Shortly after breakfast was served, the silver hawk flew in through the narrow window, arcing gracefully as it glided past the chandelier.
Leaving my glass on the table, I took a step back. I assumed it was Attes, but Kolis could take the form of a hawk, too.
Staying quiet, I watched the hawk tuck its wings in close, careful not to brush the bars as it flew between them. The feathered creature circled near the cluster of diamonds and then dove. At the same moment, starlight
swallowed the hawk, and the embers hummed. I relaxed when I caught sight of brownish-blond hair.
Attes stood before me. “Meyaah Liessa.” He folded an arm over his chest and bowed.
I arched a brow at the greeting. “That’s not necessary.” “But it is.” He straightened. “You are the—”
“I know. Whatever. You’re naked.” I paused. “Again.”
A half-grin appeared, softening the scar on his face with the faint
appearance of a dimple. I was willing to bet the combination of the three bewitched many.
As I reached for a pitcher, he summoned clothing. “I’m jealous of that talent,” I admitted. “I would manifest actual clothes.”
“I could comment on that,” he drawled. “However, your husband would likely cut out my tongue and eyes and feed them to Setti.”
Your husband. A pang lit up my chest. Two words I’d never thought would affect me so. Two words I’d never thought would apply to me.
Clearing my throat, I lifted the pitcher. “Would you like a drink?”
“Thank you, but I cannot stay long. Kolis is, well…his movements have been unpredictable of late.”
I snorted.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t come back sooner,” he said. “But I do have news for you.”
I faced him. He was entirely covered from his ankles to his throat in black. He must truly be worried about Ash learning about his nakedness because that was a bit excessive.
“I hope it’s about the husband you’re clearly afraid of.”
Attes was quiet, so much so that I thought I might not have asked the question out loud. I lifted my gaze to his, about to repeat what I’d said, when I saw what he stared at.
My throat.
I stepped back, turning my head as if that could somehow undo what he’d seen.
Heat crept up my cheeks. “Do you have—?” “Kolis?” he snarled.
I stiffened. “No, it was two very large mosquitos.” My joke went over like a ton of manure-smeared bricks as eather pulsed in his eyes. “I’m okay.”
“Seraphena—”
“I am,” I stressed. “All he did was feed from me.” I lifted my chin. “Do you have news about Nyktos?”
It took a moment, but Attes’s chest finally moved with an exhale. “He is being awakened from stasis,” he said. “It’s taken longer than expected.”
Pressure clamped down on my chest, and my mind became a whirlwind of fear for Ash. It cracked a bit of the veil I’d donned. “Do you know why?”
“I don’t for sure, but…” The angles of his face sharpened. “I have my suspicions.”
I stepped forward. “Tell me.”
He hesitated for a second. “I think he was incapacitated with a weapon made of the bones of an Ancient.”
My hand trembled as I heard what he’d said to me before about such a weapon. They can even put a Primal into years-long stasis. “But he’s no longer incapacitated?”
Attes shook his head.
Relief swept through me, and I squeezed my eyes shut. This was good news. Great news.
“The only reason I can think of for why Kolis would do such a thing is because he plans to free him,” Attes said. “I’m taking that to mean you’ve made progress with your plans.”
“I have.” I opened my eyes. “Kolis has promised to release him.”
Now, Attes’s lashes swept down. “Thank the Fates.”
“Don’t be too thankful yet,” I advised. “Not until he’s released. Until
then…” I turned, walking to the bars facing the closed chamber doors. “Until then, I’ll have to be careful not to give him a reason to find a loophole.”
“I can only imagine how hard this must be for you.”
“Actually, you can imagine.” I dragged my thumb across the rim of my cup.
There was a brief silence. “Is this deal like the one you made to free Rhain?”
Tension crept into my shoulders. “I’m guessing Kyn told you about that.” The corners of my lips tightened. “Your brother is a dick, by the way.”
I heard a heavy sigh behind me. “Yeah, he is,” he said. “Though he wasn’t always.”
I turned to him. “I find that hard to believe.”
“I can’t blame you for that, but if you’d known him a couple hundred
years ago? You would’ve seen a different side of him.” Attes dragged a hand over his chest. “A peaceful one.”
My brows rose. A couple hundred years ago? “I suppose I’ll have to take your word for it.”
A wry smile appeared. “Did Nyktos tell you anything about why a Primal would either enter Arcadia or go into a deep stasis?”
“He mentioned it,” I told him. “Something about them entering Arcadia when they were ready.”
“When they’re ready.” He laughed roughly. “That’s a nice way of putting it. Granted, some probably were simply tired of this existence and ready for
what awaits in Arcadia, but others weren’t ready by choice, Seraphena. They either had to enter Arcadia or go into a deep stasis because they were changing, becoming the worst of what their powers could do.”
Something about what Attes said was familiar. I wasn’t sure if it was something Ash had shared with me, or what the embers knew.
“How each of our essences influences mortals and gods does eventually affect us. For example, Nyktos’s is rooted in death, but benevolent death—a just ending of one beginning. There is another side to that. One more malevolent that seeks death for the sake of death,” he explained. “Maia can evoke love in others and herself, but it can turn dark, obsessive, and
destructive. Even the essence that resides in Keella, who sees to the rebirth of all life, not just mortals, can turn wrong. The essence tied to each of us
Primals is capable of great good but also terrible malevolence.”
I thought I understood where he was going with this. “So, the vengeance part of Kyn’s essence has a greater hold on him?”
Attes nodded, lowering his hand. “Just as accord will no longer suit me someday, and I will be driven by war. It happens to all of us, and all we can do to prevent it is either enter stasis to quell that side of us, or pass into Arcadia, where we would remain.”
“If it happens to all of you, why is Keella not a raging bitch?” I asked. “Why are you not consumed by war? You and Kyn are the same age.”
“Both Keella and I have entered stasis more than once over the years,”
Attes shared, surprising me. “But that doesn’t mean it’s not a struggle to keep from caving to the more toxic side of our abilities. It’s like an infection slowly invading our flesh and blood.”
“So, that’s why Kyn is a dick?”
A wry grin appeared. “Partly. He’s always been a bit difficult. But when Kolis did what he did? That didn’t help. Any of us. The taint spread.” His
features tightened and then smoothed out with a sigh. “None of that is an
excuse, obviously. I just wanted…” He frowned as if he wasn’t sure what he wanted.
But I thought I might know. “You just wanted to let me know that your brother wasn’t always this way. I understand.” I took a small drink. “Going into stasis helps? Like if your brother went to sleep, would he awaken…less dickish?”
Attes’s gaze flickered to mine, but he didn’t answer for a moment. “I hope so. I hope it hasn’t progressed that far in him.”
And if it had? “How will he respond to Nyktos taking his rightful place as the Primal of Life and the King of Gods?”
His hand fisted at his side. “I can only believe that he will respond wisely.”
As in he couldn’t allow himself to think otherwise, because Attes knew what that meant. Once Ash had the embers of life, he could Ascend another to rule in Kyn’s place.
“I should leave,” Attes said. “If I learn of anything else, I will do my best to let you know.”
I nodded, resisting the urge to ask him to stay. It was nice having someone to talk to whom I didn’t want to murder, even if we discussed things that left me feeling a bit hollow.
Attes turned, but like last time, he stopped. I waited for him to ask about Sotoria. “Are you okay, Seraphena?”
Surprised by his question, it took me a moment to answer. “Yes. Of course.”
Attes exhaled heavily and nodded. He gave me one last look before starbursts swept over him, and he returned to his hawk form.
My eyes closed the moment he left the chamber, but I still saw the look he’d given me. It had been quick, yet I knew…
I knew he hadn’t believed my answer to his question.
 |
The diaphanous golden gown trailed behind me as I paced the length of the cage.
As always, I wasn’t alone.
The Revenant stood a few feet from the gilded bars, his arms crossed over his tunic. Today, he wore black. Somehow, that made the thickly painted, golden mask even creepier.
I looked toward the closed doors, my stomach twisting with knots of anxiety. At least a day had passed since Attes visited, and it’d been two since Kolis agreed to free Ash and the incident happened.
I picked up my pace as I twisted Aios’s necklace between my fingers.
I hadn’t seen Kolis since he left that day, and the most fucked-up thing was that it was the same as learning I would likely be unable to kill Kolis. It
hadn’t filled me with any relief. I was too worried about Ash to appreciate Kolis’s absence—and, hopefully, his all-consuming humiliation.
What if Kolis had changed his mind? He can’t, I reminded myself. He’d made an oath, and Attes had said that Ash was waking up. Had something else happened? Had Rhain managed to launch some sort of attack, accidentally stalling Ash’s release? I closed the fingers of my right hand, pressing them into the golden swirl on my palm.
“I don’t believe you,” Callum stated.
I shot him an arch look. “About what?”
“As if you don’t know what I’m talking about.”
I had a few guesses. “Pretend I don’t and enlighten me.”
His pale gaze tracked my brisk movements. “I don’t trust that you won’t attempt to escape the first chance you get, nor do I believe that you’re seriously open to loving Kolis.”
Well, he would be right about both things. “Okay.” He cocked his head.
“What?” I challenged. “Think whatever you want. You’re insignificant to
me.”
“You should care,” he replied, and I rolled my eyes. “Kolis will realize that you’re lying.”
I was worried about that, because if that thing happened again, I didn’t think I’d be able to stop myself from reacting.
And that wouldn’t bode well for me.
“And he will realize it,” Callum added. “Because you’re not Sotoria.”
My heart skipped with unease, but I didn’t show it. The veil of
nothingness was back in place. Mostly. “And why do you think that? Because I don’t exactly resemble what you recall?”
“That’s part of it.”
Curiosity got the better of me. I stopped in front of him. “If you knew me from before, you have to be old.”
A narrow smile appeared. “I am old.” “How old?”
“Very old,” he replied. “And I did not know you from before.”
A trickle of unease that didn’t feel entirely mine tiptoed down my spine. “Clearly, Kolis favors you. You’re important to him.”
He raised his chin, and there was no mistaking the air of smugness in his voice when he said, “I am.”
“So, you know what I think?” “Can’t wait to hear it.”
Coming as close to the bars as I could without touching them, I mirrored his close-lipped smile. “I think you’re worried I will replace you.”
His laugh carried an undertone of uncertainty. “I’m not worried about that.”
Knowing I struck a chord, my smile grew. “Sure, Cal.” He narrowed his eyes. “Don’t call me that.”
I smirked.
Callum exhaled noisily, his normally unaffected demeanor starting to
show stress. “What I’m worried about is the destruction of the realms due to
the charms of a charlatan.”
“Charlatan? What a fancy word.” Pausing, I met his stare. “Cal.”
More of that blasé attitude cracked. “You think you know everything, but in reality, you know so very little of the truth.”
Did he really expect me to believe that he was concerned about the realms when he not only supported Kolis but had also been created by him? Come on.
“You have nothing to say to that?” he challenged.
Having grown tired of him the moment he entered the room, I resisted the desire to reach through the bars and punch him. “What is the truth, then?”
“Kolis is trying to save the realms.” I blinked blandly at him.
“Or he was,” Callum amended. “Now, he’s more concerned with his
supposed great love returning to him.” He shook his head. “See, even now, you can’t hide how much you loathe him.”
He was probably right about that since I could feel my face tightening. “My agreement with Kolis doesn’t mean I’m on board with what he tried to do to me or what he would’ve done to the realms,” I told him, proud of my response. “You were there when Kolis stated very clearly what he planned to do with the embers. At what point between becoming a Primal that’s never existed before, and killing any who refuse to bow to him, does saving the
realms happen?”
“Life must be created,” Callum answered. “No matter what.”
I stared at him, thinking of what Kolis had shared about the Chosen I’d killed. He’d Ascended her. Did that count as creating life? The false King
apparently thought so. “Is that what Kolis is doing with the Chosen?” “That doesn’t matter.”
My frustration rose. “I disagree.”
“You’re just trying to change the subject.”
I threw up my hands. “You’re the one who brought it up!” He shrugged. “I did not.”
“Oh, my gods.” Turning from him, I started pacing again. “Do you not
have something better to do?” “Not particularly.”
“Great,” I grumbled, my attention shifting to the doors. I wasn’t in the mood for this.
However, Callum was in the mood. “His Majesty may have only stated his…personal reasons for wanting to Ascend as the Primal of Life and Death. Blood and Bone,” he said. “But it was not the only reason.”
Since I didn’t believe for one second that Kolis cared about the realms, I wasn’t even going to bother arguing about it.
Callum watched me, his normal pleasant half-smile returning. “It’ll only be worse for you later when Kolis realizes the truth.”
“Sure, Cal,” I muttered. “In case you’ve forgotten, you were standing right there when Ione confirmed that I was speaking the truth.”
“She lied.”
My chest knotted as I made another pass in front of Callum, my hand pressing against the golden rope belt at my waist. The goddess had lied, and dear gods, if Kolis ever discovered that? I doubted she would live long. But I
nibbled on my lower lip and reminded myself that Ione knew the risks. She had to either know what had been done courtesy of the Primal she served, or she was one of the many spies loyal to Ash spread across the Courts. It was quite possible that he’d mentioned her name before and I simply couldn’t recall it.
“I think you’re in denial,” I said finally. “I’m not.”
“You must be if you think any god would risk inciting Kolis’s wrath.”
“You’d be surprised how foolishly the gods can behave,” he remarked. “I know you’re not her.”
I sighed, walking to the table. There were multiple unused glasses. New ones were brought in daily, and I had to assume it was done to prepare for a visit from Kolis. Resisting a shudder, I poured myself some of the bubbly water.
“And you’re right. Charlatan is far too fancy a word for you.” His gaze lowered to my throat. “I can think of another.”
I stilled. My hair was down, but it had fallen over my shoulder, baring the side of my neck with the fading bite.
“Perhaps whore is more to your liking?”
Grip tightening on the pitcher’s handle, I carefully placed it back on the table. “Do you remember what I promised you the other day?”
“Probably not,” he said after a beat of silence. “You’re as insignificant to me as you claim I am to you.”
Glass in hand, I faced him. “I promised to kill you.”
“Oh.” Callum laughed, the sound light and airy. “Sure, Sera.”
I walked back to the bars, a storm of anger building inside me just as it had when Kolis held me in his arms. “I will. One day, I will discover how you can be killed, and I will make your death the thing of nightmares,” I swore, and this time, I zeroed in on the hum in my chest, and I didn’t shove it back.
Summoning the embers as I had before, I let them come to the surface. Silvery essence sparked from the skin on my arms as the chandelier above Callum began to sway. And then…then, something else happened.
It was almost as if the embers took control, or maybe the knowledge held within them did—ancient wisdom that I tapped into on some unconscious level, like when the lightning bolt had briefly appeared for me.
My chin dipped, and my lips curled as a white mist seeped in at the windows. It flowed across the ceiling, thickening and spreading, becoming clouds—rapidly darkening, ominous clouds.
A storm.
A storm to mirror what I felt inside.
Lightning streaked from cloud to cloud, charging the air. A clap of thunder followed, causing Callum to jump. He whipped back around.
The storm I had created quickly dissipated, leaving a dull throbbing in my temples and my heart pounding. Closing my eyes, I took a sip of the fruity water.
Tapping into that power probably wasn’t wise, especially after Kolis’s feeding. I didn’t know exactly how much essence I could use before I weakened myself, or exactly what the embers would decide to do. But when I opened my eyes, I saw that I’d accomplished what I wanted.
Callum had stopped smiling. The skin below the golden mask was pale.
Our gazes locked, and I felt the embers hum.
The doors swung open. Neither of us turned, even though my stomach suddenly shifted unsteadily. We both knew who’d entered.
“Why,” Kolis began, “is it that you two look as if you’re seconds from committing some atrocious act upon each other every time I enter this
chamber?”
That had to be the most accurate observation I’d ever heard.
As Callum turned to him and opened his mouth, I beat him to it this time. “He still doesn’t believe I’m Sotoria.”
Callum’s jaw tightened, and he took a step back as Kolis strode forward.
Making sure I felt nothing, I looked at the Primal and then focused on the important things. I searched for any sign that he’d been around Ash. There was none. He looked just as he had when he’d been here before. Then again, what kind of sign would there be? Still, a tempest of disappointment brewed within me, much like the storm clouds I’d summoned moments earlier.
“He’s just in denial,” Kolis answered, approaching the cage. I sipped the water.
Watching Kolis unlock the door with a wave of his hand, I could almost feel the oppressive weight of his arms around me. My hand trembled slightly as I lifted my glass, and my back stiffened.
Kolis stopped at the cage door. “It’s not every day that one learns their sister has truly returned to them.”
