Page 125

While walking through the elms to her lake, Sera sees a reddish brown kiyou wolf that’s been shot in the chest with an arrow. She approaches and tries to help, ultimately bringing it back to life. It licks her hand, and she feels the same warmth in her chest that she usually does around death or when she uses her healing gift, only it’s stronger this time. She wonders if it’s because of the wolf’s size.

She makes it to the lake and is filled with wonder at how it feels like home. Heading in, she enjoys herself until she realizes she’s not alone. She calls out for whoever is there to show themselves and is stunned when the god walks out from behind the waterfall. She tries to scold him for being there. When he tells her he was there before her, and she realizes that he watched her undress, she’s shocked—more so when he says she’s like a goddess made of silver and moonbeams. Regardless, she demands that he leave.

Once again, his voice—like a smoky, shadowy caress—feels familiar to her, and she grows inexplicably warm.

She asks him about his ink, and he hedges. As their talk progresses, she threatens him again—shocker, right?—and then reveals she’s a Princess. She asks him his name and sees his tattoo in its entirety. He says that some call him Ash, and tacks on that it’s short for many things.

Sera exits the lake and gets dressed but only dons her slip before he warns her that they’re not alone. Sera sees Gyrms for the first time, and their scent reminds her of something. She’s worried they will kill the god but can’t help but bicker with him as they fight the creatures.

Eventually, she ends up unconscious from the battle. When she wakes, she calls Ash beautiful and realizes that she’s on the grass with her head on his thigh. Surprised he stayed, she engages in more conversation with him, and he fills her in on some stuff she questions. Many of the things Ash says utterly surprise—and delight—Sera, and she finds herself a little awed.

She realizes she’s been smiling, and he teases her that she’s gifted him with three. When she asks if the other gods are kind, he corrects her that he’s not kind but then says he maybe has one kind and decent bone in his body—for her.

Unable to stop herself, she asks him why, and he tells her that he wants and needs to kiss her. She realizes that she is attracted to him on a visceral level, as well, and tells him to go ahead.

He smiles, and she sees his fangs for the first time before sharing a kiss to end all kisses. When Ash tells her to show him what she wants, she doesn’t hesitate. She demonstrates what ramps her up and controls his movements as he pleasures her with his hand. When she crests that peak, he sucks her flavor from his fingers and tells her that she tastes like the sun.

Sera moves to reciprocate, and he confesses that it’ll become more than kissing and touching if she does that, admitting how badly he wants her. She tells him that she feels the same before they kiss, cuddle, and chat a bit more, and then part ways.

Back at the castle, she learns about the riot the night before and talks to Ezra about the ruler Lasania needs. Despite the gravity of their conversation, she finds she can’t stop thinking about Ash.

Sera raids the kitchens and takes what she finds to check on some of the farmers on the outskirts of town. Unfortunately, she discovers the Coupers have succumbed to the hardships of the Rot. Distraught, she heads to see the King and talks to him about the Coupers and what’s going on in the kingdom. Tavius is there, and they argue as usual. During the exchange, she feels something dark in the center of her chest where her gift generally springs to life, but this time, it’s slick and cold.

On her way to training, Sera hears a servant calling for help and goes to investigate, only to find it’s a trap. During the attack, she tells her assailants that killing her won’t stop the Rot and learns that the Royal Guards were paid to take her out. She defends herself and ups her body count to seventeen. When discovered later, she lies and says she found the guards dead. She also sees the golden god we eventually find out is Callum—and not a god at all.

Later, Sera overhears Ezra giving instructions to a carriage driver and follows her. She ends up helping Healer Dirks with some injured townsfolk. She and Ezra discuss her attack and the role the servant girl played, and Sera finds out that Tavius is broke—an insinuation that he couldn’t have been the one who paid off the guards. She’s not sure she believes that.

Ector arrives in the mortal realm and confronts Sera. She knows he’s a god, but he tells her not to kneel to him, making her realize that she’s never knelt for Ash. Ector tells her that he was ordered to give her something and presents her with a narrow birch box. Inside, she’s stunned to find a gorgeous new shadowstone dagger and feels a flush of emotion. She’s never been given a gift before.

That is just so very sad. Everyone should be given a gift at some point in their life, especially when they’re young.

Sera’s nursemaid passes away, and Sera starts feeling more and more ill after the funeral. She tells Sir Holland about her symptoms, and he instructs her to rest and says he’ll bring her something to help her feel better. When he returns, he tells her the story of Sotoria and says that Sera reminds him of her. He also assures her that everything will be okay regarding her becoming Consort and the fate of the realm.

As an Arae, he would know… But Sera doesn’t know that yet.

The Rite arrives, and Sera attends, posing as the Queen’s handmaiden. In the Sun Temple, Sera feels the energy of the place coating the air and crackling across her skin. It reminds her of the jolt she got when Ash touched her.

As she watches her stepsister, she realizes that she’s jealous of Ezra and wishes she was worthy of her family. A Chosen is presented to the King of Gods, and Sera is shaken when Kolis looks directly at her. She wonders if she only imagined the Primal’s attention, but thinking about it only makes her head hurt worse.

Later, Ezra comes to Sera, clearly shaken and asking for her help. When she sees why, Sera realizes that Mari—Ezra’s friend—is dead. Her sister begs her to save Marisol, and Sera realizes that Ezra loves the other woman. Sera brings her back from the dead and worries for a moment that she’ll come back like the seamstress did—not mortal any longer. Her fears are assuaged when she realizes that Mari doesn’t have fangs. Ezra thanks her and tells her she is and has always been a blessing, not a failure. They hug, and her stepsister says she loves her. Despite the positive outcome, Sera worries about the feeling of dread overtaking her. She fears she’s playing like a Primal and will be punished for it.

After a night full of nightmares of chasing a dark-haired man and having wolves and serpents chasing her, Sera wakes late the next morning, thinking—and hoping—the Primal of Death doesn’t know what she did. Unfortunately, she rouses to find Tavius in her room. She immediately reaches for her dagger, only to find it gone. Sera accuses Tavius of being behind the attack the other day, and he tells her that he wouldn’t waste his coin on her.

Seeing that Tavius has her dagger, she lunges for it, and he pins her to the bed. He tells her the King is dead, and he is now the ruler of Lasania. She also finds out that Sir Holland has been reassigned and sent to the Vodina Isles to work on a so-called peace treaty. She knows that’s not true. He was sent there to die, as the people of the Isles no doubt want revenge for what she did to their Lords.

Sera asks her stepbrother why he hates her and realizes that he sees her, the last rightful Mierel heir, as a threat. She hadn’t considered that… Still, she tells him that he is not and will never be her King. He calls in the guards, and they take her to the Great Hall.

Tavius secures Sera to the statue of the Primal and whips her. As she feels something dark and oily spark within her, icy fire pours out of her body, her blood hums, and the center of her chest throbs. She feels as if she can taste shadows and death in the back of her throat. She vows she’ll kill Tavius—slice his hands from his body and carve his heart from his chest before setting him on fire. When laughter erupts from her, it’s an ancient, endless, dark sound that isn’t hers.

Suddenly, the Primal of Death appears, and she’s stunned to see that it’s Ash. He shatters one guard, making her laugh darkly. When Ash claims her as his Consort, she laughs again.

She had to be in shock, and her injuries certainly didn’t help.

Ash confronts Tavius, and the icy fire in Sera’s veins returns as she watches her mother beg for her stepbrother’s life. Instead of killing him, Ash leaves Tavius to Sera, and she kills him. Still riding on the high of taking care of that menace, she realizes the familiarity she’s felt with Ash makes sense now, and it enrages her. Furious, she attacks him.

He tells her that if he leaves her in the mortal realm, she’ll become a target, even if she escapes punishment for killing the new King. So, he claims her. He tells her she no longer has a choice and apologizes, promising that her family will be safe.

They leave the castle, and she asks Ash why he didn’t tell her who he was. He asks her if she would have still been interested in him if she’d known he was the Primal of Death. She has no real answer for that.