Page 192 of The Dawn of the Cursed Queen

“Have you seen our lovely sister?” He glanced around, peering over the head of one tall being to the left.

Kaden shook his head. “No, but you know she likes to make an entrance. Give her time.”

Isaiah smiled at Kaden, and I couldn’t help but stare in wonder at just how messed up it was that the two deadliest High Guards Nismera had smiled at each other as if they couldn’t tilt a world on its axis with their power alone. I wondered then just how much Kaden actually felt. He looked at Isaiah with great fondness, whereas others were lucky not to end up dead if they offended him. Kaden displayed an unseen side to him when it came to his brother. Isaiah may be the only being he truly loved, his odd obsession with Dianna aside.

A blonde ponytail swished near Isaiah’s shoulder, and I took a small step around Kaden to see who it was. Imogen stood near Isaiah, her swords strapped to her back and still wearing armor.

“You brought Imogen here?” I hissed.

Isaiah looked at me as if I’d spoken out of turn but didn’t respond. He slapped Kaden on the shoulder and promised to find him later before turning and leaving. Imogen followed, that heart-wrenching, empty expression still on her face.

I grabbed Kaden’s arm a little harder than I meant to. “Why is he carrying her around like a doll? What is he—”

“Calm down.” Kaden pulled away from me in a subtle movement. “My brother tends to latch on to things. I blame the way everything was taken from him.”

“She is not a toy. If he wants one, I’m sure the elvan girl staring daggers at him right now will be happy to volunteer.”

Kaden followed my gaze to where she stood next to a table littered with an assortment of food and cakes. Her pointed ears were decorated with jewels that sparkled under the lights. She wore a swath of shining fabric that curved around her body, giving her mauve skin a shimmering glow. Her tail thrashed behind her as Isaiah passed, not wasting a glance toward her as he headed deeper into the crowd.

“Veruka?” Kaden scoffed. “A fuck buddy, if even that. You’ll learn sex means very little to old, powerful immortals.”

I glared at him. “Oh, yeah? Then why haven’t you indulged?”

His eyes cut to mine. “Who says I haven’t?”

“Everyone. The witches whisper about all who have tried, and all you turn away. Is it because of how Dianna reacted after all the years you treated her like second best? Afraid when you drag her back, she won’t want you if she knows—”

Kaden gripped the back of my neck, the movement so fast and his hold so tight, I hissed in pain. He pulled my face closer to his, and I wrapped my hand around his wrist. To any onlooker, the way he held me made it seem as if we were two lovers who couldn’t stand to part.

“Let’s get one thing straight,” Kaden hissed through a dazzling smile. “We’re not friends or colleagues. You don’t get to speak to me however you wish. I could rip your pretty little head off and not think twice about it.”

“Then do it.” I glared back. “Or admit that you are afraid.”

His teeth ground so tightly together that I thought they would break.

“I hate to burst your bubble, but you deciding after years that she is finally good enough for you will not work. Even if you manage to drag her back after you murdered her sister and her actual love, she’ll never touch you again, never love you again. You will never be Samkiel.”

I expected him to snap my neck, to hurt me, anything but what he did. The anger in his eyes fizzled, his grip on the back of my head loosening. “I have a plan for that.”

“A plan?”

He released me and blew out a long breath, clearly not wishing to share his plan. He turned away, and my gut clenched.

He slipped his hands into his pockets. “I know you want to think the worst of my brother, but Isaiah is the only thing keeping that girl out of the beds of any general who decides he wants a taste of The Hand. He keeps her close to keep her from being raped.”

My brows furrowed. “What?”

“What do you think happened to the last unit that had her?” Kaden scoffed. “Half of these generals and commanders Nismera has recruited would make me seem like a sweet kitten. Imogen is lucky he got to her when he did.”

I remembered Hilma telling me about it, but I only remembered parts. I tracked Isaiah and Imogen through the crowd. He stopped to speak to someone and looked up, his gaze locking with mine. Isaiah killed them all for her because they’d tried to touch her.

“I-I didn’t know,” I said, breaking eye contact with Isaiah.

“Exactly, you didn’t. You, like so many others, know nothing of us.” Kaden drained his glass, placing it on a passing waiter’s tray.

“Saving someone from something that horrific doesn’t make you a good guy. It makes you decent. It should be normal to be disgusted with that,” I said. “I just didn’t know you or him had any decent parts.”

Kaden scoffed. “You think we are the cruelest monsters, but we’re not even the worst in this realm.”

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