Page 172 of The Dawn of the Cursed Queen

“Mine,” I snapped, making sure my eyes flared a vivid red.

She took one look at me and bolted up the stairs, screaming with every step she took.

“Docile, huh?” I asked, folding my arms.

“They usually are.” Samkiel rested his hand on my shoulder. “Sorry about that. I—”

“Just go get her before I burn her alive, and we have to do the ceremony ourselves.”

“Yes, akrai.”

SEVENTY

DIANNA

I emerged from the portal, my lungs rejoicing with the pure, sweet air as I took what felt like my first breath. I stepped forward and felt my eyes widen, my gaze flitting all around me, trying to make sense of the incredible beauty. Mountain ranges and narrow spires towered over the valleys, their peaks piercing the dazzling blue of the sky. Forests stretched far and wide, the greens and blues of the trees interspersed with pops of red and ribbons of silvery rivers. Small floating islands cast massive shadows. Waterfalls spilled from their edges and poured into crystalline lakes, adding a shimmery mist to the air that burst into rainbows where the sun shone through.

“What is this place?” I turned toward Samkiel as he dragged the officiant through the closing gate.

“It will be the new Rashearim.”

“Here?”

He nodded.

Everrine dropped to her knees the second Samkiel released her. Raising her hands above her head, she bowed until her face was in the dirt. “Please forgive me, oh great future queen. I pledge my life to protect you and your kingdom’s secrets. Please spare me from my mistake.” She continued to ramble on.

“What is she doing?” I glanced at Samkiel. “What did you say to her?”

He shrugged. “I told her you are my future queen, and I want her to perform the ceremony. I assume she feels bad for touching me, even in gratitude. She is asking for forgiveness. Oh, and she also doesn’t want you to eat her.”

I rolled my eyes and stepped forward, grabbing her arm and pulling her up and off her feet. “Please, stop. I’m not going to kill you or eat you.” She quieted, but her lower lip still trembled. “Unless you don’t help us get married, then I might.”

“No, no, I will. I swear it.” She nodded. “My life is forever in your debt, Queen of Rashearim.”

My heart thudded. “I’m not—”

“You will be,” Samkiel cut off my denial, walking past us both. I dropped Everrine on her feet, and she straightened her gown, the arms and tail trailing behind her. “I know it doesn’t look like much now, but this place is the most beautiful of all the realms.”

“Fitting,” I murmured, standing by his side. He caught my joke, remembering how I’d told him how beautiful he was the first time I’d met him.

“I plan for this to be our home and, eventually, the epicenter of New Rashearim. Once I have my powers fully back, that is.”

“And we defeat your evil sister.”

“That too,” he agreed.

“And your evil brothers.”

“Yes.”

“And also rescue your family.”

He chuckled. “Yes, yes, all of that.”

Unable to take my eyes off the view before us, I nodded. I could see it, what Samkiel envisioned, but I worried he thought getting his powers back would be easy. Regardless, I’d help him any way I could.

“So, this is what you wanted to show me? Our future?” I said, smiling at him.

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