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

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

“That was the essence of the Primal of Death. His stench. Oily. Dark. Suffocating,” Reaver said, and I looked to where Kieran stood a few feet from me. That was exactly what we’d both felt. “It doesn’t make sense.” “You mean Rhain?” Vonetta asked from where she sat on one of the chairs, her knees pressed to her chest. Reaver blinked. “What?” “Rhain,” Emil started to explain, his hands on the back of Vonetta’s chair. “The God of Common Men and—” “I know who Rhain is. I knew him before he was known as the god you recognize today,” he replied. From the entry of the chamber, surprise flickered through Hisa, mirroring mine. “Who was the God of Death before him?” she asked. “There was no God of Death before him. There was only the Primal of Death.” I remembered what Nyktos had shared with me. “Did Rhain replace one of the Primals that Nyktos said had become tainted and corrupt?” “In a way.” Reaver’s head tilted to the side as he looked at the ceiling, his eyes closing. “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.” “Kolis?” Naill repeated, stepping around Emil. “I’ve never heard that name.” “You wouldn’t have.” “Erased history,” I murmured, looking over my shoulder at the others. “Remember w...