I stared up at Ash, my stomach dipping. “I’m…I’m the Queen of the Gods.” “Yes.” Ash’s hand slid down my side to my thigh.
My chest started dipping as he spread my legs. “And that would make
you the…King of the Gods?”
“Only if you deem it fitting to call me such,” he said, his gaze traveling over my body and centering between my thighs. “Otherwise, I am your
Consort.”
Him? The Consort? No.
Hips twitching under his icy-hot stare, I swallowed. “I make you King… deem you King. Or whatever.”
“Honored,” he murmured, guiding my leg over his hip.
My mind raced. If I was the Primal of Life, then what did that mean for— oh, my gods, what about Kolis? He’d awakened while Ash and I were at my lake. I knew he had. I’d felt him. So, where was he? And what about the other Primals?
“Ash?”
His attention was still fixed between my thighs. “Hmm?”
I tugged on his hair, forcing his gaze to mine. “What does that mean?” “It means the King is about to fuck his Queen.”
That wasn’t where I had been going with that question, but in a heartbeat,
I was there completely.
Eyeing his erection, I dragged in a reedy breath. A pulse of desire echoed, surprising me. I didn’t think it would be possible after the pleasure he’d already given me, but here I was.
Ash had gone still again as he stared down at me. His skin thinned.
Shadows appeared across his cheeks and down his chest. Faint tendrils of mist rose behind him, seeping out from his upper shoulders to form the hazy outline of wings. I slipped my hand from his hair, letting it fall to the bed.
His eyes slammed shut as he twisted his neck to the side. Instinctively, I could sense that his Primal form was close to the surface, and he was struggling to rein it back in. I could actually…sense it.
Which was really weird because I had no idea how. But I could.
“I…I just need a moment to get myself under control,” he said gruffly.
My fingers curled into the blanket. It would be wise for me to stay quiet and let him regain that control. Plus, there was a lot we needed to talk about. I had no idea how long I’d been asleep or what was going on with Kolis and
the other Primals—or even Iliseeum and the mortal realm.
But I was reckless and unwise, even now. And all that important stuff could wait.
I rose onto my elbows, and he didn’t stop me. Reaching between us, I wrapped my hand around his cock.
A low hiss of air parted his lips as his eyes flew open.
I couldn’t look away from the vivid, icy burn of his stare as I drew my
fingers along the length of his cock to the tip before lowering my hand to my belly. I let my knee fall to the side. “Fuck your Queen then.”
There was no hesitation. Not even a second.
Ash thrust into me, seating himself all the way. His ragged moan joined mine. The muscles of his arms tightened as he braced himself, his hips beginning to move. The rhythm he set wasn’t slow or gentle. It was a torrid pace, fast and hard. Wrapping my legs around his hips, all I could do was cling to him. My fingers dug into the hard muscles of his shoulders as each plunge hit a spot deep inside me, unleashing tight waves of pleasure. His chest flattened against mine, his hips pounding into me over and over as he kissed me, lips devouring mine.
Ash did as he’d said, as I demanded. He fucked his Queen.
 |
Sometime later, we lay in Ash’s bed—our bed—facing each other, my cheek resting on his arm, and our legs tangled. In the sated silence, he toyed with a strand of my hair and kept looking at me as if I were some sort of a mirage. He barely looked away, almost as if he feared I’d disappear.
And I knew I looked at him the same way. That was why I kept my hands on his chest. As my thoughts spun from one thing to the next, I had to touch him, remind myself that we were both here.
There was so much going on in my head. I had all this knowledge in the back of my mind now. As if the essence inside me had contained it all, waiting for it to be unlocked. It was a lot, and I still couldn’t quite wrap my head around the fact that I was here, had Ascended, and was now a Primal. Actually, I was the Primal.
Of Life.
The fangs.
Which I kept pricking my tongue on.
And I couldn’t even think about how all that was possible—what it required to work. If I did, I wasn’t sure if I would start sobbing hysterically or climb all over Ash.
Our bodies needed a break.
And there were so many things I needed to know—had to understand. I wasn’t even sure where to start.
So, I chose one of the easier things. “Will I ever stop catching my tongue or lips on these things?”
“These things?” He laughed as I prodded a fang with my tongue. “You’ll get used to them.”
Nicking myself once more, I frowned. “I’m not so sure about that.” “You will,” he assured me. “Especially since they’re rather small.”
My frown increased. They didn’t feel small in my mouth. “Are they supposed to be larger?” I eyed his mouth, able to see the tips of his. “Did
something go wrong?”
“I don’t think anything went wrong, liessa.” He smiled, clearly amused. “I imagine they’re smaller simply due to your mortal birth.”
“Oh.” My gaze lowered. “Ash?”
“Yeah?” He dipped his head, brushing his lips across my forehead.
I smiled. “Was there a chance I wouldn’t have regained my memories upon waking?”
“There was,” he said, twisting a curl around his finger. “An Ascension is a powerful transition for a god. But a Primal? It’s even more so. As the eather grows, changing the body while in stasis, it can affect the mind.”
My stomach dipped. “Have any Primals Ascended without remembering who they were?”
“A few. Some regained many of their memories. I heard that Maia spent some time without much recollection of the years leading up to her
Ascension. The same with Phanos. Attes and Kyn Ascended at the same time,
but Kyn never regained his memories.”
My brows shot up. “Of all the people I expected not to regain their memories, Kyn was not even on the list.”
He unwound the curl of hair. “Why is that?”
“I guess because he has a twin. That it would’ve, I don’t know, grounded him?”
“I would think the same, but Ascensions are unpredictable, especially if you go through one alone,” he said, and I watched his lips move. Something about his voice was different. “If Nektas hadn’t been there, talking to me, who knows if I would have remembered my years prior.”
“I’m glad you did,” I said, thinking it would’ve been terrible if he’d had no memories of his father. I dragged my finger across his chest, just below
his collarbone. “So, that was why I dreamed of your voice? You were talking
to me?”
“I was.” He paused. “How much do you remember?”
“Bits and pieces.” One of them came to the forefront. “You spoke about seeing me as a child by the lake, right? In your wolf form?”
“I did.” A grin appeared, and it stole a little of my breath. “You were carrying an armful of rocks.”
“I was. I don’t remember why. I was a strange child.” A shaky laugh left me. “I forgot to tell you this when we were in the cavern, but when I saw you in your wolf form, when you first came for me at Cor Palace, I knew it was you. I knew you were the wolf I saw as a child.” I took in a shallow breath. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
I almost laughed again. For what? “Besides the fact that you made sure I remembered who I was?”
“That’s not worthy of gratitude, liessa.” He was…
A knot of emotion swelled in my throat. Gods, I loved him so much I felt like I would burst.
Lifting my head, I brought my mouth to his and gave him my gratitude. I poured it into the kiss.
And Ash didn’t just drink it in, he gave it all back. The arm I’d been resting on curled around my waist, tugging my chest against his. He kissed
me as if he wished to stake a claim to my very being. No one could kiss like that—evoke such a sensation.
Things spun from there, turning from gratitude to a near-desperate need for each other that somehow hadn’t been quenched. Darts of pleasure raced through me. Every part of me became incredibly taut. His kisses could do that in mere seconds, taking me from calm to frantic with need.
Ash’s hand slid down my side, over my leg. He lifted my thigh, hooking it over his hip. I gasped into his kiss as he cupped my rear, pressing me against his already-hard length.
“Yes,” I whispered—begged, really. My fingers dug into his skin.
Ash groaned and then punched his hips up, sinking into me. I cried out, quickly swept up in a riot of sensations. He moved deeply inside me, slowly at first, driving me to my wit’s end. And when I thought I would surely die, he rolled me onto my back. Our eyes locked. We met each other thrust for thrust, the rhythm increasing as I wrapped my legs around his waist. His
mouth was everywhere, capturing a nipple as he sucked in time with his hips, then moving up to lick and nip my throat—
My stomach hollowed as my eyes flew open. I gripped his shoulders, wanting him to feed—to bite me. But I…I locked up. Confusion whirled through me as my heart started pounding sickeningly fast.
His fangs scraped my skin, and dual bursts of lust and unease—unease and fear—darted through me. For a moment, I wasn’t there. I was in the cage, held too tightly. The reaction didn’t make sense. I was with Ash. I was safe with him. Always.
“Sera?” Fingers touched my cheek. I opened my eyes, breathing fast. Ash had stilled against me. “Are you all right?”
Swallowing, I nodded as I locked eyes with him. With Ash. No one else. “Yes.”
“Liessa…” He started to pull away, lifting his hips from mine.
A tiny burst of panic went through me as I curled my legs around him. “I’m okay. I promise.” And I was. Mostly. It had just been a weird moment. One I needed to get over. Would get over. Reaching up, I gripped the nape of his neck. “You need to feed.”
His head dipped, and I tensed, but he didn’t go for my throat. He kissed me, slow and long.
When he raised his head, I was panting. “Feed,” I repeated, lifting my hips against his.
Ash groaned. “I don’t need to.” “I took a lot of blood—”
“And I will be fine. My body will replenish it,” he assured me. “I don’t need to feed.”
I wasn’t sure if I believed that as his mouth returned to mine, but it was okay. It was only a weird moment. I’d been fine when he bit me in the lake. I would be fine again.
Ash didn’t move inside me, though. He remained still, his hard length piercing, his eyes watchful. “Sera—”
Tightening my legs around him, I made as if to roll him. He resisted for an instant but then let me shift him onto his back. I rocked, seating myself on him.
“Fates,” he bit out, clasping my hips.
Planting my hands on his shoulders, I rode him, moving up and down his length. My pace picked up as I focused on him—only him—wanting every inch of him inside me. The feel of him almost made me dizzy.
His arm came around me as he drew me down. Our breaths mingled as our mouths opened. His eyes never left mine as he held me in place, grinding against me. We both came hard and fast, either one after the other or at the
same time, I couldn’t be sure. Then I collapsed against his chest.
Still trembling from the aftershocks, we ended up back as we had been before, on our sides with his fingers in my hair and our legs tangled.
“Fates, if we’re not careful, we’re going to end up exhausting you back into stasis,” he murmured.
I giggled. “Is that even possible?”
“At the rate we’re going? Yes.” He was silent for a few moments. “Are you all right?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“You sure?” Ash asked, letting go of my hair to tip my chin up. Our eyes met. His were a warm dove gray. “I wasn’t gentle before or even now,” he added. “At all.”
“I know.” I rose slightly. “You didn’t hurt me then or now, and I loved both times—or all three times. Four?”
“Five,” he corrected.
“So, you’re counting those…” My skin flushed. “Those things you did with the tendrils of eather?”
“Those things you really enjoyed.”
Feeling my breath catch, I nodded. “You seemed to enjoy it yourself.”
“Enjoy it?” He dipped his head to mine. “You were drenched, liessa,” he said, his voice turning to silk. “It’s quite possible I enjoyed it more than you.”
A wanton shiver rolled through me. “Good.”
He chuckled deeply. Unfortunately, the sound faded much too quickly. “But your body has been through a lot. So has your mind.”
I snorted. “I think my mind is somewhat calm for once.”
“I’m relieved to hear that.” He drew a finger down the center of my chin. “But something happened with us earlier.”
Falling quiet, I debated whether to pretend I had no idea what he was talking about, which seemed very…un-queenly.
“You locked up,” he continued quietly, almost carefully. “And I could taste your sudden unease.”
“You really need to stop reading my emotions.” I leaned back, returning my cheek to his arm.
Ash’s touch followed, his fingers picking up another strand of hair. “If it makes you feel any better, it was harder than usual.”
My eyes narrowed. “So, I wasn’t projecting? You went searching?”
The hair slid between his fingers. “When you locked up, I was afraid I had hurt you.”
The evident concern in his voice extinguished any irritation. “You weren’t hurting me. At all.”
He dragged the curl over my upper arm. “Then what was it?”
I gave a one-shouldered shrug. “I don’t know. I think maybe it’s what you said. My body—my head—has been through a lot. So, it was just a weird
moment.” And that was all I would allow it to be. “But all the other
moments? They were amazing. Beautiful.” I leaned over and kissed him. “I think I can still taste myself on your lips.”
A sexy rumble vibrated in his chest. “Do not mention that.” Twin silver
pools locked onto me, and my body immediately reacted, curling and tensing in a delicious, heated way. “Because it makes me want to taste you again, and I have something I need to say—actually, I have several things I need to say.”
“Okay,” I murmured as the image of him with his head nestled between my thighs took up residency in my mind.
Ash bowed his back so our eyes met. “That also means you need to stop thinking about it.”
“I’m not.”
“Your arousal is so strong I can taste it.” Ash nipped my lips, making my breath catch. A brief grin appeared as I pouted at him. “If you keep it up, I’m going to get myself deep inside you yet again.”
Shockingly, tiny knots of coiled lust formed in my belly. “Was that supposed to convince me to stop thinking about exactly that? Because if so, you failed.”
He chuckled, guiding my head back to his arm. “For some unknown reason, I’m not disappointed to learn that.”
Unknown? I snorted.
“But we need to behave,” he advised. “I know there is a lot we should be talking about—a lot we need to do.”
There was.
Tension crept into my muscles. The moment I remembered who I was until this very second felt like a dream. One where the world didn’t exist outside of this chamber. A fantasy I had never even dared to allow myself.
But the world did exist.
“We need to talk about Kolis.” My stomach soured, but he wasn’t the only thing we needed to discuss. There was so much more.
“We do,” Ash said. “But he’s not a problem.”
I tipped my head back so I could see his face. “How is he not a problem?
He is the problem.”
“Right now, he’s not a problem,” Ash clarified. “Kolis was already weakened before your Ascension. You rising as the true Primal of Life not only has him holed up in Dalos nursing his wounds, but every god and Primal in Iliseeum felt your Ascension.”
My stomach took a sharp tumble. “Why does that last part sound like bad news?”
“It is neither good nor bad.” He traced small circles on my arm. “I’m sure most of the Primals are in shock and don’t know what to make of your Ascension, even those loyal to Kolis.”
My mind immediately jumped to the worst-case scenario per usual. “And what if they’re unhappy about my Ascension once they’ve wrapped their
heads around everything?”
“Then we will deal with that.” His fingers continued making designs. “Together.”
I didn’t need any special, ancient knowledge to know that dealing with unhappy Primals would be violent and bloody. I could feel my chest
tightening—a telltale sign of my old friend: anxiety. The corners of my lips turned down. I’d survived the impossible, Ascending into the true Primal of Life, and I still had crushing anxiety?
Seemed rather unfair.
“The other Primals’ shock and the blow dealt to Kolis has bought us some time,” Ash assured me, obviously picking up on my anxiousness. “Not a lot, but enough that they can all wait right now. Sooner rather than later,
Nektas…” He paused, his brow creasing. “I have a vague recollection of him being at the door.”
The corners of my lips tipped up. “He heard me screaming and was worried. You threatened to murder him if he didn’t leave.”
His brows lifted. “I think I owe him an apology.” Another giggle snuck free.
Vibrant wisps of eather appeared in his eyes. “Your laugh.” His lashes swept down. “It’s such a beautiful sound.” He swallowed, letting out a ragged breath. The eather had calmed in his eyes. “I love it.”
All thoughts of Kolis, apologizing to Nektas, and well…everything else vanished. Love. I would never get tired of hearing that word coming out of
his mouth. Even if it was only him saying he loved grapefruit or…ripping out
throats.
Ash’s eyes met mine. “One of the things I need to tell you? I’ve never told anyone.”
“Okay.” I spread my fingers across his chest. “I’m listening.”
He took a deep breath as he eased his hand from my hair and then curled it around my nape. “There…there was a time I hated my father for making
this deal, for linking some mortal girl to me when he knew it would only bring death and horror upon her. That was before—well, before I knew why he did it. But every year that passed and the bride promised to him—and then to me—wasn’t born, I celebrated.”
“I can’t blame you for that.”
“Of course, you wouldn’t.” He dropped a kiss to the tip of my nose. “But then you were born, and I hated him even more.” He kneaded the muscles of my neck with gentle pressure as he held me there, then let out a shaky breath. “There are things I haven’t been entirely honest about.”
Curiosity rose. “Like what?”
“I wasn’t exactly truthful about why I refused to take you as my Consort and had limited contact with you. Part of it was to keep you unknown to Kolis, but that wasn’t the only reason.” His eyes searched mine. “The night you were born? I had a dream. I saw you…I saw you as you are now, in that
—” He inhaled sharply. “In that lake of yours, and so godsdamn beautiful.”
His voice thickened. “Your hair cascaded across the dark water like spun moonlight, and these perfect, rosy lips were smiling up at me.”
I grew still as a vague memory of what he’d told me while I was in stasis resurfaced. Something about having a dream that wasn’t. When he saw my
lake before he ever laid eyes on it.
“I saw you dying in that lake, and I saw myself—” He became as rigid as I was, then shook his head. “I chalked it up to my imagination, even though I sensed your birth. Just a strange dream. But then I saw you as a child, and I… I saw the lake.” He shuddered. “You know this already, but I kept track of you over the years, mostly to ensure you were safe. I witnessed you slowly becoming the beautiful woman I had seen in my dream.”
A tremor swept through me, and I slid my hand from his chest. I grasped the back of his neck, my heart aching at where I suspected this was headed— the story of what he’d done to himself. I wished more than anything that my suspicions weren’t true because if I was right, the guilt must have…gods, it had to have been killing him this whole time.
“I did everything in my power to deny that the dream was anything more than that. Even after the first night I was to take you as my Consort.”
A muscle bunched in his jaw. “Even after I sensed your emotions—the bravery that overshadowed your fear. I’d never felt anything like that before, not from generals in wars long since forgotten or gods as they faced down
Kolis before their deaths. And each and every time I saw you from then on, that bravery never faltered. Not when I saw you that night in the Garden District at the seamstress’s house and that damn lake. You were always so fucking brave, even when your life was in danger or you were in pain.”
His lips firmed, a tangible sign of the emotions that churned within him. “And what I sensed from you, time and time again, was the same thing I sensed in that dream—fear but bravery as you died. And I could no longer deny that it was no simple dream. It was a vision. It didn’t show me how you died or why, but I believed Kolis had to be involved. So, I was determined to keep what I saw from coming true. At least that’s what I told myself. But in reality, Sera? What I saw—what I felt—in that vision? It terrified me.” His
jaw flexed. “So, I had my kardia removed right before I brought you into the Shadowlands. I was still healing from it the first few days.”
My breath stilled in my lungs. I was right. Worse yet, I clearly remembered accidentally walking into him after having supper in the dining hall. His hiss of agony had stayed with me. Tears dampened my lashes.
Somehow, knowing that he’d had his kardia removed after growing to know me made it all…it made it even more tragic.
He briefly closed his eyes. “I never should have done it. I should’ve been more like you—afraid but courageous. Instead, I was a coward.”
“No,” I denied, rising onto one elbow. “You’ve never been—” “I was, Sera.”
Tangled curls fell over my shoulders as I sat up, the ends brushing against
my legs. “You’re no coward.”
“I appreciate your denial. I do.” He rose at the waist, shifting his weight to the hand next to my curled knee. “Your life could’ve been so fucking different. Your family never would’ve punished you. You wouldn’t have had to feel as if you were alone—never allowed to experience what most take for granted. You wouldn’t have felt like a monster. My apologies were and will never be enough. I could’ve—”
“Stop,” I pleaded. “Listen to me. I’m not going to lie, Ash. I wish you’d made a different choice, but the one you made doesn’t make you a coward. It makes you stronger than anyone I know.”
His mouth opened.
“It does,” I insisted. “You sacrificed so much to protect me. More than I think you even realize.”
A lock of hair fell over his cheek as his chin lowered. His eyes closed.
“You’re too understanding—accepting. Under all that toughness, you’re too kind.”
“I don’t know about all of that, but what I do know is that you’re not a coward. You did what you believed was best with the knowledge you had. It
isn’t your fault.” I flattened my hand against his cheek. “If the Fates hadn’t decreed that no one could speak of what Eythos did, you would’ve made different choices. All of us would have.”
Ash nodded slowly. As I eyed him, I sensed there was more. What? I didn’t know. In all honesty, I wasn’t sure how I even knew there was more. Like before, it was almost like the knowledge or awareness simply formed in my mind. It reminded me of…
A shaky breath left me. What had Kolis said about Eythos? About the Primal of Life? That he had foresight? Intuition. Ash’s father hadn’t been born with it. He’d received it upon his Ascension.
Holy crap, did that mean I was now a know-it-all? Because if so, I would be way more obnoxious than ever.
But none of that mattered right now. Ash did.
I drew my fingers along his shoulder, letting the unknown knowledge of
there being more to what Ash said come to me. It wasn’t hard. I just didn’t think about what came to mind. I spoke it instead. “Did…did that dream or vision show you anything else?”
He cleared his throat. “It showed me what happened after you died. I saw the realms die—both mortal and that of the gods, and they…” His eyes met mine. “They died at my hands.”
The words he’d spoken right before he Ascended me… I knew he’d been speaking the truth then, and I heard that truth even now. Felt it.
“I had my kardia removed because I knew you were the one who would one day wreck me,” he rasped. “And only one thing could cause such agony,
such destruction from a god or a Primal of Death.” His eyes searched mine. “That vision showed me that I’d fallen in love with you, and that it wasn’t Kolis who ended the realms. It was me. I ended them because I lost you.”
“Ash,” I whispered.
“And I thought removing my kardia would save you and the realms.” A harsh laugh punched out of him. “But in reality, it brought the realms within mere minutes of destruction. And maybe I read that vision wrong. Maybe it was trying to warn me not to do it. I have no idea. But…” His eyes glimmered. “But I still fell, Sera. Hard and fast. Irrevocably. Even without my kardia, I fell in love with you.”
“You did.” A tremor went through me. “Now, there is something I want to tell you. When I said I thought I’d die without knowing what your love felt
like? I was wrong. Even if I had died—”
Eather pulsed in the veins of his cheeks. “I don’t want to talk about you dying.”
“I know, but what I’m saying is that you’ve proven to me, many times over, that you love me,” I said. “It was in every one of your actions, even if you never spoke the words. I knew when you held me in the lake that if what you felt wasn’t love, it was something even stronger—better. We just didn’t know it was possible.”
“It shouldn’t be.” He pressed his lips to my cheek. “There is only one thing I can think of that would make it possible. We’re of the same soul.” He drew back, leaving our faces inches apart. “It’s the only thing that could’ve made removing the kardia utterly meaningless.”
“Of the same soul?” I sat back. “Like mates of the heart?”
Ash nodded.
With everything that had happened, I’d totally forgotten about the dreams. “That was how we were able to walk in each other’s dreams?”
“Why I could connect in some way to you while in stasis. I think so.” His lashes swept down. “It wasn’t the embers or that you’d fed from me.”
“I know we talked about this in the cavern,” I said, “but I never knew if it was true or not.”
“To be honest, I didn’t either.” He drew his bottom lip between his teeth. “Mates of the soul—or of the heart—are even legend among us. Something rare the Fates were supposedly involved in.”
The Fates… A memory or piece of knowledge flickered through my mind, moving too fast for me to grasp at the moment. I shook my head slightly. “What do you mean?”
His brows furrowed. “It’s said that when the Arae look upon the threads of fate and see all the many different possibilities of one’s life, they can
sometimes see what may come of the love between two or more souls. And in that union, they see possibilities that can reshape the realms by either creating something never seen before or ushering in great change,” he explained, running his thumb over the golden swirl on my hand. “And when they see that one thread, they are forbidden to intervene in the affairs of those souls, as they believe the bond between them cannot be circumvented. So, not even death of the body or the heart and soul—the kardia—can break such a
connection.” His gaze returned to mine. “And the joining of our souls has brought up something never seen before. A Queen of the Gods.”
My lips parted. If what had been said about mates of the heart was true, then it explained how Ash could love.
How he’d been able to love me this whole time.
Something Holland said floated through my mind. “Love is more powerful than the Fates,” I murmured. “If the Arae are not supposed to
meddle in the affairs of mates of the heart, then how was Holland allowed to interact with me for so long? And do what he did?”
Ash’s lips quirked up. “I have a feeling Holland really likes to push that fine line he walks between interfering and casually observing.”
“Yeah.” Something tugged at my memories, but whatever it was existed on the fringes. “I hope I get to see him again.”
“Liessa,” Ash drawled. “If you want to see Holland again, you can.
You’re the true Primal of Life. You can summon the Fates, remember? There will be little you cannot do.”
“Little I cannot do?” My eyes widened. “That…that’s actually kind of scary.”
“Yeah.” Ash grinned. “Yeah, it is.”
I started to laugh, but something struck me—something huge. The
essence of life had been fully restored, ceasing the slow death of the embers that had started the moment I was born, along with the consequences of placing them into a mortal bloodline. That meant…
Even though that odd, uncanny sense of knowing told me the answer, I needed to see it for myself. I jerked upright and scrambled off the bed.
“Sera?” Concern filled Ash’s voice.
Heart pounding, I raced past the sofa and made a beeline for the balcony. Shoving the heavy curtains aside, I threw open the doors. My gaze shot first to the sky as I walked outside, the stone cool beneath my feet.
It was a shade of gray, full of vivid, shimmering stars, but it was different.
The gray wasn’t as flat as I was accustomed to and seemed to carry faint strokes of lighter streaks, tinged in purple and pink. It reminded me of the brief moments of dawn.
“Sera,” Ash repeated, having joined me in his silent way. “Is there a reason we’re both naked as the day we were born on the balcony?”
As the Queen of the Gods, I should probably be more concerned about my nudity, but I couldn’t give that much thought as I went to the railing and looked down at the courtyard’s barren, packed earth.
My lips parted as a faint tremor ran through me. The ground wasn’t as I remembered either. Patches of green had sprouted every few feet, replacing the dull, dusty dirt.
“Grass,” I whispered hoarsely. “I see grass.”
“You do.” Ash came up behind me, closing his arms around my chest. “Nektas told me it began before I even returned to the Shadowlands with you.”
I lifted a trembling hand to my mouth. “That means…”
“It means you did it.” Ash dipped his head, brushing his lips over the curve of my cheek. “You stopped the Rot, liessa. Here and in the mortal realm.”
