Page 220 of The Dawn of the Cursed Queen

The sound of a portal closing behind me shook me from my thoughts. Bash looked behind me, but I didn’t need to see his expression to know who had arrived. I knew the feel of my brother as well as I knew my reflection.

“We’re ready,” he said.

I glanced toward Isaiah as he shook the blood from his armored hands. “It’s done?” I asked.

Annoyance sparked in his gaze. We both had things that set us off. Mine, of course, was abandonment. Isaiah hated to be tricked or lied to. He had handled the situation in his usual fashion. His methods were what had earned him his reputation, and he did nothing to dispel the fear it instilled.

Isaiah leaned close to the edge of the cliff and looked down at the battle raging below. “Do you think you can handle the rest of them?” he asked Bash.

Bash’s grin turned feral, and his helmet flowed over his head in a slither of metal. He gave us a single nod that was just a bit too low, looking like a shallow bow, before jumping into the fray. The harrowing screams erupted tenfold, and more dirt shot skyward. Bash flattened a path through the Di’llouns every way he turned. It was another reminder of why he was one of Nismera’s favorites.

“Are you ready?” Isaiah asked again.

I nodded and took one last look at the coin in my hand, running my thumb over the worn sides and the line across the center. I placed it in my pocket before turning with my brother. He ripped another portal open, and I followed, leaving the crashing city of Di’lloune in smoke and embers.

NINETY-ONE

NISMERA

The crowd parted, creating a clearing as I landed the massive ryphor. Dust blew as its mighty body whipped and curled before coming to a stop. Several guards still hovered above me, keeping the perimeter secured.

“The legion,” I heard someone whisper and saw a mother slap her hand across her whispering child’s face.

Others landed and dismounted as I jumped to the ground. The whispers died, people clinging to their loved ones. Shops didn’t dare close their doors or windows, afraid to draw my attention to them. Gods above, I loved the smell of fear. It was almost as intoxicating as my other favorite indulgence.

I removed my helmet, my hair spilling down my back as I placed it on the saddle.

“He’s still here,” my lead commander said, and a smile bloomed across my face.

“Excellent.”

We moved as one, a whole legion behind me, shuffling down the road. Those who did not move out of the way of my army were shoved to the side, elbowed, and kicked. People murmured and stared, watching to see where we were going, making sure we weren’t coming toward them.

I loved the control I had over the realms. I had built the fear from the ground up and secured my own crown. This was paradise to me. To me, this was peace. I would never again be beneath another as I had been so many eons before. I finally had the crown and throne I deserved, and I’d be damned if I allowed anyone or anything to take it from me. The Eye would fall. They couldn’t hide forever, and today I was taking the next step in flushing them out. I was here to cut off their supply of weapons.

The alleyway was rank and filthy, and I curled my lip as I walked down it. I heard the click of locks before I even rounded the corner. Murmured moans turned to whispered shouts and then the sound of scurrying feet. These people lived like vermin, and I thought about just exterminating them all.

I flicked my wrist, and the golden-tipped spear appeared in my hand. My guards and commander stepped back. I aimed it at the door and pushed my power through it, leaving a gaping hole where the door had been. I stepped into the brothel and the screaming began.

NINETY-TWO

DIANNA

The wind died in a swirling mass of littered trash as the portal closed behind us. Miska adjusted the straps of her bag around her shoulders, holding the small compass Orym had given her. My eyes darted toward Samkiel as he pulled the hood a bit tighter around his head. All of us had dressed to blend in amongst the citizens of the small industrial town.

Samkiel nodded toward me and gave me a ghost of a smile, once again reading the worry that fluttered across my mind.

“Would you even tell me the truth if you were not okay?” I asked through our bond.

“I’m fine. I swear.”

But I knew it was a half-lie. Now, I could not only hear Samkiel’s thoughts if I tried, but I could feel him, too. I felt the weight on his shoulders, the apprehension of us being here, and above all, the wave of exhaustion that swept through him as the portal closed. He had been using far too much power, pushing himself past his limits for weeks. With his power spread across the sky, he wasn’t as strong and burned out quickly.

He fell into a deep sleep every night, exhaustion pulling him under. He didn’t even stir when I got up to use the bathroom, and I’d caught him nodding off during the day. My eyes dropped to his side, but he waved me off and clasped my hand in a firm grasp.

We walked out of the alley, blending in with the crowd as they shopped or looked for somewhere to eat. We rounded a corner and stopped, Samkiel nodding at a building up ahead, three guards chatting outside the door. Miska lingered behind us, pretending to find interest in a shop window. We started forward again, Reggie walking a few paces ahead of us as we passed the small cottage-style home.

Reggie pretended not to be able to hold his liquor. “You’ll pay your due!” he yelled, drawing attention. The crowd parted around him, not stopping, but giving him a wide berth. Samkiel and I stepped to the side and stopped. Two of the guards glanced at him, one elbowing the third. While all eyes were on the drunken man walking toward them, we moved in behind them.

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