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“I’ve been waiting,” a man spoke. “For three long years.”
“It is,” the god replied, bending to slide a book between two others. “I was beginning to grow a little impatient. Thankfully, Cauldra Manor is a lovely place. As is the Balfour family. Their name will be honored long after the great kingdoms fall.”
“Until the Arae conjured forth the heart of the mountains—a precious stone created by the flames of dragons that used to inhabit this realm eons ago before Primals could shed joyous tears. It was the first of its kind, known for not only its indestructible strength, but also its irregular, jagged beauty and silver sheen. They called the diamond the Star.”
“Love,” I murmured, swallowed. “Maybe it is a weakness.” “I believe it to be the one thing more unpredictable than even a Primal ember. Therefore, stronger,” Delfai countered, drawing my gaze to him. “Love makes anything possible. Makes anyone capable of the unexpected.”
“At this time, you are simply the mortal vessel for the embers—” “She is not simply a vessel,” Ash growled as eather charged the air. “Not now. Not before this moment, and not going forward.” The catch in my breath and my heart left me a little dizzy as I stared at Ash. I wanted to hug him. Kiss him.
“He must feed until the last drop of blood is taken. Until there is nothing but the embers left. Then, they will transfer to him. He will Ascend. But you…” He sighed. “You will not survive. You will die.”
Death always finds you. Holland’s voice whispered through my thoughts. By the hands of a god or a misinformed mortal. By Kolis himself, and even by Death. Ash
“It may be cause for celebration.” His hand dropped to his lap. “Perhaps there is a silver beast and a brightest moon. Two. Not one,” he rambled. “Two then one.”
“But I need a future where we defeat Kolis and the Rot goes away. Where those in Iliseeum and in the mortal realm are safe. That’s what’s important. The only thing that matters.” “No, it is not the only damn thing that matters, Sera.” His eyes flashed. “You. Not the godsdamn embers. Not the fucking realms. You matter.”
“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 never wanted to love. Not until you, liessa
“Anything, liessa
Fair hair. Sharp, bloodless features. Lifeless, dull amber eyes. That was his…that was his head. Ector.
The color of wine. The flash of a silver chain around a throat, soaked in blood.
A scream of rage, of ruin tore from me as the corners of my vision turned white—pure white. All across the courtyard, the dakkais reared, jerking their heads toward me. And the power inside me built and swelled until nothing could hold it back.
Run, liessa. Run.
“Promise me,” I rasped. “Swear to me that no one else will be harmed.” “No one else will be harmed,” pledged Attes. “I swear.”
“You made the right choice.” He was wrong. Because there was no choice to be made. There never had been.
I dreamt of my lake. I was swimming, gliding effortlessly through the cool, dark waters. I knew I wasn’t alone as I rose to the surface. A figure waited on the bank. A wolf, more silver than white in the splintered streams of moonlight, watched.
I turned to the bank of my lake. To where the white wolf once sat. And Ash now stood.
“Kolis knows.” A slow smile tipped up the corner of his mouth. “Of course, he does. He is the King of Gods.” He spoke gently as if conversing with a child. “His Majesty learned of it the night of your birth when your father summoned the Primal of Life to make another deal.”
“Then, enter your father and the discovery of the deal. So, yes, His Majesty has known since your birth what you carry inside you.”
Everything Ash had sacrificed had been for nothing
“Blood and ash.”
“Blood and ash?” I repeated. “What does that mean?”
“No. I speak of the prophecy. The last dreamt by the Ancients. A promise only known by a few. Dared to be spoken of by even fewer.”
“Blood. The strength of life. Ash. The bravery of death. Life and Death, if taken literally.”
“The Primal of Blood and Ash…” A shudder of disbelief coursed through me. A being that should not exist. “A Primal of Life and Death.”
After all, the Ancients dreamt of just such a powerful being as the Primal of Blood and Ash.
Sotoria. He spoke of her. “Seraphena Mierel,” Kolis murmured, bringing his mouth to my temple. “You kept the embers safe. You dared to use them. You made sure they were ready for me. Words can never do justice to the gratitude I feel. But thank you.”
No. No. No. No. It wasn’t just my voice screaming. It was hers. Sotoria. All the lives she’d lived. And it was ours that moved my tongue. “You’re killing me,” I slurred, eyes heavy. “You’re killing me again, after all these years.” Kolis’s head jerked up. “
“It’s…not a lie. Eythos had her soul…” My heart felt as sluggish as my words. “And he placed it with the embers, to be…born again in me. I’m her.”
He could’ve taken Sotoria’s soul and placed it with the embers to protect her and to fuck you over. You know he would.”
He rocked as my gaze drifted to the open doors and the shadowy leaves swaying in the balmy breeze. To the— To a wolf. A wolf crouched at the trunks of the trees. A wolf more silver than white. A silver beast. Bathed in the brightest moonlight. Ash
