Chapter 23

Days after Kaden’s taunt, Dianna hides in her temple bath, drinking and training but refusing to leave. Reggie appears, noting her isolation, heightened appetite, and temper. Dianna deflects with humor and irritation, then recounts how Gabby once saved her from reckless bloodlust, reigniting her capacity to care.

The memory sharpens her grief: Gabby is gone while Samkiel has regained family. Reggie suggests she choose companions carefully and implies Samkiel may feel her pain. He presses that her pull toward Samkiel is stronger than she admits, and that Nether betrothal is pragmatic, distinct from a soul tie required to rule in pairs.

Dianna rejects the idea, insisting she feels nothing, yet jealousy and emptiness surface as she imagines Samkiel with Imogen. Reggie warns that burying emotion will numb and ruin her and asks what else she has buried. The question rattles her; she tries to end the talk.

As Reggie continues—explaining the tradition of dual monarchs and soul ties—Dianna mocks the notion and cites Gabby’s warning about powerful men. When Reggie says loving Samkiel didn’t kill Gabby, Dianna’s power explodes: water boils, glass shatters, candles flare, and the tub melts in her grip. She threatens Reggie.

Unfazed, Reggie says he has seen gods undone by loneliness and urges her to avoid that fate. Dianna lashes back, blaming fate’s inaction in Gabby’s death. Reggie’s six eyes briefly flash as if sensing something, but he withholds it. He proposes monarch-style peace talks before battle; Dianna refuses and orders him out. He leaves, and Dianna remains alone, the figurative lock on a buried memory or feeling rattling.