Page 167

Sera struggles to climb the stairs, and Ash helps her. Saion and Rhahar arrive, and both embrace Ash. Then Lailah joins, followed by Rhain.

Ash tells the assembled group that Sera saved him, and Rhain says many of them wouldn’t be there if it weren’t for her.

They all discuss The Star, and Keella comes forward, telling them what they need to do. Sera pulls Eythos free and then falls unconscious.

Ash takes Sera to Keella’s Court when she passes out. After she wakes, she apologizes to him for cutting his time with Eythos short, and he tells her his father was ready to go. He relays that Eythos told him he was proud of him and then told him to remember what they said to each other by the Red River. The problem is, he doesn’t remember what that was.

Realizing that Ash gave her blood, she chastises him. They bicker as usual, and Nektas arrives, laughing that they’re arguing.

Attes, Ash, and Sera argue about Sotoria, and Sera makes them understand that the soul is alive. Attes mentions how he met her after Kolis brought her back. Then they all discuss what happens if the embers die with Sera. They talk about The Star being able to hold both the embers and a soul, and what needs to happen for them to end Kolis.

Sera says there will be war, and Ash insists he only cares about her. Attes says it’s way bigger than that, and Ash says she matters. Sera tells him she loves him, and he feels overwhelming emotions toward her.

Keella asks Ash if he has sensed dual souls. He says he only ever feels Sera’s. Keella tells him he needs to anchor himself to his Consort’s soul. He does.

Ash walks up as Sera is talking to Rhain. He reads her emotions, and she tells him to stop.

Saion comes then and jokes that they’re fighting again. Rhahar joins, and they settle a bet. Saion said they couldn’t go more than an hour without arguing. Sera turns to Ash and jokes that they’re his friends. He says they were, giving them a look.

Sera tells Ash to take her to the lake, reminding him that he promised. He can do nothing but obey, even though it breaks his heart.

He watches as the gods all bow to his wife and give her the utmost respect.

Sera tells Ash there’s something she wants to talk about. He can’t look at her. When she notices, he tells her that even if he’s not looking at her, she is all he sees. She tells him she loves him and says it’s not his fault, making him understand. He tries but then lists all the things he’d rather be doing. Anything but what they are. She continues, telling him she wants him to live. Be King. He argues that it’s her place, and she tells him she doesn’t want him to be alone. She wants him to love.

He gets angry, and she makes him promise. Begrudgingly, he does. Then, they show each other with their bodies how much they care and cement that their connection goes beyond the realms.

He tells her all the things he adores about her and says he never wanted until her. Thunder booms, and Ash realizes that Kolis has been found. Sera laments being out of time but tells him everything she wanted and says that he gave her all of it. She tells him that she loves him again and then says it’s time.

He takes her into the water and feeds. She begins to fade, and Ash says fuck the embers and tells her to take his blood. He says he won’t let her go. He’ll Ascend her.

She asks what she’ll become, and he says he isn’t sure. She begs him to take the embers, but he tells her to shut the fuck up and says if he loses her, the realms and everything in them are gone—he’ll destroy it all. He tells her not to die. Says fuck the greater good. She tells him he’s good.

Finally, she drinks. When she wakes, a shockwave bursts free and knocks him back.

Ash tells Sera stories while she’s in stasis. He tells her how unprepared he was for how alive he feels with her. He admits he could still feel after his kardia was removed, just not strongly. Not until her. He says he should have known from their first kiss what they were to each other.

He reminisces about their first few meetings, her bravery in going to Kolis alone, her misplaced loyalties.

When Ash says he wanted to be strong like Eythos, Nektas says it had nothing to do with strength. He talks about how Eythos was after Mycella’s death, and Ash says he would have destroyed the realms and everything in them if he’d lost Sera.

Nektas reminds Ash that he saved her, and Ash tells Sera he’ll be waiting for her.

She starts to wake, and Ash tells her not to rush it. He reminds her of how they are together. How they like to be. He tells her she needs him. His blood. Says he’s hers.

She intones that the Primal of Life has never fed from the Primal of Death before. They’re meant to be two halves of a cycle but separate. He insists that all of him is hers, and she feeds.

After, he asks if she knows him, and she says she always will.

Ash tells her he was terrified he’d lose her. She says he didn’t; he saved her. He adds that he was afraid she wouldn’t remember and that he’d still lose her. She insists he won’t. Ever. He tenses and tells her that when he releases her, she should run, saying he needs her too much and won’t be able to control himself. He’ll become his other self. She says she trusts him. Tells him she’s his. Urges him to take her.

He does, using his shadow tendrils to bring her extra pleasure. He tells her that he loves her and says he’s not sure when it started. She says she thought she’d die without ever knowing what his love felt like. He says he would never allow that and that he’ll spend eternity making sure she knows how deeply his feelings run.

Nektas asks if they’re okay, and Ash threatens him. When Sera says she’s now the Queen, Ash agrees and adds that he’s her Consort. She corrects him and calls him her King.

He agrees.

The King then fucks his Queen.