POP!
My hand hit Liam’s shoulder once more as we ran. ‘It will take an army to contain me,’ I mocked. ‘You just had to use your giant ego, didn’t you?’
Another pop.
‘You did not tell me Tobias was a King of Yejedin,’ Liam snapped as we ran through a crumbling tunnel. Several dead creatures wailed and charged after us.
‘A what?’ I panted as I reached behind us, throwing another fireball. Liam tugged me hard around a corner and pressed me hard against the wall, pressing his body over mine.
‘The crown embedded into his skull,’ he said quietly after several dozen dead passed us.
We were covered in dirt, debris, and gore after having to fight our way out of the crypt.
‘Well, I didn’t know,’ I whispered. ‘I thought they were horns.’
He looked at me like I had grown horns. ‘They are not horns. They are a crown. He is one of the Four Kings.’
I gaped at him, my eyes going wide. ‘Four?’
Liam stared at me, his expression dazed as realization dawned. ‘It explains so much. Their power. Who Kaden is. Why they can hide from me. Dianna, they are older than even me. Centuries older.’ He reached up with one dirty hand, rubbing frantically over his head before his eyes bore into mine. ‘That makes you a queen. A Queen of Yejedin. If he is one of the four. That’s why he is so vicious, so territorial. Why he will do anything to get you back.’
My stomach rolled at Liam’s words, and I felt bile fill my throat. No, he couldn’t be right, and yet, my heart hammered in my chest.
‘No. I am not his. I am not his queen.’
Liam’s breathing came in short pants as he looked at me. ‘We need to get back to the main room. I put the book back into the tomb when we first started fighting and I do not wish to leave it there.’
I swatted at his chest and he looked at me. Even covered in gods knew what, I could still see his scowl. ‘You mean the same room Tobias is still in?’
‘Yes,’ he hissed, the sound barely a whisper. ‘I will kill Tobias while you get to it. It is cracked enough you will not hurt yourself.’
He didn’t give me an opportunity to argue and I contemplated hitting him again as he crept closer to the opening of our hiding spot. Liam kept a hand against my stomach, holding me in place as he peeked around the corner. He nodded and took my hand, leading me back toward the coffin room at a run. I kept looking back, making sure the dead hadn’t turned back. So far we were in the clear.
As we got closer, I could hear stones clashing and Tobias yelling in frustration while he searched for the book.
We stopped at the edge of the massive door as Liam’s eyes raked over me ‘Remember what I taught you.’
I nodded, flames lighting up on my hands, before taking a look in the room. Several dead stumbled about the room, some missing limbs and tripping over loose stones.
‘Queen or not, please be careful.’
I met Liam’s gaze but was unable to decipher the emotion in his eyes. His thumb flicked over his ring as he called forth that silver plated armor once more. An ablazed weapon soon formed in his hand, this one much longer than ones he had summoned before. He glanced at me once more before charging into the room, flying toward Tobias. I heard them grunt as they collided and the mausoleum shook.
Fuck.
Okay, Dianna, he is distracted, get the book.
I ran into the room, the falling debris cascading all around me. I felt my skull hit the wall as several of the undead grabbed at me, biting and scratching. I slammed my knee against the head of the one closest, crushing his skull into powder before incinerating several others. I used my foot to kick myself off the wall, propelling myself forward with enough force to decapitate a few more.
I landed a few feet away, in front of the room I needed. The sounds of feet rushing towards me and groans behind me, told me the ones I didn’t hit were closing in. Dammit. I needed to find Victoria’s tomb quickly. I ran inside and scanned the room, squinting as I elbowed one undead out of the way causing him to drop the rustic sword he carried to the floor. I reached down, grabbing it before my head shot upwards. The sound of stones falling all around made me look up. Tobias and Liam were having an aerial fistfight above us, the temple quaking every time one threw the other against the walls or ceiling. Concentrate, Dianna. He was still immortal, fully immortal, he will be fine. I spun, cutting down every dead creature that got to close as I searched the room.
The area was a complete mess. How the hell was I going to find Victoria’s tomb now? I tossed a few to the side right as another undead reached out to grab me. I thrust my blade through that one and felt something jump on my back. Its skeletal arm reached around my throat, and I grabbed it, jumping up and slamming back onto the ground, crushing it beneath me. Before I had time to jump up, another undead reached for me, its decaying nails grabbing the front of my shirt and lifting me up. I maneuvered my arms beneath it, lifting them high and dropping my elbows, severing its bony arms. I reached over, picking up the rustic blade, and stabbed the one crawling at me in the skull.
I looked down, noticing the arms dangling from my shirt. I ripped them off of me, a shudder of revulsion going through me.
‘Ew.’ I dropped them on the ground and stomped them into pieces.
Tobias screamed and the room shook again, knocking me off my feet. I dropped my weapon as I fell, and watched in dismay as it slipped through a crack and disappeared. Tobias’s power must have flickered because the undead all stopped and grabbed at themselves, patting as if to make sure they were still in one piece.
I lifted up on my elbows, and that’s when I saw it. The marble finish.
I jumped up and was running toward it when something slammed against me, pushing me back to the ground. My breath rushed out of me as I hit the cold floor face first. Several undead ripped and tore at my back.
Every time I tried to push myself up, more laid on top of me. The ones I had seen wielding weapons finally made it into the crypt. Since they couldn’t reach Liam, they converged on me. I heard slashes against the concrete as they stabbed through their own, trying to gut me.
I screamed as one of the swords tore into an already healing wound.
The mausoleum shook hard this time, the floor splitting in a narrow crevasse. It felt as if a huge slab of the temple had fallen, but what I heard next told me it was probably Tobias throwing Liam.
‘You lost your blade, World Ender. You’re distracted. Are you worried about her?’ Tobias laughed coldly. ‘Did she get under your skin? Would you like me to cut her out?’
The floor cracked once more, shaking as if a jet was taking off a few feet from me. The air lit with Liam’s power, the strike disintegrating several of the undead. Liam leapt back up, the force of him leaving the ground knocking several more of the undead off of me.
I unlodged the sword from my abdomen, my lip curling in a snarl as I stood back up. Three undead charged me as I gripped the sword by the hilt. I spun the same way Liam had shown me, using my upper body momentum to swing the weapon over my head and down, decapitating them in one smooth stroke. More came and I cut them down too. It was a dance I didn’t know I was capable of, but the sword was ancient and rusty. By my tenth kill, it fractured, breaking off in the skull of the undead.
I had bought myself a slight reprieve, but it wouldn’t last. I spun, looking for the marble coffin, but it was gone. Double fuck. Their fighting wasn’t helping. The temple shuddered and rained debris every time they hit a wall.
Liam flung Tobias through another part of the mausoleum, and I made my move. I raced toward Liam as he stalked after him and grabbed him by his arm. His eyes were molten silver, hot with battle rage as he turned and glared at me through the small slit in his helmet. The combination of his gaze and the debris and blood covering his armor, made him look terrifying. I nearly took a step back, but as soon as he saw my face his features relaxed. I pulled him to the farthest end of the crypt just as Tobias dug himself out.
Liam and I were pressed against a crumbling bit of stone wall, several feet from where we’d started. We had fought, but it made no difference. No matter how many I burned and kicked, or how many he cut through, they kept coming. The cavern shook again as I heard several more above us, beating their way inside. More of the undead were forcing their way through the entrance. I feared Tobias had summoned every buried mortal for miles. Dust fell as we heard the ones not trying to tear us apart, searching for the book.
‘Where did you go, World Ender? I was just starting to have fun!’ Tobias roared.
He ripped coffins from the ground, tossing them against the walls, causing more debris to shift and fall. If we didn’t get ripped to pieces we would soon be buried alive. We were surrounded by at least thirty of the dead. All were skeletal, draped in tattered clothes, decaying skin clinging to what was left of them. Others looked battle worn with limbs missing and helmets rusted from time. They carried some type of weapon that I can only assume was buried with them, ranging from swords to rusty battle axes. I couldn’t risk getting decapitated while they destroyed this building. We needed a new plan.
‘How many dead are buried here?’ I whispered to Liam as I peeked around the corner. Several moved in unison, looking for us and tossing about debris in the process. I moved, pressing against the wall as I flexed my hand, every muscle I had was screaming. I was weak, and I knew it.
‘Too many. Far too many,’ Liam said as he turned from side to side, calculating our odds before looking at me, his silver armor coated in carnage. He made a motion with his finger and the helmet disappeared. His sweat drenched hair clung to his head. ‘How much fight do you have left?’
I shook my head. ‘Not enough. Every time I think I have an upper hand, more show up. He is too strong. Alistair was the same. There was a reason Kaden kept us three close to him. The only difference was they embraced their nature, whereas I didn’t. I’m not that strong, Liam.’
His gaze did not waver ‘Yes, you are.’
Another loud crash had us both ducking. I moved quickly, crawling behind a half -destroyed column.
I knew we were fucked, especially if Tobias was this king Liam thought he was. Tobias would have been enough of a challenge, but he had raised every corpse in this general vicinity, and we were outnumbered. I didn’t know how we were going to keep him from getting the book. I knew Liam could use the ablazed weapon and finish Tobias off, but he could be easily overpowered by the dead army if he was more worried about me. Which I knew he would be because he was nice and good and everything I wanted to be. I could only think of one option, and it wouldn’t end well for me. I knew what I had to do, even though a part of me hated it.
‘Liam,’ I said, not caring if the dead or Tobias heard me, ‘you have to leave. You get to the book, you take it, and go. We are not both going to make it out of this temple alive.’
‘Yes we will.’
‘We’re outnumbered and battered. I’m still not a hundred percent after the jungle, and believe it or not, this cavern will fall eventually. We need that book.’ I paused, swallowing a growing lump in my throat. ‘You need the book. That’s all that matters.’
It was true, even if it hurt me. It was true.
His battle weary eyes scanned mine. ‘No.’
‘There is no other way.’
He gripped the silver blade a little tighter and leaned forward on his knees. ‘I’m working on it.’
‘Why not use the dark sword one, like before? It killed several in seconds?’
His eyes narrowed. ‘I told you to close your eyes.’
‘I don’t listen.’ I smiled softly even as tears stung my eyes. I knew if this plan worked, Tobias would drag me back to Kaden, and I would never see him or my sister again.
He shook his head, turning back to the horde of dead crawling around. ‘I cannot use it here. The space is too small. It would not only eradicate everything here but you as well. I will not risk it.’
My point was proven. I sighed, knowing what was next. ‘I can distract him long enough for you to get the book and leave.’
‘No.’
‘Your favorite word, what a surprise. Listen, this was the plan all along. Above all else, you get the book. It’s why we have a deal. Just take care of my sister. Please.’ I grabbed his debris covered armored arm and tugged him closer to me. His forehead touched mine as I closed my eyes breathing in his scent once more. I wanted it engraved in my mind long after my body turned to ash. I wanted to remember every day I spent with him even when we hated each other. My chest tightened tears threatening to spill because I knew this was goodbye. ‘You promised.’
He shook his head again. ‘No.’ He stated the one word cutting off any reply I may have had. ‘I’m not leaving you.’
I ran my hand over the sweat -drenched side of his face before I kissed him hard and quick. ‘Maybe in another life,’ I whispered against his lips.
I wasn’t going to give him a choice. I jumped to my feet and tore off to the right. I picked up an array of discarded bones and wrapped it in a disheveled cloth hoping Tobias was driven by his need to have the book and stupid enough to believe I held it so he’d follow. I stopped at the entrance of the cavern, my eyes meeting Tobias long enough to force a look of desperation as I gripped my ruse tighter in my arms. His nostrils flared as I turned and ran. I heard Tobias roar as he saw me fleeing. If he didn’t bring the book or me back, things might not end well for him. I held my slowly healing midsection as every head turned toward me. I heard Liam’s curse, but he didn’t follow. The undead let out a hollow dead scream and charged after me. I ran down the darkened tunnel before I spun, throwing a wall of fire behind me. The tunnel lit up, several undead running through the flames. They fell, breaking to pieces, but it wasn’t enough. The undead behind them, just stomped over the corpses, taking their place. I crouched and jumped, slamming through several slabs of stone and landing on an upper level.
‘Bad move,’ I hissed the top of my head throbbing as a single trickle of blood ran down my forehead. My skull would heal, but it would do so slowly. I got to my feet and pushed forward. The space grew smaller and I went to my hands and knees, having to crawl to get anywhere. I could hear the tapping of water up ahead, and I knew I had made it to an antechamber above where we’d started. I couldn’t hear Tobias or Liam.
The sound of scratching behind had me looking back to see several of the undead scrambling after me, their decaying jaws opening and closing as they crawled after me.
Fuck, they must have piled themselves on top of each other to reach me. I went to shoot another string of fire when the stone beneath me exploded. Clawed talons grabbed me by the midsection as Tobias burst through the floor.
‘Where do you think you’re going?’
He tossed me down, my body hitting the floor hard enough to knock the wind out of me. He was on me a second faster than I could react as he ripped the cloth from my hands. Bones scattered on the floor and my ruse broke.
‘Tricked you.’ I whispered as his knee dug into my ribs. ‘You lose.’
Hatred pure and blinding filled his crimson eyes as he grabbed me by the straps of my shirt. ‘We’ll see about that.’ Jagged teeth ripped into my throat and I screamed as he sucked any remaining energy I had from me.
Blood pooled in my mouth as Tobias dragged me back into the room by my hair. I clawed at his arms, but it was useless. He had drained me, and I knew what he was about to do.
‘Oh, World Ender,’ he called out in a sing-song voice, taunting and teasing. ‘I have something of yours.’
The undead parted, their feet shuffling as they moved to the side. I couldn’t see Liam but the fighting had stopped as soon as Tobias walked in.
He dropped me for a split second, but before I could scramble away, he yanked me up by my mangled throat.
Tobias turned me so that I was facing Liam. His armor dropped immediately as if seeing me like this made him vulnerable in more ways than one. Tobias seemed to chuckle as his claws forced their way into my chest, squeezing my heart. I lurched forward at the intense pressure. The pain was overwhelming, but I couldn’t scream. My lungs burned as if the effort of taking in air alone took too much from me. I felt my power wane and I was dizzy. One squeeze, one movement, and I was dead.
‘Tsk tsk, not so fast, World Ender. Another step and I rip her pretty little heart out,’ Tobias snarled. ‘And we both know even you won’t be fast enough to save her.’
I could see Liam in front of me, his expression disastrous, like he knew if he made one wrong move, it might cost him something. He just needed to get the book and leave. Tobias wouldn’t let me go, especially after what I had done to Alistair. If he didn’t kill me here, he would take me to Kaden, who would do much worse.
‘Just—go—‘ I managed to gargle out, grabbing Tobias’s hand, trying to get his grip to loosen enough to speak.
I could see the calculation between Liam’s eyes as he looked between me and Tobias. He was formulating some kind of plan. I just didn’t know what. Idiot. There was no hope for me. There never was. I just needed him to leave.
Tobias used his free hand to grab my face. ‘You hesitate over her?’ He shook my face and I winced. ‘Fucking pathetic. You have bathed in our blood for centuries. Just like your father and his father before him. Yet one pretty face and suddenly you have a heart? I don’t believe it.’
‘Let her go.’ The words weren’t harsh or cruel, they were soft -spoken as if he knew if he said the wrong thing, Tobias would make him suffer. Oh, Liam, you fool. Why can’t you just leave me?
Tobias chuckled, sensing it too. ‘You know what? I have an idea. You could run that damned blade through us both. Come on, World Ender. It will save you so much time. Think about it, two Ig’Morruthens, one sword, and you get the book. You can make it look like an accident. No one will miss her anyway,’ Tobias teased, using his hand to shake my head at his last statement for effect.
A pained moan escaped me, causing Liam to flinch and take a step forward. Tobias had a point. If he did kill us both, that would leave Kaden alone with no book. Kaden would lose the muscle he did have. His ranks were already divided and in shambles. Liam and his friends would be safe for a while. Yes, Liam would lose me, but he would have the world safe and secure. That was the plan all along. Pain racked me again, but this time it wasn’t from Tobias’s less than gentle ministrations.
‘You can’t do it, huh?’ Tobias taunted. ‘Is that weakness I sense? After all these centuries does the mighty, powerful destroyer finally have a weakness?’
‘If I give you the book, will you let her go?’ Liam asked, his voice barely audible.
I felt Tobias stiffen, a devilish grin pulling at his lips as his face came close to mine. ‘Yes.’
‘I have your word?’ Liam asked.
‘Yes, give me the book, and I will return sweet little Dianna back to you,’ Tobias said, annoyance edging his voice. No, he wouldn’t. Liam, do not be that dumb. I tried to speak but it just came out a gargled gasp.
Liam’s face twisted. ‘Very well. It’s in the sealed tomb close to you,’ Liam said, gesturing with his sword.
‘I’m no fool. I know it’s sealed so only you can open it,’ Tobias snapped. ‘You open it.’
‘I will,’ Liam said, holding a single hand up in defeat. ‘I just need to get over there.’
Tobias looked from the tomb to Liam and back. He nodded, moving us both farther to the side so Liam would have enough room to get the book without being close enough to strike. Liam’s eyes never left mine as he slowly walked to the tomb. His hand brushed the side, and in one solid motion he flung the lid across the room. He must have been being gentle before but with the way he sent it rocketing across the room, I knew he wasn’t in the mood for games.
He reached inside, his gaze still focused on me, and grabbed the book. He waved it in the air and said, ‘Now let her go, and I’ll give it to you.’
I couldn’t believe my eyes. He couldn’t be serious. He wasn’t. Everything we’d worked for, everything that had happened on the stupid trip here, and he would hand it over? For me? No. He couldn’t.
‘Liam. Don’t,’ I wheezed, my words turning to a moan as Tobias gripped my heart tighter.
‘Now, be a good God King and toss it over,’ Tobias urged.
‘Not until you let her go,’ Liam said, motioning with his hand.
I saw Liam take a step forward. It was just an inch, but I knew he would do the unthinkable. He would try to save me. Because he was good. He was everything that Tobias and I could never be. No. Kaden couldn’t get the book. My life wasn’t a good trade -off for the world. I wasn’t worth it. I mustered as much strength as I could and grabbed a hold of Tobias’s arm. Even that slight movement made me spit more blood, but I held Liam’s gaze.
‘You promised,’ I choked, nodding toward him. He knew what I meant. Take care of Gabby. Deal or not, it was the one thing he’d promised me. A look I have never witnessed from him crossed his features. It was the same emotion that Kaden had worn the day Zekiel had died.
Fear.
I saw his eyes widen, the color fading to bright silver as he reached forward, a single word forming upon his lips. I never heard it, before he could give it voice, I yanked Tobias’s hand out of my chest, along with my heart.
