Page 158

Sera sneaks away and enters the Red Woods. Ash goes after her, appearing just as a group of entombed gods rise and attack. He tells her to be silent and explains about the gods and the blood trees. He then asks Saion to escort Sera back to the palace and to grab Rhahar to join Ash in checking the tombs. Unfortunately, Sera succumbs to her wounds from the fight.

After he and Rhahar square things away in the woods, Ash returns and admits to Sera that he used compulsion to get her to drink the antidote, calling her liessa again as they discuss the attack. He divulges that the gods were carefully set free, likely by another god to see what might happen. He says they would have swarmed whoever opened the tomb.

He explains that the Shadowlands are dying and is surprised when she tells him she believes it has to do with the deal her family member made. It’s not that at all.

As talk turns to Veses, Ash realizes that Sera is jealous. He tells her that he hates every moment of being in the Primal’s presence and calls her a pit viper.

Ash admits that he told everyone to give Sera space after her ordeal, and that he’s been actively avoiding her. He tells her that being around her for more than a handful of minutes makes desire overcome his common sense. Not able to stop himself, he kisses her, then gives in to his other desires and tells her to be still as he pleasures her with his hand. Once again, he laps her essence from his fingers and then kisses her once more, letting her experience her delectable taste.

Ash tells Sera he hopes there’s no doubt when it comes to his interest in her and relays that he’s counted her freckles—she has thirty-six. He then asks if he can lie with her and admits he’s a virgin, explaining that he’s never let it get that far with anyone because it’s too much of a risk. When she asks him why he’s risking it with her, he confesses that he can’t help himself, even though he knows they’ll both end up regretting it. They wind up sleeping beside each other, but he rises and leaves before she wakes.

Ash takes care of some things at the Pillars and then goes to see Sera after her seamstress fitting. He’s surprised to learn that mortals still think the Chosen are Ascended. He tells her the true fate of the Chosen under Kolis’s rule and admits that he doesn’t know why the Rite is still held. He explains that he hides the Chosen away in an effort to protect them, even though he prefers for people to think he sits back and does nothing. He then tells Sera how some Chosen have simply disappeared. They’re just…gone.

Out on the balcony that night, Ash confesses that he always thinks about the Chosen and asks her to join him. When she does, he tells her that part of the reason he couldn’t sleep was because he was staring at the adjoining door in their chambers and thinking about her.

As talk turns to his role, Ash tells Sera that he finds it difficult to judge souls and explains that he used to answer summonses but stopped when the deaths quit leaving a mark—something he feels should always happen. Though he enjoyed the justice when mortals realized who he was and that he could kill them and have their souls for eternity.

He learns that Sera has killed, too, mostly bad people but also others when her mother commanded her to do so. He reassures her that he doesn’t think she’s a monster and feels a jolt when they touch, going on to say that a monster wouldn’t know—or at least think—they are one.

Kissing his scar, Sera asks about his ink. When he explains, she tells him that he isn’t responsible for others’ actions. She smiles at him, and he tells her not to, saying there’s nothing he wouldn’t let her do when she does. She takes that as an invitation and pleasures him with her mouth.

The next day, he is required to hold court again and tells Sera she can’t be there—it’s too risky. After her arguments, he once again questions her recklessness, saying that most mortals don’t live as if their lives are forfeit.

Gemma is attacked while Ash is away, and he arrives just as she dies. Sera starts to glow, and he calls out to her, stunned. He watches as she brings Gemma back to life and remarks that Sera carries an ember of life.

Once he realizes what’s going on and what his father did, awe gives way to wonder, which turns to hope. Shadows swirl under his skin as he demands that no one speak of what they witnessed. He then tells Sera that her doing what she did likely created a big ripple of power that would be felt throughout Iliseeum and detected by many gods and Primals. He warns her that others will come searching for the source of that surge. Suddenly, he realizes that he’s felt it before but couldn’t pinpoint the location at the time. He knows this wasn’t the first time she brought someone or something back. He tells her that the Hunter Gyrms and murderous gods in the mortal realm were searching for her.

As his emotions heighten, the shadows behind him coalesce into the shape of wings. He asks why she didn’t tell him about her gift. When he learns that she has indeed brought someone back before, he laughs—Marisol, the wolf, what happened in the Red Woods…

Ash explains that his father was the true Primal of Life and assumes the ember she now carries was his—and Ash’s once upon a time before Eythos’s twin stole it.

He relays the story of Eythos, Kolis, and Sotoria and then explains why Primals haven’t intervened. He says the ember in her is a chance for life and details how the poppies have started growing again after being gone for hundreds of years. He also shares that Kolis has Eythos’s soul.

When she brings up the deal, he tells her the Rot is a byproduct of Kolis losing the powers he stole and has nothing to do with what Roderick did.

Sera starts acting strangely, and Ash becomes concerned, thinking she’s feeling too much for it to be just shock or confusion. Then she reveals her motivations—her true plan. How she was trained with one purpose in mind: to end the deal in favor of the summoner by making him fall in love and then ending him. When she tries to apologize, he snarls at her and tells her not to.

A horn sounds, interrupting them, warning that the Shadowlands are under siege. After he warns anyone within earshot to never speak of what they’ve learned—the embers or the deception—he sends Saion, Bele, and Rhahar to find out what’s going on.

After arming himself, he’s told about the ship capsizing. When Sera mentions feeling strangely, he is surprised to find that she can feel death and tells her what she’s experiencing. He bids her to remain with Ector and Rhain and tells the gods to make sure she stays alive. Then Ash, Saion, Rhahar, and Theon ride out of the gate.

They head down the bluffs, engaging the dakkais as the creatures advance on the homes in Lethe. He, Bele, Saion, Rhahar, and Theon crouch on horseback, firing arrows at the enemy. When he gets next to the bay, he recalls Odin to his arm and fights hand-to-hand.

Suddenly, several dakkais about to attack him from behind drop dead, and Ash finds Sera firing arrows at them.

The draken incinerate the dakkais, and Ash looks up to check on Sera. Nektas takes the enemy draken down, and Ash orders Rhain and Ector to return Sera to the palace. He arrives later with Saion and Nektas and asks her if she got injured. He confirms that Kolis was behind the attack and likely knows something is in the Shadowlands but doesn’t know the source.

Ash tells Sera that his father wouldn’t have put the ember in a mortal body without a reason, and until they figure out what that was, Kolis absolutely cannot get his hands on her.

When Sera feels shame for what she’s done, he laughs, thinking she’s a very good actress. He adds it to the list of her many talents and decides to shame her more by discarding her pain. It made me sad to see that, because it was so very clear that he was lashing out because he was hurt.

Sera tells him off for reading her emotions and promises that none of her actions or feelings have been fake. She then adds that she’s glad he didn’t take her three years ago because it means she doesn’t have to do what’s been expected of her.

Nektas whispers something to Ash, and he tries to send the draken to the wall, telling him he’s fine. Finally, he admits that most of the blood on him is his.

Despite the pain he’s in and his increasingly weakening state, he doesn’t believe that Sera’s ember is powerful enough to work on a god or a Primal—which we find out later he’s quite wrong about. Regardless, he doesn’t trust her enough to let her try to heal him.

Ash orders Nektas to put her somewhere safe, even from herself since she clearly doesn’t value her life. When Nektas eventually brings her to him, he gets irritated. Nektas says he thought he was following orders—matchmaking draken!