Page 201 of The Dawn of the Cursed Queen

“Okay.” I tossed my hands up. “Say it. What’s wrong with you?”

Reggie’s eyes met mine. “I do not know what you mean?”

My hands fell to my hips. “You spout off about some weird message, which you haven’t done in a while. I have not seen you use those eyes in a while either, and you have been consuming a lot of tea, so I asked Miska. I know they are laced with both a sedative and painkillers. What’s wrong?”

Reggie nodded. “I see. There is nothing particular, I suppose. Just minor aches and pains here and there.”

“Since the tunnel?”

He nodded.

I stepped toward him, concern twisting in my gut. “Is there anything I can do?”

Reggie shook his head. “I am afraid not, but I shall be fine, Dianna. Nismera is a powerful goddess, but the after-effects of what she did to me shall wear off. It merely takes time.”

It didn’t completely ease my worry, but I smiled and nodded, not wanting to pester or push further. I patted his shoulder and left him to settle into his new room. I was happy that he seemed to like it.

My footsteps were light as I skipped downstairs toward Samkiel’s study. It had taken him a while, but I was glad he’d finally picked a room out of nearly the hundred here. I had finally suggested he take the one on the third floor. It was near our room and huge, with plenty of room for all the scrolls and books I knew he would eventually hoard. I had no doubt he would fill the shelves with his treasures in no time.

I couldn’t help my grin when I thought about the desk we’d moved into his office. We had found it on one of the lower levels, and it was big enough for him to spread out and make a complete mess of it. We had tested the sturdiness of it three times, just to make sure it was exactly what we needed.

My giggle preceded me as I pushed open the large double doors. Sunlight spilled through the windows on the left, dust motes sparkling in the beams. Samkiel and Orym seemed to be in the middle of a debate, but they both turned toward me. I caught the apprehension on Samkiel’s face and how Orym’s mouth was set in a thin line, and I knew there was trouble. A tall, lean female elf stepped around Samkiel. She had been standing so close to him that I hadn’t even noticed her, but I saw her now, and she was way too close. My lip must have curled, and I knew my eyes had gone red because Orym stepped in front of her and held out his hand.

“Dianna,” Orym said, “this is Veruka.”

I blinked, startled enough to pause. “Veruka? As in works-for-Nismera Veruka? And you just let her into my house?”

Before any of us had time to process my questions, I had her pinned against the very sturdy desk. It creaked under the pressure as my grip around her throat tightened. I leaned forward and inhaled deeply. My fangs lengthened, but my diction was still perfect. “You report to that bitch, and I’ll eat your fucking heart out.”

Samkiel’s arms went around me, holding me in a vise grip as he hoisted me off her, my feet dangling in the air.

“Dianna!” he snapped. “Calm down.”

“Calm down?” I shrilled. “Are you out of your fucking mind? You let her in my house when she reports to that bitch?”

“She comes in peace to provide information.” Samkiel placed me on my feet but kept his arms around me, holding me against him. My gaze remained locked on her as Orym helped her to her feet and supported her as she caught her breath.

“Yeah?” I straightened my shirt and glared at them both from within the cage of Samkiel’s arms. “You know what information I smell? I smell Isaiah on you. That is what I smell. Do you know what he did to Samkiel?”

“Listen,” Veruka said, a breeze slipping in through the window and blowing her scent my way again. “I’m not—”

My nostrils flared, and I gasped. “Sami!” I cried in a whisper, my heart thudding and a brief wash of relief making my body melt against his. I had hoped, but I’d never dared to believe.

“Dianna?” Samkiel asked, sensing the shift in my mood.

I turned in his arms and grabbed his hand, gazing up at him as I spoke mind to mind.

“She smells like Cameron and Imogen. I smell it. I do. It’s faint but there. They are alive, Sami, but they are there.”

His head whipped toward Veruka, his chest expanding as he took a deep breath. I felt it from him, too. It was an overwhelming sense of pure, blinding hope. We knew where two more were. Gods above, I wanted them home already.

“You are close to my family?” Samkiel asked her.

Veruka’s eyes widened a fraction before she nodded. “Yes, they are there. Imogen is under Isaiah, in his legion.”

“Okay,” I said. “He will be the first I kill.”

Her eyes flashed to mine, then back to Samkiel. “And Cameron is a commander of his own.”

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