A spark of white-hot fire seared my nerves as Ennis pushed the button, igniting the collar at my neck.
I cursed and glared at him over her head.
He smirked and nodded toward Milani expectantly.
Reluctantly, I wrapped a single arm around her.
It was loose, but it seemed it was good enough for her.
She pulled back with a bright smile, ushering me to sit.
As soon as I did, she dragged her chair next to mine, the legs scraping loudly against the floor.
“Good morning,” she chirped, clapping her hands. “Did you sleep well?”
I wished. Although I got to see Dianna, we couldn’t risk being together, afraid they would be able to scent her on me.
So kissing was fine, but anything else could have damned our mission.
So, after she left, I climbed into the shower and took care of myself before scrubbing to remove her faint scent.
“I slept well,” I said, trying to keep the exasperation from my voice. “You?”
She tipped her head thoughtfully and stood up. I tensed, not missing the change in her expression. “Hmm. I slept okay. I couldn’t help thinking about what you said about peace, and truly, I want that, too.”
My brows furrowed. This was unexpected, but I was no fool.
I did not trust this change for a single second.
Milani was intelligent, but not skilled in manipulation or tactics, and she was anything but subtle.
Her strengths lay in science. She mixed compounds, created deadly poisons, and had created those damn sonic weapons that brought both gods and monsters to their knees.
She had always had the talent. All she had needed was a helping hand to show her how it could all be utilized.
Her father had shown her mechanics, and in my foolish youthfulness, I had shown her how to convert energy.
This sudden attempt to convince me she’d had a change of heart didn’t fit who I knew her to be, and it made me extremely nervous, especially after I had not conceded to her demands. Something was wrong. I just couldn’t see it yet.
“I’m glad to hear it,” I said apprehensively. “Where shall we begin?”
She placed a hand over her heart, feigning innocence. “You know, I always wished to be like my father. He ruled our entire city before the volcano swallowed it. Now, I have it all, thanks to you.”
I blinked. “I didn’t tell you to build warships.”
She wagged a finger at me. “No, but you did teach me how to survive. Same as Nismera. You have to be the biggest, the baddest, because if not,” her hands came together in a clap, “anyone could challenge you. That’s what you did.”
My brows furrowed. “No, I didn’t.”
“Oh, but you did. Your name is chanted through the realms. Your power is awe-inspiring. A true legend. I want that, too.” She was in front of me before I could breathe, and as she spread her legs to straddle me, I ached to zap her with a little bit of electricity, just enough to get her off.
The only thing that stopped me was Ennis and the damn collar.
I couldn’t afford to be incapacitated, and it seemed the more times he shocked me with it, the more trouble I had activating my powers.
As if reading my mind, her finger moved over the collar. “It’s a neurotoxin. It seeps into your blood, learns, and then poof! Once it hits a certain level in your body, it dulls your powers and is designed to trigger pain specific to the individual. Isn’t that so cool?”
She smiled, placing her hands on my shoulders.
I wouldn’t lie. I was impressed, but also worried. How many of these had she made, and were they in Nismera’s hold now, too? “You were always smart, Milani. I just never thought it would turn you psychotic.”
She leaned forward as if to kiss me, and I turned my head so quickly that I nearly broke my neck.
Her lips stayed on my cheek as she whispered, “Isn’t that your favorite thing about me?”
“No,” I said and meant it, my stomach turning sour. “I don’t have a favorite thing about you.”
She pulled back, still in my lap and still too godsdamn close.
“Liar.” She smiled. “I remember two weeks of you never leaving my bedchamber.”
“It was one.”
She held up her fingers. “Two.”
My lip curled. “Well, it obviously wasn’t life-changing because I cannot remember.”
Her smile dropped, and a sharp sting blossomed on my cheek, not from the collar, but from her slap. She gripped my jaw, her nails digging in.
“You’re being mean. Let’s see if we can fix that.” She nodded. “Ennis.”
He smiled and touched the remote, my body jerking forward. Milani’s hands held me as I convulsed. Acting as if she were my savior or comfort in the pain she was inflicting. Once the pain stopped, I took a moment to catch my breath. Sweat coated my skin as jolts of pain seared my nerves.
“This isn’t a way to broker peace, Milani.” I panted.
Her hand stopped the senseless petting in my hair before she grabbed the strands and pulled them taut. My head snapped back, and she glared at me, all sweetness gone, nothing but bitter rage remaining. “Oh, but it is.”
Her free hand crawled across my abdomen as I sneered. “What did I tell you about touching me?”
She ignored me, but a playful smile curved her full lips. “I wanted you for so long after I met you, and then I had you for such a brief time. We could rule the skies together. Your storms and my ships. None could stop us. This is how it should be, Kiely. It’s destiny.”
“It is not.”
She leaned against me. “It is. I can see it, and you will, too.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
The only answer I received was pain in my gut, sharp and blinding. I looked down, surprised to see the dagger she had driven into my body. The hilt shimmered, and I realized what she had and where she’d gotten it.
“Nismera gave me a present,” she said. Milani twisted the dagger as if that would help the magic seep faster into my blood, and perhaps it did.
My vision blurred as a deep, aching pain sliced through my head.
She leaned forward as the poison continued to leach into my body.
“You will love only me, want only me. For eternity.” My mind grew fuzzy, but I heard her whispered chant.
She repeated it over and over as if she hoped that speaking the words at the right time would enslave me to her.
Nismera had not just given her a present.
She had given her the memory dagger Kaden had made to steal Dianna from me.
Milani pulled back, taking the dagger with her.
The hilt no longer shimmered or glowed, all the magic now inside me.
Ennis chuckled behind us as the room grew dark.
The last thing I saw was her cruel smile before something cold and malevolent slithered through me, searching for the one thing I cherished most.
My memories of Dianna.