The Primal of Blood and Bone (Blood and Ash, #6)
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Read between September 23 - October 2, 2025
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That everything done to prevent what was coming had only ensured that it would.
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Without the capability to love and hate, rejoice and mourn, gain and lose, there could be no balance. For every hardship, there must be prosperity. Hate could not exist without love. There could be no joy without knowing grief.
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I saw Ancients who had gone to ground and ones yet to Awaken claw their way free, shaking the realms. And I knew they were no longer the great givers of life and the anchors that kept the essence of the realms stable. They were the end that erupted mountains and turned days into endless nights, toppling cities of steel and drying oceans. I saw them rise, full of ruin and wrath.
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Two daughters. Two Kings. And the Great Conspirator. It was inevitable. The end would come.
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Every beginning has an end. But for every end, there must be a new beginning. That’s what the ten dreamed. The fall of ruin and wrath. And the rise of blood and bone.
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It wasn’t like the Primal mist I’d seen surrounding Kieran. His had been gold and silver. Mine was silver and crimson.
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The essence that had transferred from Poppy to us wasn’t the same. Somehow, the two she had within her had split between us. Life. Death.
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“He was impaled to his tomb with the bones of an Ancient. It wouldn’t have killed him, but it would have slowly eaten away at him until only his essence remained. I suppose that could appear as a spirit.”
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“You should ask yourself why she asked me to make such a promise,” Kieran said. I closed my eyes. But it did nothing to prevent him from landing a blow that hurt worse than any fists could. “And not you.”
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Somehow, Kolis had been in Teerman. My hand fisted against my thigh as I tried to keep my voice level. “And I told you that she has never been yours.”
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He stared back at me through her eyes. “You remind me of someone I once knew.” The other side of the lips tipped up. “He, too, loved her.”
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Because what was being implied was impossible. Only draken blood killed a Revenant. So, how did I kill one?
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“If your brother and I didn’t share such similar features, your”—he shook his head—“your attitude would be a clear indicator of our relation.” My lips pressed flat. “Your name.” Eather flared in his eyes. “Attes.”
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“Casteel?” he called. When I faced him, he stared back with eyes churning with eather. “Be good to her.” I frowned. What a strange fucking thing to say. But I was too weary to point that out. “Always.” The smile returned. “And forever.”
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“They are what you should fear,” the stranger spoke, sadness clinging to each word he uttered. “Now, they rise. Not from the blood and ash, but from the ruin and wrath of all they created.”
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“What is it about the women of the Mierel bloodline that attracts such reckless men with so little regard for their lives?”
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“Only two other beings besides my kind can see what you can. The true Primal of Life and the true Primal of Death.” The hand he had resting on the table began to tap slowly. “You being able to is one of those unexpected developments. You shouldn’t be able to, Joining or not.” The skin at the corners of his eyes creased as he squinted. “Interesting.” He exhaled heavily. “My name is Aydun.”
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Aydun huffed. “She crossed the Primal Veil.”
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“She felt the pain and death of thousands—tens of thousands. And then some,” he stated, causing my entire body to jerk. “When the loss of life is that great, a Primal of Life will always be drawn to it. Being that she is a true Primal of Life, she was not immune to the need. Neither was Seraphena, but she couldn’t cross the Primal Veil as easily as your wife apparently can. Seraphena was stopped. Your wife could not be.”
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“Everything here and beyond relies on balance, Casteel.”
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“But it is more than that. There must be a balance of powers, too. When there’s not, there will be signs—ones hard to ignore.”
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“Her Ascension unsettled the balance and freed Kolis. The damage from her Ascension, which so many prayed would never happen, has already been done and cannot be undone. That bell has been rung. The die cast. The bridge burned. The last chapter of the story written—”
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“But what you don’t get is that her Ascension was not the only threat to the balance. Penellaphe is the Harbinger. The Bringer.” The color of the ink on the sides of Aydun’s face deepened and began churning as his eyes held mine. “Of Death and Destruction.” “Kolis,” I bit out. Aydun smiled faintly. “He is the Great Conspirator.”
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“The end has begun. And when it comes, what happened beyond the Primal Veil will seem like a blessing compared to what will happen throughout the realms.”
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“I was wrong about Leopold.”
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“He wasn’t who I thought he was,” he said quickly and quietly, and something about that tugged at a distant memory. “I never actually saw him until—” He cut himself off as he glanced at Lirian, whose gaze I could feel practically drilling into us. “Ask Tawny. She’ll explain. Understand?”
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“But Casteel? He would burn through the realms for you.”
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“And he would do so without remorse,” Lirian added. “Which is why Vikter was incorrect. It is not your presence here that worries the other Fates. It is your husband.”
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“You were pulled beyond the Veil because of the Awakening,”
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“A being such as you is completely unknown to him. Instinct would’ve led him to assert dominance over that.” Holland stopped and frowned. “We’re not entirely sure what occurred in that realm to cause them to go to ground or react in such a manner when the other woke.”
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“We know what we are,” Holland cut in. “The Primal Veil is strong, Poppy. That doesn’t mean we can’t see through or pierce it. But doing so comes with risks. They could sense us, even while deep underground, and you’ve seen what happens when they wake.”
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“All of us released embers of our essences to become what we are today, what others know as the Arae.” Lirian tilted his chin back. “You can look at our eyes to see that. They do not carry the gold of life nor the crimson and shadows of death.” “Our purpose is to ensure the balance.” Holland set his glass aside. “And that those who went to ground never wake up.”
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Lirian sighed, folding his arms over his broad chest. “You were right earlier when you said an Ancient is capable of destroying a realm. They can do so with one hand and create a new one with the other. Those of us who became the Arae can no longer harness that type of power. But you were also wrong. You can.”
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“Eventually,” Holland tacked on. “You are like us. Like those you saw Awaken today. Which is why you were drawn there.” “That’s…” I shook my head, my heart thudding. “You’re saying I’m a…” I almost couldn’t bring myself to say it. “A Fate?” “I said you are like us,” he stressed. “You are blood and bone, able to wield power over life and death. And as yo...
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“Poppy, you’re like an Ancient born, which was impossible until you.”
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“You are the result of a…perfect storm of several variables that alone are one thing but combined become something else entirely.”
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“You are descended from Seraphena, who was born of the bloodline of the first mortal,” Holland said.
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“But you were also born of a demis—a false god, yes, but a tragically powerful one. That’s a variable. Another is that you were also born of a direct descendant of two Primals, one being the true Primal of Life and another who is a Primal of Death—second only to his Queen and Kolis in terms of power.”
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“Every new life, every new being, has to start somewhere and with someone,” Holland said, drawing my gaze to his. “And you are that someone. You are the start of a new pantheon.”
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Casteel and Kieran had Ascended. But into what? No answer came.
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“The first Primals were created from the very essence of the realms. They were not born. Instead, they Ascended in a way similar to a vampry or a demis.”
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“They, like you,” Holland said, “are fully Ascended Primals who belong to no Court.”
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A Court didn’t have the same meaning as it did in the mortal realm. Instead, it was formed when the Ancients split their powers among the Primals they created. And it was more than just a physical location within Iliseeum.
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A Court represented the sphere of influence—the type of essence the god wielded and the way it affected the mortal realm.
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“Because you and the ones you Ascended are Deminyen,” Lirian spat,
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“Deminyen is a…class of primordial beings with no anchors—not even to the essence of the realms.” Holland paused to take a sip. “It includes the Ancients, like the ones you saw earlier.”
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“So, you’re saying no other true Primals are fully Ascended?” I asked. “Only one of those exists,” Thorne answered. “And he is not a Deminyen. He’s…complicated.”
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“Anyway,” he said, inhaling through his nose, “the three of you are unbound Primals.”
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“You being a Deminyen has its…benefits. In the event of your deaths, there would be no need for one to Ascend to take your place to ensure the Court remains stable.”
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“Not every god can withstand the primordial essence it takes to Ascend to Primalhood. Children of a Primal could, but unless both parents are Primals, there is always a chance they would not survive the Ascension.”
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