A Fire in the Flesh (Flesh and Fire, #3)

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

“It’s about your father. His soul is in The Star.”

“Not for him. Not even for me. I will not have you risking your health and—” His voice…gods, it cracked. And so did my heart. Eather whipped through his irises. “I will not risk you.” Shock rippled through me. “It’s your father’s soul, Ash.” “I know. Fates, I know.” A tremor ran through him. “But I will not risk you.”

“Strong enough?” Ash dragged his hand up my spine. “You’re the strongest person I know.”

“That light is a soul.” He looked down, almost as if he were finally letting himself do so, and then stepped in closer. His blood-streaked chest rose with a deep breath. “I still don’t feel anything, but that’s what a soul looks like—a good soul. A pure soul would be more intense—a brilliant, blinding white light.”

“He wasn’t too pleased about me seeing what really happened.” I opened my eyes, quickly moving on. “I think he’s ashamed of what he did—ashamed of the truth.”

“Thank you.” I frowned. “For what?” “For caring enough to think of me,” he said. “For…for loving me enough to prevent that.” For some inane reason, my cheeks warmed. “You would do the same.” Faint wisps of eather began seeping back into his irises. “I would.” And I knew he would.

“I just want to take care of you,”

“I will do anything you ask of me, Sera.” Silvery streaks of essence whipped through his eyes. “Anything.”

“As I said, liessa, I will do anything you want. You need me to just be here? I’m here.”

“I’m serious, Sera. I cannot answer whether you will pass through the Pillars or if you’ll need to be judged in person to determine your fate.”

“The Primal of Death was not allowed to form bonds with another,”

“If a…a bond is formed with another, the Fates balance it out by preventing the Primal of Death from knowing the journey of a soul or taking part in it.”

“And none of the other Primals are subject to those rules? Say if Maia were to become close with a mortal, would she no longer be able to interfere in matters of love or fertility?” Ash frowned. “The others are subject to the same rules. Once they form bonds with mortals or gods, they cannot influence their lives in positive or negative ways.”

“But my father—the true Primal of Life? As far as I know, he wasn’t held to those standards.”

“Nektas once told me it was simply because the Primal of Life was held to a higher standard, tasked with the duty to know when and when not to impact the lives of others.

“So, when I saw you in your wolf form, it was because…?” “I think part of my consciousness—a part of my being—was still alert enough to find you.”

“I’ve heard stories about something like this. People who can walk in each other’s dreams.” “Mates of the heart,”

You are safe here, Sera. I promise.”

The changes mortals made in their realm didn’t help. The Ancients were particularly displeased with the disruption of land in the name of advancement. Too many forests were cut down, replaced by farms and manors. Roads replaced soil. Cities were built upon meadows. When they looked at the mortal realm, they only saw death.”

“Mortals cannot exist without the bounty of the land,” he said. “So, to them, the choice was easy. They decided to cleanse the lands and clear it of mortals.”

“When the Ancients decided to cleanse the land, the Primals and gods joined forces with the mortals, draken, and their ancestors, to fight back.” He halted. “Even Kolis fought side by side with my father. It was a different time then.”

“He told me that he loved me.” Ash drew his fingers along my jaw. “That he was proud of me—of the man I’ve become.”

“You told me before that all of us are capable of monstrous acts, but it does not make us monsters.”

“The only person I care about not dying is Sera,” Ash swore.

Leaning into Ash, I cupped his cheek. Those frigid eyes landed on me. “I love you,” I whispered. “I love your protectiveness. I love that you see me. That I’m important to you. That I matter. I love you so very much for that.” A shudder went through him as the eather whirled more fiercely in his eyes. “You are the only thing that matters.”

My importance doesn’t cancel out hers.”

if there is life, there must also be death.”

“You sound afraid of the Arae.” “The oldest of us are wise enough to be wary of them.” She smiled. “We may be Primals, but we are not the ultimate power.”

A sour taste gathered in my mouth as I placed my hand on my chest. Ash asked me if I was okay, and I nodded. I didn’t feel different, yet I did. The presence I hadn’t been aware of for most of my life was gone, but Sotoria’s parting words lingered. We will meet again.

“Someone who has earned our respect and admiration. Especially mine.” He looked away. Ash was heading in our direction. “But he always saw you. Always.” Ash had. He always saw me, even when he was angry or disappointed.

They were paying me honor and respect—the same I’d seen given to knights in Lasania upon their passing. “With my sword and my life,” Rhain spoke, lifting his head. The others echoed his words. “I shall honor you.” Silvery, crackling eather erupted from his fingers, spreading across the sword. The blade collapsed first, and then the hilt turned to ash. “In blood and in ash, forevermore.”

“Even if I’m not looking at you, you are still all I see,” he said, his features encased in harsh ice. “I see you, Sera. I always have.”

“But those embers?” Ash said. “They’ve become yours.”

“I’m…I’m saying that I want you to live. Really live, Ash.” I twisted my fingers together. “I want you to find a way to restore your kardia.”

“And I want you to allow yourself to love.”

“I want you to allow yourself to love and be loved, Ash. You’re more than worthy of that. You deserve it. More than anyone I know.” “I don’t give a fuck what I supposedly deserve,” he snarled, shadows bleeding through his flesh. “You’re seriously asking me to find a way to love another?” “I am.” He stared down at me, his chest heaving. “I…I could never do that.”

“I’m not asking you to forget me. I don’t want that. I don’t want you to ever forget me.” I placed my hands on his chest, causing him to jerk as if burned. “But you’re going to live for a long time. I want you to be happy. That is important to me. Because I love you, Ash.”

“Knowing that you will be happy will allow me to find peace because you will have found peace.”

“We’ll make time,” he swore. “We deserve that.”

“We’re here.” Both of his hands cupped my cheeks. “We’re together. Right now. That is all that matters. Just us. Just right now.”

“Most of all, I wanted to be valued, to be needed and cherished and wanted for who I was and not who I was supposed to be or what I could do for someone. I wanted to be seen.” A surge of emotion clogged my throat as the ground trembled once more. “You gave me all of that, Ash. I’ve lived because of you.”

“I don’t care what you become.” He lowered his wrist. “I don’t care, as long as you’re alive. As long as you don’t leave me. I don’t care. I want you however you come back to me.”

“If I lose you, they’re already gone, as good as dead and rotted away.” His forehead pressed against mine. “Don’t you know that already? You do. Kolis was always right about me. He knew I would do far worse than what he could ever conceive. And I will. I will ruin the realms if I lose you. If you die, there is no hope for them—any of them…innocent or evil, god or mortal. I will destroy them all.”

“Please,” he pleaded. “Fucking Fates, I can’t lose you. I can’t…I love you. I do. Fates, I do. I fucking love you. How can I not? How can this not be love?” He screamed to the elms, or at least I thought he did. I wasn’t sure if it was him or if it only came from my mind. “I love you, even if I cannot. I’m in love with you.”

The eather, the essence, had come from the stars that had fallen eons ago.

There must always be balance, that life must always continue on. That death must always come.

I knew I was not a part of the cycle of life. I was the cycle. The beginning. Middle. The last breath before the end. Death’s steadfast companion. I was Life.

“He remained kind and compassionate, even though he’d lost a part of himself.

My heart thudded heavily. Ash. I knew that name. He was the nightmare that had become my dream. The calm in my storm. My strength when I was weak. The breath when I couldn’t breathe. He was more than my King. My husband. Ash was the other half of my heart and soul.

“You saved her.”