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

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

I knew what I was staring at. I’d read about them in dusty, heavy tomes. I knew what purpose they served. They were the guardians of Iliseeum. I knew they were real, but I couldn’t believe I was actually seeing one—couldn’t believe I was face to face with a dragon.

“Nektas won’t harm you. He’s just curious.”

“Orphine, Ehthawn, and Crolee,” he answered. “Orphine and Ehthawn are twins. I believe Crolee is their distant cousin.”

“Dragons were very old creatures. Very powerful. Some believe they even existed in both realms long before gods and mortals did.”

“A long time ago, a very powerful Primal befriended the dragons, despite being unable to communicate with them. He wanted to learn their stories, their histories, and being quite young at the time, he was rather…impulsive in his actions. He knew one way he could talk to them was to give them a godly form—a dual life. One where they could shift between that of a dragon and a godly form.”

“They weren’t the only ones this young Primal gave a dual life to.”

“His name is Reaver,” she said, and he hopped on his hind legs. “But I like to add the butt part. He seems to enjoy it, too.”

“The room has been readied for you. Well, it’s been ready for quite some time and dusted frequently just in case. I think you will find it most pleasing,”

“There are those of us who help out because we choose to. We’ve sort of…forced our assistance upon Nyktos,” she said, and it was a little jarring to hear her use his real name. “Otherwise, Haides would be a mess, and he would probably never eat.”

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

“Godlings can live for thousands of years if they’re careful. They are susceptible to very few illnesses. But they’re not as…impervious to injuries as the gods and Primals are,” she explained. “For that reason, most godlings who survive the Culling live in Iliseeum.”

“They need to feed from a god.”

Obviously, a mortal may feel the effects of the feeding more than any of us would, and if we were to take too much, then…well, it would be a tragedy if they were not third sons or daughters.” Her lips tensed. “It’s forbidden to Ascend them—to save them.”

“Davina is my name. Most call me Dav.” She whipped around. “And I suppose I should call you meyaah Liessa.”

“What are their bonds made of?” “The bones of other gods and Primal magic,” he answered, and my stomach turned. “They are placed atop the gods and used to bind the wrists and feet. If they fight it, the bones dig into their skin.”

“Wherever a god or Primal is entombed, or where their blood spills, you will see a blood tree. It serves as either a memorial or a warning,” he explained. “Either way, it is not land one should ever disturb.”

“The road to hell is paved with good intentions,” he said.

“The longer a Primal or a god lives, the greater the risk of them becoming more eather than person.

“The Rite you celebrate—the one you hold feasts and parties in honor of? You’re celebrating what will ultimately be the death of most of them. It wasn’t always that way. At one time, the Chosen were Ascended. They did serve the gods. But that is not what it is now, and it hasn’t been for a very long time.”

What can I do with just an ember of life besides bring back the dead?”

“The weather has been affected by what Kolis did. That’s why the mortal realm is seeing more extreme weather like droughts and storms. It’s a symptom of the destabilization of the balance.”

I had never seen one outside of sketches in the heavy tomes that dealt with Iliseeum, but I knew they were dakkais—a race of vicious, flesh-eating creatures, rumored to have been birthed from bottomless pits located somewhere in Iliseeum.

“They’re pets of the Court of Dalos.”

Nyktos raised a hand, closing it into a fist, and Odin…Odin became nothing more than a shadow—one that wrapped itself around Nyktos’ arm, sinking into the skin around the silver band.

“You smell of…” He inhaled deeply as my lip curled. “You smell of death.”

“I think what you’re experiencing is a symptom of the Culling.”

“He talked about this…power he felt. He spoke about it all the time. Obsessed over it and said how he would do anything to find it. This presence. His graeca.”

“I didn’t think his graeca was a person. He never spoke of it as if it were something living and breathing. He talked as if it were an object. A possession that belonged to him.”

Kolis did something to them.”

“They weren’t right when they came back,” she said, and a chill swept over my skin. “They were different. Cold. Lifeless. Some of them stayed indoors, only moving about during the brief hours of night. Their eyes changed.” A far-off look crept into hers. “They became the color of shadowstone. Black. They always looked…hungry.”

“He called them his reborn. His Revenants.

“We’ll find out soon enough if you were what the viktors were protecting.”

“You didn’t just bring her back. You…you Ascended her.”

“Viktors.” Nyktos glanced at Saion and shook his head. “Been a long time since I’ve heard of them.”

“They are…mostly mortal, born to serve one purpose,” Nyktos explained, sitting beside me. “To guard a harbinger of great change or purpose. Some are not aware of their duty, but they serve nonetheless through numerous mechanisms of fate—like being at the right place at the right time or introducing the one they’ve been destined to oversee to someone else. Others are aware and are part of the life of the one they’re protecting. Sometimes, they’re called guardians. In all the time I’ve heard of them, I’ve never known there to be more than one to protect any given person.”

They’d have marks, just like godlings and descendants of gods have,” Nyktos explained. “You’d have to suspect that they could be that to even sense for it. And

“Penellaphe?” Surprise filled Nyktos’ tone. “Hello, Nyktos.” She straightened, stepping forward. She glanced briefly in my direction. “It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other.”

“He’s here because he’s a Spirit of Fate,” Nyktos stated coldly. “He’s an Arae. One who’s apparently been masquerading as a mortal.” He eyed Holland. “Now I understand how you had knowledge of a certain potion.”

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.”

A first daughter, with blood full of fire, fated for the once-promised King. And the second daughter, with blood full of ash and ice, the other half of the future King. Together, they will remake the realms as they usher in the end.’”

“I think it’s safe to assume that the latter part is referencing my uncle. He is the great conspirator—the rightful Bringer of Death. He, along with my father, were born in the west.” Nyktos looked down at me. “They were born in the mortal realm. Roughly where present-day Carsodonia stands.”

“Love is more powerful than fate.” Holland lowered his hand, and all but one thread disappeared. Only the broken one, and the shadow of an ever-changing string remained, glittering in the space between us. “Love is even more powerful than what courses through our veins, equally awe-inspiring and terrifying in its selfishness. It can extend a thread by sheer will, becoming that piece of pure magic that cannot be extinguished by biology, and it can snap a thread unexpectedly and prematurely.”

“The blood of the Primal the ember belonged to—that and the pure will of love can unravel fate.”

“I can’t be her. There’s no way. I’m not Sotoria. I’m…” My words faded as the rest of what she’d said broke through.

“All life—in both realms—has only continued to come into creation because the Mierel bloodline carried that ember. Now, she carries the only ember of life in both realms. She is why life continues.” Holland’s eyes met mine and held. “If you were to die, there would be nothing but death in all the kingdoms and all the realms.”

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