Page 148 of Ballad of Nightmares

And then Sam stepped up to the breaking body.

“Let this be a warning to anyone who tries to take her—to touch or even look— at Deianira Bronfell again,” he said, his low voice thrumming into the camera as he looked back over his shoulder. His wings flickered up, red eyes raging into that video, and the true portrait of Death spoke to the entire world.

“I will rip this entire world apart just to see it free,” he hissed. “We are no longer something you will persecute. We are no longer hiding who we are. To those in the other realms thought beneath the boot, we see you. We hear you. And to the worm that thinks he can take this world again—“ Sam stepped directly in front of the camera, nearly trembling as he spoke his next words “—I’m coming for you, you fucking bastard.”

Sam took one step back and snapped his finger.

Shadows ripped Jay’s body into nothing more than dust on the wind.

Millie cut the camera and stared wide-eyed at her king. “Sam…”

“Send that to whomever you need to,” he spat. “I’m no longer playing.” His eyes went to Ana as they moved back to brown, the skin enclosing over his face again, his wings tucking in behind him, and he crossed the space between them.

Sam hauled Ana off the ground, and even before her feet were steady, he was kissing her. Ana grasped his arm and his waist to hold herself upright, staggering at the feeling of his hand on her head and her hips, pulling her closer. Publicly claiming her for all to see.

And when he finally pulled back, he held her face in his hand, those dark, pain-filled eyes searching her face.

“Are you hurt?” he asked.

Ana’s palm flew into his cheek, and the slap cracked with lightning.

“You’re anidiot, Samarius,” she shrieked. “Do you know what you’ve just done?”

Sam rolled his neck, tongue darting out to lick the blood off his cracked lip, and his lashes lifted as he said, “That depends,” with a restriction in the back of his throat, and she was ready to hit him again for whatever smart comment he was about to say.

“Do you mean to ask if I know about the war I just officially started or if I am aware of the heads Thorn and Damien will need to send Firemoor?”

“Thorn—“ She blinked at the new names, the mention of it completely throwing her off, but she huffed and pulled herself back together fast. “You just started a war you will not be able to get out of!” she nearly shouted. “You should have let them take me—“

“No one isevertaking you from me again,” he declared over the thunderous rumble. “No one isevertouching you again.” He straightened then, fluffing the lapels of his jacket. “Every other realm is about to get a lesson in all the things I will do to make sure of that,” he hissed.

Ana stepped back from him as she registered the words in her hazy mind. But Sam huffed an audible breath, like he was calming himself down, and he wrapped his hand around her cheek.

“I’m sorry I left you last night,” he whispered. “I should have taken you with me.”

“And your castle would have been targeted instead,” she argued. “At least you still have a home to go back to. I can handle a few scratches.”

“This hurts worse,” he admitted, his voice cracking. “A home, I can rebuild. But you…” Rage seemed to teeter at the edge of existence, and he growled with a shudder that she had not heard before, his eyes flashing scarlet.

“Where are you injured?” he asked again.

She blinked at the way he looked at her, at the concern in his gaze. She didn’t know if her heart rate was stumbling because of how enraged or aroused she was at all that had just happened.

“It’s just a bunch of scrapes,” she told him. “I’m fine.”

“You’re not—Ana, you were kidnapped—“

“It’s nothing worse than what I’ve put myself through before—“

“But—“

“Samarius,” and the way she said his full name seemed to snap his mouth closed. He stared down at her, jaw tight, nostrils flared… and finally, he took a deep breath and kissed her forehead.

“Milliscent,” he began as he took a step back, still hanging onto Ana’s hand. “Get on the phone with the Council and media outlets. The people need to start moving to the boats or underground before Firemoor finds out what happened here. I do not wish for them to be caught in the crossfire.”

Ana looked between them, noticing how natural the statement seemed to be, the pair seeming to have planned for this for some time.

“Underground?” Ana repeated in confusion.