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

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

It’s hard to see this since the destruction of the Gods of Divination and the passing of the last of the oracles.” “Gods of Divination?”

“They were gods able to see what was hidden to others—their truths—both past and future,” Penellaphe explained. “They called Mount Lotho home and served in Embris’s Court. The oracles would speak to them, and they were the only gods truly welcomed by the Arae.”

“Penellaphe’s mother was a God of Divination,” Holland continued. “That is why she was able to share a vision. Only those gods and the oracles could receive the visions the Ancients—the first Primals—dreamt.”

“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.”

“Prophecies are the dreams of the Ancients,” she explained.

“The balance here demands that the life taken is then restored to serve as a reminder to the gods that their inability to control themselves has consequences. Maintaining balance isn’t always as simple to understand as it is when, say, the Primal of Life restores a mortal’s life.” His eyes fixed on mine. Hard. All-seeing. “Another’s life must be forsaken in their place.”

“Who decides how balance is restored?” Holland looked back at me. I stiffened. “You?” “Not him,” Nyktos answered. “The Arae in general. They are like…cosmic cleaners.”

“As I’ve said, there must always be balance. In everything—even among the Primals. Life cannot exist without Death, and they should not be one and the same.”

“What he means to say is that such a thing, a Primal of both Life and Death, is not meant to exist,” Nyktos said. “It would be unthinkable for the embers of both to thrive in one being. But if they could?” He gave a short laugh with a raise of his dark brows. “The kind of power they’d wield? It would be truly absolute. They could unravel realms in the same breath they created new ones.”

*cough* poppy

“There would be no stopping such a being,” Holland added. “There could be no balance. Therefore, the Fates ensured long ago that such power must be split and that an absence of either ember would cause a collapse of all the realms.

“Maia,” he said, speaking of the Primal of Love, Beauty, and Fertility. “I had her remove my kardia.”

was obviously missing something and also getting tired of asking questions. “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.”

“Ward is actually my surname,” he responded. “Vikter is my name.” I belted out a quick, sharp laugh. “You’re a viktor named Vikter?” “He is the viktor,” Penellaphe said, sitting beside me on the dais. “The first.” “Oh.” I bit down on my lip. “So they’re named after you?” “I believe so.” “He’s not a fan of that.”

“Do you remember the lives you’ve lived?” “I remember everything.” “Because he was the first,” Penellaphe added. “Before the Fates realized it would be easier for them not to recall the details of their lives.”

“But what I can tell you is something you already know. What you’ve spent your life preparing to become? What I trained you for? It wasn’t a waste.” Those dark, shining eyes held mine. “You are his weakness.”

Become his weakness. Make him fall in love. End him. Not Nyktos. Kolis. I was a weapon meant to be used against Kolis.

“It may have been a part of Eythos when he lived, but now, it’s a part of you. Creating life out of death is in your nature. It’s instinct.”

Concern rose. I reached down, touching the tense, corded muscle of his arm. A tremor ran through his entire body. “Promise me,” he rasped. “Promise me you’ll never go after Kolis again.” My heart stuttered as I sucked in a shallow breath. “Promise me, Sera. Never again.”

All I knew was that Jadis’s mother had died two years ago. I knew nothing else. “What…what was her name?” “Halayna.” He straightened, his features tensing. “She had hair like yours.

“Heartmates usually only occur between two people whose unions are linked to some great purpose.”

“Even if you had your kardia, Ash, there was no guarantee you’d love me—” “Yes, there is.” His eyes were wide and wild as he caught my wrists. “I would’ve loved you if I could have. There would’ve been no stopping me.”

“I wish…” he whispered hoarsely, dragging his fingers across the freckles sweeping over my cheek. “I wish I’d never had my kardia removed.” My eyes fluttered open.

His eyes glinted with a…a sheen of red. Primal tears of grief. “I never wanted to love. Not until you, liessa.”

I swam and swam until I felt the faint wiggle of the embers in my chest. Pushing to the surface, I turned to the bank of my lake. To where the white wolf once sat. And Ash now stood.

But that wasn’t the first time I’d seen him. I’d seen him in the mortal realm, in my kingdom, and that was why the gold-painted wings had kept striking a chord of familiarity. He’d been at Wayfair, speaking with my mother. Ezra had told me his name. Callum.

Callum came a bit closer. “Have you ever wondered how a mortal came into possession of the knowledge of how to kill a Primal?” “Let me guess,” I hissed. “You?” He angled his body slightly and bowed with a flourishing sweep of his arm as his gaze met mine. “Me.”

that meant Kolis had drained his brother of his lifeforce. His own brother. Sickened, I gripped the edge of the bed.

But because everything… Everything Ash had sacrificed had been for nothing. Kolis had known about me and the embers. He had always known. And there had been no reason to keep me undiscovered and safe.

“He could’ve taken me at any time. Why wait?” “Blood.” Callum inhaled deeply. “Ash.”

“There is the end.” Kolis smirked as he gripped the bars. “‘For the one born of the blood and the ash, the bearer of two crowns, and the bringer of life to mortal, god, and draken. A silver beast with blood seeping from its jaws of fire, bathed in the flames of the brightest moon to ever be birthed, will become one,’” he said, and my skin chilled. “That would be you again, in case you’re not keeping up with things.”

“You carry the Primal embers of life. You have from birth, thanks to my brother.” The golden flecks stilled in his eyes. “And now you are the bearer of two crowns.” Two crowns. I inhaled, chest tightening. The crown of the Consort and the crown of a Princess. “That was why you waited. For me to be crowned?” “Yes.”

And the great powers will stumble and fall, some all at once, and they will fall through the fires into a void of nothing. Those left standing will tremble as they kneel, will weaken as they become small, as they become forgotten. For finally, the Primal rises, the giver of blood and the bringer of bone, the Primal of Blood and Ash.’”

“A Primal of Life and Death.” “Clever girl,” Kolis remarked.

they thought I’d just stand by and do nothing. They should’ve foreseen that, but even in their dreams, they underestimated me. What I will do to not only stay alive but also get what I want. And that is to be the one, Seraphena. The beginning and the end. Life and death.”

‘A silver beast with blood seeping from its jaws of fire, bathed in the flames of the brightest moon to ever be birthed will become one.’ Emphasis on the will-become-one part. Eythos put those embers in you so his son could take them—something Nyktos would’ve done the moment he knew he was ready, if he’d been aware of what it meant. He wanted Nyktos to be the Primal—the silver beast.

he also knew that once his son took those embers and Ascended, Nyktos could even raise him.”

“Eythos always hated me. Do you know why? Because he loved Mycella, and Mycella loved me. It didn’t matter that I didn’t return those sentiments. That I never acted upon what she felt. He still hated me, and that was why he refused the only fucking thing I ever asked of him.”

Blood smeared his lips, his fangs. He shook me, rattling my head. “What the fuck did you just say?” “It’s me…” A laugh that didn’t sound like mine at all parted my lips. “Sotoria.”