Page 124 of The Dawn of the Cursed Queen

Liar! my damned heart screamed. You’re a liar!

It was true. If it came to him and his safety, I would defy the very heavens themselves to keep him whole. More than anything, I feared that when he looked at me so lovingly, he saw the girl promised to him. She was a celestial being filled with love and hope and goodness, but she had died in a desert far away from her home world. She had been carved up and spit out by the most brutal creature and then reborn into something far more cruel than her predecessor.

Her edges were ripped, jagged, torn, and bloody, but she built herself back up the best she could. She enclosed herself in unbreakable and impenetrable walls that would take decades to breach. I hoped that when he looked at me and saw this new version of that girl, he would recognize that parts of her still existed. I hoped he cared enough to want me, and he could see that every bit of good I had salvaged from that girl was now his. These were hopes I clung to.

“Did you get the gauntlet?” I asked.

“Yes, I have it contained. I need to find us a safe place before I try to figure out how it works, just in case it is volatile. I don’t know if it was one of your father’s creations, but he was far craftier at making weapons than any of us, and it was always risky tampering with them.”

I groaned involuntarily at the mention of Azrael, but Samkiel went on.

“I have a place on an abandoned planet in mind, but I need to verify it’s safe enough before we go there.”

“Oh? What’s it like?”

He glanced out the window toward the stars and the part of him that still painted the sky in silver streaks.

“You’d love it if it’s still the same. Towering mountains, rolling wooded hills, deep ravines, and waterfalls as beautiful as the ones on Rashearim. Your other form would enjoy exploring there.”

“Maybe we can make it a new Rashearim if it’s still pretty.”

That brought a smile to his face that damn near made my heart stop.

“What?” I managed to get out, feeling breathless.

A smile still bloomed on his devastatingly beautiful face. The haunted shadows that had taken up residence in his eyes when he talked about Vincent had been banished. He no longer ached with thoughts of the man he’d called a friend and his betrayal. I loved that I could drive away his demons so effortlessly as he had done mine.

“Nothing,” he said. “It’s just . . . I’d like that. A lot.”

“What of the other prisoners?” I asked. “Did everyone make it out okay?”

Samkiel nodded. “Yes. Most have also showered and changed clothes. I believe they have found places to stay around this city. I cleaned Logan up and left him with Roccurem. The remaining prisoners are probably at the neighboring tavern.”

“I’m surprised they didn’t all flee.”

His fingers flexed on the back of my thighs. “Most will. I know a few are worried about the home they left behind. I do not fault them if they don’t choose to stay.”

“Even Savees left?”

His eyebrow flicked at my question, his annoyance palpable. “Am I going to have to hide you from every Otherworld being there is?”

I playfully hit his shoulder. “Stop it. That’s not why I’m asking. Like you said, he’s formidable and would make a great ally.”

Samkiel’s lip curved up. “I hope you speak of me so well in the presence of others.”

I laughed before leaning forward and kissing him. “Sami, baby. You are the textbook definition of jealous.”

“Hmm,” was all he said before sighing. “No, he did not leave. Although now I’d prefer he did and immediately. I changed my mind about alliances.”

“You’re impossible.” I smiled softly, running my hand along the side of his head. “Enough about alliances. You know what I’d like?”

Heat flared within his storm-colored eyes. “I am already thinking of seven things you are going to say, but please enlighten me.”

I placed my hands on his shoulders. “I want a shower or a bath, whichever they have here.”

“That can be arranged.”

I leaned forward and whispered, “And you can come with me.”

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