A Light in the Flame (Flesh and Fire, #2)

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

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

“You have never been just a mortal, Seraphena.”

“You are the possibility of a future for all.”

I’d been Nyktos’s first. And he…he would be my last, no matter what happened from this point forward.

“The consequences of what Kolis did when he stole the embers of life were far-reaching. Hundreds of gods were lost in the shockwave of energy,” Nyktos explained. “The Gods of Divination took the hardest hit. They were all but destroyed, and no other mortal was born an oracle.”

He looked like he was about to go full Primal again. “Sotoria didn’t belong to him then, and Seraphena doesn’t belong to him now.”

“You know what he’s been doing to the Chosen who have gone missing?” Nyktos’s gaze sharpened on him. “These things called Revenants?” “I know that what he calls Revenants are not the only mockery of life he’s managed to create.”

“Craven?” Nyktos’s eyes narrowed as he recognized whatever Holland had said. The Fate nodded. “It is what becomes of a mortal when their life force—their blood—is stolen from them, and the loss isn’t replenished. It does not matter who the mortal was before. The act rots them, in body and in mind, turning them into amoral creatures driven by an insatiable need for blood. Craven.” Nyktos had gone still. “The act of killing a mortal while feeding has been forbidden since the dawn of time.” “And that outcome is why,” Holland said. “It is a balance.”

“But now you know what you already knew. Some lessons will always be painful to learn.”

“I cannot love,” he bit out between clenched teeth, speaking to Holland. “I made sure that would never be a weakness someone could exploit.”

“What is a kardia?” “It’s the piece of the soul—the spark—that all living creatures are born and die with. It allows them to love another not of their blood irrevocably, selflessly.” Penellaphe swallowed. “It must have been terribly painful to have that torn from you. To truly be unable to love.”

“That thread that broke off from all the possible strings that chart the course of your life? It was unexpected. Unpredictable. Fate is never truly written in bone and blood. It can be as ever-changing as your thoughts. Your heart.” He paused, glancing at Nyktos. “His.”

“You are his weakness.”

Become his weakness. Make him fall in love. End him. Not Nyktos. Kolis.

I care more because I cannot love, and I believe caring for others is far more important than loving just one.”

“That is what infuriates me. From the first moment I saw you, you’ve behaved as if your life holds no value for you.”

“You should value your life as much as you do the lives of others, Sera.”

“Your safety is worth everything.”

“What you carry inside you is far too important. They have to be part of the key to ending what Kolis has done. You may value those embers as little as you do your life, but I do not.” What I carried inside me. The embers were important. Not me. Never me.

I flinched, grateful that he couldn’t see how much the truth stung. Because even if Nyktos could love, he would never love me.

“You are life.” Her voice lowered…and I swore faint wisps of smoke wafted from her nostrils. “And that is the only reason you still breathe.”

“The wounds aren’t that bad. I…I’m not going to die.” “No, but you’re in pain, and I cannot allow that to continue. I won’t.”

Creating life out of death is in your nature. It’s instinct.”

But what I already knew was enough to know that he didn’t deserve what this kind of life had dealt him: the loss of his parents and so many more, a Consort he’d never asked for but still had sought to protect, and living under the constant threat of Kolis. Nyktos deserved better. So did everyone in the Shadowlands. And now I posed an entirely different threat to him and all who sought sanctuary here.

I was just a vessel full of deep scars left behind from the first life I’d taken and all the times after that, leaving the wrong kind of mark behind. I was nothing more than bruises on a blank canvas because I didn’t feel it. I didn’t mourn those losses. I didn’t care because no one else cared beyond what I could do for them.

“Then what is my destiny?” “To be my Consort,” he said.

“But your willingness to take such a risk speaks of your integrity. And that is to be respected. Honored.”

“All of them have done so with the knowledge that their oath will likely end in death. And yet, they actively work to restore Iliseeum to what it once was—a realm of peace and fairness to all. They’re all brave, almost to a fault,” he said, his voice rising. “Just as you are.”

“None of them will harbor any ill thoughts toward you now. They will see you as you are. Brave and daring.” Nyktos had lowered his head, speaking so only I could hear him. His cool breath danced over the shell of my ear, sending a shiver over my skin. “And if they still harbor any ill thoughts, they will be the last ones they ever have. No matter how loyal they are to the Shadowlands, I will destroy them.”

“But I meant every word I said. You are brave and strong. You will be a Consort more than worthy of their swords and shields.”

“Were you married?” “We were mated,” he corrected. “It is the same as marriage in many ways. It is not something we draken enter into lightly. The bonds we forge together in a mating can only be broken by death.”

“You loved her, then?” “With my entire being.”

“Two halves that make a whole. Heartmates,” Nektas said, drawing my gaze. He watched closely. “That’s what the Arae call it. It’s rare but real, and I never heard of it occurring between mortals. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. The loss of one’s other half can be…catastrophic. If your parents were heartmates, then I pity your mother.”

“The price should always matter when it comes at the cost of a life,”

“A draken can gravely wound a Primal, but they cannot kill one,”

“How long can draken live?” “As long as a Primal if they are not killed.” I sucked in a shallow breath. “So, they are immortal?” “Not even a Primal is immortal, Sera. Nothing that can be killed truly is, no matter how long we live.”

“That could be done, but the Rite was started for a reason. The Chosen once had a real purpose. They were needed to replenish Iliseeum by bringing younger, newer gods into the fold—gods who knew what it was like to be mortal. It’s a balance in a way, one designed to offset those who would live such long lives they’d forget just how fragile and precious mortal life is.”

“Kolis is the oldest Primal alive. We may never be able to kill him. We may only ever be able to weaken him enough to entomb him.”

“I’m trusting you to keep your word, Sera, and that trust is a very fragile thing.”

“The poppies,” he confirmed. A few days after my arrival in the Shadowlands, one had blossomed in the Red Woods. He’d believed it was my presence bringing life back to the Shadowlands.

“I know you’re strong and can fight. That you’re brave. Needing me or anyone to look out for you doesn’t mean you’re weak, that you can’t defend yourself, or that you’re afraid. We all need someone to watch over us.” Heat crawled up my throat. “Do you?” “Desperately,” he whispered.

“It’s wild, though. True Primal of Life embers alive in a mortal.” “Wild is one way of putting

“I am Death,” he reminded me. “And you carry the embers of life in you. Your blood is what warmed my skin.”

“It tastes like a summer storm and the sun.” An unsteady laugh left me as my chest warmed. “What does that even taste like?” “Heat. Power. Life,” he said without hesitation. “Yet soft. Airy. Like sponge cake.

“I could never pity someone as strong and brave as you,” Nyktos said. “But you do have my sympathy and my apologies.” I leaned back, but his hand followed. “I don’t want that. Or need it and—” “I know,” he repeated, his thumb coasted across my cheek. “But they are there in case you are in need of them one day.”

You were cut with shadowstone. That would kill a mortal. It would also kill a godling. Your skin and veins would already bear the mark of it, and what blood of mine you have in you wouldn’t have stopped it.”

“Makes you wonder how else the Primal embers may be protecting you.”

devil. “In case you’re wondering,” Nektas

“I don’t think you have to know someone to feel a certain way toward them. I don’t even think you have to truly know someone to miss them.” “Really?” “I miss many I barely know. The experiences never shared. The history never made.” His fingers stilled on the desk. “The memories never created.” “The past that’s never mourned.”

“No Primal in their right mind would attempt to go to war against the King of Gods, false or not.”