Page 23 of The Dawn of the Cursed Queen

The slap of water against stone greeted my ears. I was so close. I jumped up, sprinting toward the river’s edge. The small creatures of the forest scurried into hiding, their skittering heartbeats telling me my Ig’Morruthen was not far behind. My hand whipped a pile of overgrown brush out of my way as I ran faster. Sunlight dipped between the trees, and I could smell the rushing water as it flowed and toppled off the end of the world. Small patches of wild grass grew along the bank, and a burst of energy shot through me. This was the furthest I had made it since we started this game, but my victory was short-lived as a massive dark form tackled me from the side.

Air rushed from my lungs as we toppled over one another before coming to a stop. I groaned, pain slashing through my abdomen. The massive, dark wolf hovered above me, her piercing red eyes boring into me. Her lips were pulled back in a snarl, exposing glistening fangs. A low growl rumbled in her throat right before I felt teeth around my ankle, dragging me over the small rocks and back toward the brush, away from the river’s edge.

Just past the thick brush, she released my leg. Her form melted and flowed from her beast back into her lithe form, her dark hair spilling over her shoulders as she looked down at me.

I sat up a bit, bracing myself on my elbows as I glared up at her. “Ow.”

“Your enemies won’t be kind to you.” Her eyes darted to my side. Part of my shirt lifted to show the still bruised flesh beneath it. “We have seen that much.”

I huffed and pushed myself to my feet, wiping dirt from my pants. “Yes, but I thought you’d be. You’re not my enemy.”

I saw the tension in her shoulders, even if she tried to hide it beyond one of those adorable little smirks. “In our scenarios, I need to be.”

I glanced toward the river’s edge, past the brush of the forest. “I made it closer.”

She snorted a laugh, her arms folded as she looked between me and the river. “Barely.”

My eyes narrowed. “I don’t remember you being this hard on me the last few times we’ve tried.”

A look crossed her face quickly as she buried whatever thought crossed her mind. She squared her shoulders. “I want you to survive with that wound,” she said, nodding toward my middle. “I can’t go easy on you. It won’t help, and you can’t go light on me either. You could have used a burst of power small enough to throw me off, but you didn’t.”

She was right, as usual. Achingly beautiful and brilliant, she was definitely deadly in more ways than one. The only problem was I wouldn’t use it. I could have tossed her away from me, but burning her in the process was out of the question.

“I won’t risk hurting you, even if we are training,” I said.

“Well, that’s the problem,” she snapped. “How will either of us get better if we hold back here? I’m not fragile, Samkiel. You, above all, should know that.”

“I never said you were.” My brows furrowed. “Where is this coming from? You were fine this morning. Is this about the queen? You told me to flirt.”

“What? No.” She shook her head and sighed as if just realizing how harsh her tone was. “I am fine. I’m just saying that we can’t stay in this floating city forever, and you can’t leave if you can’t even outrun me. What help are you if anything other than me gets a hold of you?”

“Dianna,” I said, raising a single brow. “You’re being mean.”

Her eyes softened, and she stepped closer, unfolding her arms. Recently, her attitude had seemed to get the better of her, more so than before. There were days when she’d snap, not meaning to. It was worrisome because Dianna was not mean, not to me. At least not anymore. I knew something was bothering her deeply. The only problem was she would not tell me. No matter how many times I asked, she blew me off, and other times, she quite literally blew me.

The tension left her shoulders, and I wondered what had happened to bring it so fiercely to the surface. We had been getting along so well lately, and to have her come at me again like this worried me. Was it something I had done, or was it that secret she refused to share with me? These were questions that I would address.

Dianna reached her hand out, and I grabbed it. She tugged me to my feet, and I twisted, brushing away pieces of the forest floor.

She sighed before plucking a leaf from my shirt. “I’m sorry. I just need you well if we plan to leave here, and holding back isn’t helping either of us.”

“Okay.” I nodded, watching her.

Her eyes flashed, and my pulse quickened. One look, and gods above, mean or not, I was fucking putty.

“Did I hurt you?” she asked on a whisper.

“Do you mean emotionally or physically?”

Her smile was small, still picking at the forest debris along my sleeve. “Which one hurts the most?”

I shrugged nonchalantly. Pain was suddenly not on my mind, not when she looked at me like that. “I mean, the fall wasn’t the best,” I said.

Dianna took another small step, her breasts damn near touching me, and I could see her nipples tighten beneath the thin, dark material covering them. Her hand splayed on my chest, and she pushed. I took a step back, hitting the tree behind me.

“I’m sorry if I was too rough with you. With both things.” She picked another small blade of grass off of me, and even that small touch made my breath catch.

“Thank you for apologizing,” I said, my body heating with her nearness. “I understand where you are coming from and the need to be stronger, heal, and test my limits.”

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