A Shadow in the Ember (Flesh and Fire, #1)

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Make him fall in love, become his weakness, and end him. That was my destiny.

Lord Claus swung a meaty fist at me,

She had no eyes. They had been burned out, the skin around them charred in a strange pattern, reminding me of…wings.

“Did you kill that man?” Smoothing out the skirts of the gown, I crossed my ankles. “I believe he slipped and fell upon my blade.” “Was it his throat that fell upon your blade?” “Odd, right?” “Odd, indeed.”

Not all Primals can do it, but I have always been able to, as all who carried my mother’s blood in them could.”

“The act of Ascension requires a mortal’s blood to be drained from their body and replaced by that of a Primal or god. It is not always a successful transition,” he said, and I thought of what I had learned of the godlings and their Culling. “But those who are Chosen are born in a shroud. They already carry some mark—some essence of the gods—in their blood. It allows them to complete the Ascension if it were to occur.”

“Love is an unnecessary and dangerous risk.”

“What if he kills her?” “Well,” Ector drawled as he walked past me. “Then I guess we don’t have to worry about her trying to kill him.”

“But I also saw her. I saw them. A Chosen and a descendant of the First.” The eather burned brightly in Penellaphe’s eyes as they met mine. “A Queen of Flesh and Fire. And him, a King risen from Blood and Ash, who ruled side by side with man. And they…they felt right. They felt like hope.”

“You are the heir to the lands and seas, skies and realms. A Queen instead of a King. You are the Primal of Life.”