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“Just that it’s not often I have two Primal hands on my breasts.”

Nektas snorted as a dimple appeared in Attes’s right cheek. I could feel Ash shaking his head behind me.

Keella’s smile tipped up. “Try to concentrate on Sotoria’s soul.”

I nodded obediently and could’ve sworn I saw Attes’s other dimple wink to life.

The white aura behind Keella’s pupils pulsed. Tendrils of eather seeped out, swirling across her irises and into her skin. Her eyes closed as the wisps spread over her smoky-reddish-brown cheeks and moved down her throat until her entire being was awash in essence.

Ash lowered his head, pressing his cheek against mine as I concentrated on Sotoria’s presence. A heartbeat passed, and then a faint coolness seeped into my torso. I wasn’t sure if it was Ash’s touch or more—him anchoring himself to my soul.

“Do you have Seraphena’s soul?” Keella asked.

“I do,” Ash confirmed, his voice rough.

I almost asked what it felt like, what it looked like, but it probably wouldn’t be wise to break anyone’s concentration.

Including mine.

“I feel her,” Keella announced with a solemn sigh. “Suu ta lene.” The essence around her flared. “Vas na sutum.”

“It is okay,” Ash translated quietly for me. “You are safe.”

“Vena ta mayah,” she urged. I knew that one. Come to me. Tendrils of eather crackled around her. “Illa vol la sutum.”

“She will…she will be safe,” Ash repeated.

That didn’t make sense, except…Keella had told her to come to her and then said she would be safe. She wasn’t talking about Sotoria. She was talking about me.

Oh, gods. Was Sotoria somehow resisting because she was worried about me?

“Illa vol ori,” Keella told her. “Illa vol…” Whatever else Keella said was lost to the sudden buzzing in my ears.

Ash inhaled sharply, and my body jerked as I felt Sotoria respond. It was like she was disentangling herself from me and suddenly moving closer to the surface. That was the only way I could describe it.

“Hold on to Seraphena,” Keella instructed.

“Always,” Ash responded. “Always.”

My heart stuttered and then sped up as I looked down, barely able to see past the aura coming off Keella. Still, I felt the sudden warmth pulsing over the skin of my chest under their hands.

A soft, silvery-white light suddenly radiated from my chest. My eyes widened as Keella replaced her hand with the one that held The Star. The hard edges pressed into my skin—

I heard Sotoria then.

Heard her speaking just as her soul left me and poured into the diamond.

Keella rocked back, the essence dimming around her as she looked down at The Star. An intense, bright white light floated inside the stone.

“It is done?” Attes asked, his voice thick.

“It is.” The Primal goddess rose, turning to Attes. “We will keep her safe.”

“Until…” I cleared my throat. “Until when?”

“Until it’s best to allow her to be reborn,” she said as Attes took the diamond. He handled it with reverence, gently placing it inside the satchel. “Once we can be sure that Kolis will not be able to find her before she is ready.”

Before she is ready.