The War of Two Queens (Blood And Ash, #4)

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

I would spend an eternity taking these bites if that meant she was safe. That it wasn’t her in this cell. That she wasn’t the one in pain.

The Blood Queen. Ileana. Isbeth. Better known as one soon-to-be-dead bitch.

demis is not born but made when a god commits the forbidden act of Ascending a mortal who was not Chosen.”

“Did that make you feel better?” “Why don’t you get close?” I growled, chest rising and falling as the band at my throat slowly loosened.

I couldn’t believe I was staring at the Blood King’s head. A slow smile spread across my face. I laughed—deep and hard. Gods, Poppy was…damn, she was vicious in the most magnificent way, and I could not wait to show her just how much I approved of it. “That’s…gods, that’s my Queen.”

“Whether she ruled over all the lands and seas or was the Queen of nothing but a pile of ashes and bones, she would—will—always be my Queen. Love is too weak an emotion to describe how she consumes me and what I feel for her. She is my everything.”

“Do you think that all I want is Atlantia? As if that is all my daughter was destined for? Her purpose is far greater. As was Malik’s. As is yours now. We are now a part of the greater plan, and all of us, together, will restore the realm to what it was always meant to be. It has already begun.” I stilled. “What in the hell are you talking about?” “You’ll see in time.”

Kieran turned to Naill and nodded. The Atlantian slipped forward and then moved with blinding speed, reaching the side of the barracks. He dragged the edge of his sword along the building, creating an ear-aching grinding sound against the stone. “Well,” Emil drawled. “That’s one way of doing it.”

“When will mortals stop referring to us as overgrown dogs?” he asked, pushing the fallen guard aside. “Do they not know the difference between a dog and a wolf?” “I’m going to say no.” Emil stalked past the one who’d gone at Vonetta, spitting on the dead man. He looked up at me. “What? He was going to knife Netta in the back. I’m not about that.”

Kieran lowered his glass, narrowing his eyes at the draken. “Would you like me to pose for a painting? Then you can gaze upon me even when I’m not around.” My brows flew up. “Can you not?” “He started it,” Kieran muttered. “How?” “He’s staring at me.” A pause. “Again.” “So?” “I don’t like it.” Kieran frowned. “At all.” “You sound like a small child right now,” I informed him, and Reaver huffed out another laugh. I turned to him. “And you’re not any better.” Reaver reared back his spiked head, blowing out a smoky breath. He looked affronted. “You’re both ridiculous.” I shook my head.

“One born from a grave misdeed, of a great and terrible Primal power, with blood full of ash and ice.” Her words rattled her entire body, raising the tiny hairs all over mine. “The Chosen who will usher in the end, remaking the realms. The Harbinger of Death and Destruction.”

The Chosen who will usher in the end, remaking the realms.

then Reaver said, “You are filled with worry. We can all feel it. Even those on their way here.”

“You are the Liessa. You summoned us. You carry the blood of Nyktos and the Consort in you. You are…” He trailed off. “Yes, we are bonded to you. I am perplexed by the fact that you’re only now realizing that.”

“Fear tends to lead to poor choices.”

“One does not need to be near you to harm you,”

“Exactly what does kill a god?” “A god can kill another,” Reaver said. “Shadowstone can also kill a god.”

“But you are the first female descendant of the Primal of Life—the most powerful being known. In time, you will become even more powerful than your father.”

I only became aware some eighteen years ago when the Primal awakened.” My brows knitted as Delano sank onto his haunches beside me. “Why did Nyktos awaken?” Reaver’s head swung in my direction. Those ultra-bright eyes were unnerving even with the distance between us. “I believe it was when you were born. It was felt

“How do you know?” “Because I would feel it,” he said, as if that explained everything.

“Why can’t I feed from a draken?” I asked and then wondered if that was a rude question. “Because it would burn the insides out of most. Even Primals.”

“It is a balance, meyaah Liessa,” he said, and I blinked. I hadn’t expected to hear him call me my Queen like the wolven did. “Even we have weaknesses. The fire we breathe is the essence of the Primals. Using it tires us. Slows us down. Even the Primals had their limitations. Weaknesses. Only one is infinite.”

“The Consort?” A brief smile appeared, and my gods, it was a breathtaking transformation. The chilly hollowness to his features vanished, turning him from someone uniquely appealing to a stunning, otherworldly beauty. “Yes. You remind me very much of the…

“Her name is a shadow in the ember, a light in the flame, and the fire in the flesh. The Primal of Life has forbidden us to speak or write her name.”

“You don’t understand. To speak her name is to bring the stars from the skies and topple the mountains into the sea.”

Could she be that powerful? As powerful as Nyktos? Because that’s what it sounded like. It really did, but none were more powerful than Nyktos. Or his equal. Not even the Consort. I didn’t like thinking that, but it was what it was.

palms pressed against my cheeks—against the ragged scar along my left one. His hands…they trembled. “What you’re feeling is you, but what you want to do isn’t. It’s her. It’s something the Blood Queen would do. It’s something she’d want you to do. But you are not her.”

“Gods walked these tunnels. As did the Primals. They walked other tunnels in other cities, connecting doorways and creating magical wards made of Primal essence that could keep things out—or in

“A god born a mortal, carrying the blood of the Primal of Life and the Primal of Death upon Ascension was foretold,” the Handmaiden whispered. “Or so they say—and they say a lot. Either way, she broke those Primal wards when she Ascended into her godhood.”

She rested her cheek against the wall. “And anything that was kept in can now get out.” Eyes not so dull met mine. “Two questions remain. When and where. Not even he knows.”

“But you don’t really know her. I doubt she even knows herself.” Her chin dipped, and her stare chilled my skin. “She carries the blood of the Primal of Life and the Primal of Death.” “I know. She knows she’s descended from Nyktos—” “If you think that Granddaddy is the true Primal of Life and the true Primal of Death, then you know nothing.”

“The whole remaking the realms bullshit?” “To remake something, one must first destroy it.” A cold wind hit the length of my spine. “The Blood Queen is not that powerful.” “She may not be.” The Handmaiden’s back was unnaturally stiff. “But she knew how to bring to life something that was.”

Beloved Daughter, It pains me to know that this gift will bring you heartache. For that, I am deeply sorry, but you left me no choice. What’s done is done. He lives. Do not forget that while we look to the many tomorrows together but apart. The future of the kingdoms and that of the True Crown of the Realms depends on us. Love, Mother

Ew what the hell Isbitch

He had a way of telling the story where you couldn’t help but get invested in it. I mean, he had me totally hooked on this tale about a girl picking flowers who had been startled by a god, falling to her death from some cliff.

I knew that story. Sotoria and the Cliffs of Sorrow. Ian

“Does my nudity bother you, meyaah Liessa?”

“This was not a storm,” Reaver said, and I turned to him. “It was an…awakening.” “Of what?” I asked. He lifted his head, and his eyes…they weren’t like earlier. They were still a vibrant shade of blue, but the pupils were thin, vertical slits. “Death.”

“You were told when you entered this manor, Queen with a crown of gold, that all that you and those who follow will find here is death.” The reddish-black smoke spun faster, spreading. “You will not harness the fire of the gods. You will win no war.”

“She smelled of Death.” “Well, that’s because she was dead,” Kieran replied. “No. You misunderstand. She smelled of the Death,” Reaver countered. “I thought I smelled it when we arrived here, on and off, but it was never strong. Not until tonight.”

“What does that mean?” “That was the essence of the Primal of Death. His stench. Oily. Dark. Suffocating,”

“There was only one true Primal of Death, and that—the storm and the woman—felt like him.” “Nyktos is both the Primal of Life and Death,” Kieran said. “Wrong.” Kieran knelt. “I’m not wrong.” “You are.” Reaver lowered his chin, his eyes opening. “Nyktos was never the true Primal of Death. There was another before him. His name was Kolis.”

“I cannot be the only person who’s sitting here thinking that the name Kolis is awfully similar to Solis,” Vonetta remarked.

“He’s been dealt with. Entombed long ago. None of us would be here if he hadn’t been,” he insisted. “And the only thing that could’ve released him is the Primal of Life. That would never happen. They…they were the kind of enemies that go beyond blood and bone.”

“Let me guess. They’re the third sons and daughters.” “Yes.” Emil drew out the word. “That would be correct. You know what these things are?” “Revenants were Kolis’s pet project. His crowning achievement,” Reaver said. “He used magic to create them—the kind that only worked on them.” Vonetta straightened as I thought of the ledgers. “Why only them?” “Because the third sons and daughters carry embers of eather in them.”

“And mortals descend from a Primal and a draken,” I finished for him. “From Eythos, the first Primal of Life—also known as your great-grandfather.” He pointed at me, and my eyes went wide. “What? Did you think Nyktos was hatched from an egg? He wasn’t.”

Lmfao

“Eythos always gave a choice,” Reaver said. “But Kolis took those third sons and daughters and made them into something neither dead nor alive—something else entirely. It was his essence—his magic as your friend would say.” He nodded in Perry’s direction. “I was young then when all of this came to a head. When what Kolis had done was discovered, and the war unfolded, I was hidden among other younglings. He was dealt with, but now… Now, someone has learned how to harness his essence.”

Reaver’s eyes met mine. “That kind of magic, that kind of power this Blood Queen has learned? You just saw what it is capable of. It can only be used for death and decay.” Reaver’s pupils thinned and stretched vertically. “She is a far more dangerous foe than I think anyone has realized.”

“Your kindness is part of who you are. It is one of the things that will make you a great Queen and god. You just need to learn when not to be kind.”

“Showing concern and empathy for the mortals doesn’t mean I have no concern for my people. Thinking of their futures means I’m thinking of our future, for they will be intertwined, whether wanted or not. It is the only successful path forward as we will not retreat beyond the Skotos Mountains. This war will be the last one.”

“I, more than anyone, understand why you feel the need to do this. The gods know I want my sons here. I want them both safe and healthy. But not a single member of my family has ever entered Carsodonia and returned as they were when they left—if they returned at all.” Valyn’s stare met mine. “I will not have that happen to you.” My family. Valyn considered me part of his family. My

Im not crying youre crying