CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Aydun's confusing warning haunted the back of my thoughts, but there wasn't time to really dwell on it. He took my hand once more and shadowstepped us smack-dab into the front courtyard of Cor Palace.

"A heads-up next time would be nice," I muttered, pressing a hand to my roiling stomach as the eather throbbed, alerting me to another Primal.

Aydun arched a brow. "I'll take that into consideration."

Not for one second did I believe him as I looked up. Four staggered crystal towers rose from the center of the palace. Cracks in the crystal fractured the sunlight. My gaze lowered to the diamond-encrusted stone fortress. Large and slimmer fissures ran the length of the columns and the walls behind them.

Someone must've done some housekeeping. There weren't bodies staked to the walls of the fortress or hanging from the trees this time. If there had been, there was a good chance I might've vomited all over the Ancient.

"You okay?" Aydun asked, glancing at my hand.

" Shadowstepping sometimes makes me nauseous." I dropped my arm. "This whole place nauseates me."

His left eye narrowed slightly, then the other side of his mouth curved up. "Interesting."

I shot him a look. The Ancient was…an odd one. I started for the colonnade steps.

"We must wait," Aydun stated. "To be allowed in."

Stopping, I blew out an aggravated breath. "And how long are we to wait?"

"As long as it takes for someone to receive us."

A low, rough laugh escaped me. "Oh, I know exactly what Kolis is doing."

"Hmm?"

"By making me wait outside, he's making it known that he doesn't consider me his equal," I bit out. "My mother used to do that when nobles she wasn't fond of from other kingdoms visited."

"Your mother sounds like a lovely person."

I snorted.

"Does this reception surprise you?"

"No." Temper rising, I crossed my arms before I used them to do something that would change Aydun's mind on who was the calmer one between Ash and me. There were no guards on the colonnade, but there hadn't been before. I looked over my shoulder, but the purplish-pink tops of the trees blocked my view of the Rise around Dalos . With everything that had happened, one would think the place would be teeming with guards.

It was kind of insulting that it wasn't.

"It shouldn't take long," Aydun said.

"Yeah, well, I'm not a patient person."

"It's something you will eventually learn to be," he replied.

I turned halfway to him. "Exactly how old are you?"

Aydun's head tilted sideways as his forehead creased. "How long has this realm existed?"

I frowned. "I have no idea."

"Neither do I." He shrugged. "But I'm that old."

My mouth dropped open. "Gods, you're even older than Nektas ."

"All of us are," he stated.

I jerked, unable to even think of Holland as being that old. My brain simply couldn't process that as I turned back to the gold-trimmed doors. I shifted my weight back and forth from one foot to the other, wishing I had some sort of weapon on me.

Then I remembered. I did.

The eather .

I rolled my eyes at myself.

"Are you…dancing with yourself?" Aydun asked.

"I'm not dancing, you—" Eather throbbed intensely before fading out, warning me. I inhaled sharply. "Another Primal has arrived."

"They have."

I spun toward the Ancient. "I was unaware of other Primals being here."

Aydun plucked off a wilted leaf that had landed on his shoulder. "Only Nyktos was prohibited from attending."

"That's bullshit," I hissed, the wind picking up.

His eyes flashed to mine. "The summoner sets—"

"The rules. I heard you the first time." I turned back to the still-closed doors, not liking this one bit. Any number of Primals could've just arrived. My mind flashed to Kyn, then Veses , and the essence stirred wildly inside me. "What are the rules regarding the other Primals and fighting?"

"There can be no violence of any kind among the Primals ." He came to stand beside me. "You have nothing to worry about."

"I'm not worried." I stared at those doors. "I'm disappointed."

His head swung toward me.

Fuck it.

I climbed the steps and crossed between two columns.

"What are you doing, Seraphena ?"

"I'm not waiting." Focusing on the doors, I summoned the eather . The gold-plated doors swung open, slamming into the walls with a crash as they snapped off their top hinges. "Oops."

Aydun sighed.

Smiling a little, I strode into the palace. We hadn't entered this way when Ash and I came before. Attes had led us past some bungalows and brought us into the hall that led to the atrium, where I assumed Kolis would be. I glanced at the gold-cushioned settees lining the walls of the entryway. The foyer split into two wings.

I turned left. There really wasn't a reason for my choice, so I hoped it was the vadentia leading the way.

"We really should wait," Aydun suggested, following me.

"We've waited long enough." I entered a hall, passing several closed doors on one side and windows facing a courtyard on the other. Two doors were at the end of the hall. Of course, they were gold-plated, as were the ceiling and the wall sconces, the handles on the doors, and the windowsill trim. Gold veining even streaked through the marble floors.

Kolis was so fucking tacky.

"We waited a few minutes," Aydun pointed out.

"As I said, we waited…" I paused, sensing something…off. My steps slowed as my skin prickled. It was almost like what I'd felt right before the Ancient appeared, except this felt… wrong . Sacrilegious, even. Almost as if I had entered a Temple and cursed the god it served. My eyes narrowed on the doors ahead.

I didn't hear footsteps, but I knew something was near, and I was right.

The gold-plated doors swung open, and all I saw was gold—gold clothing, gold-painted wings, and golden hair.

My lip curled as a mixture of anger and unwanted empathy rose. "Well, now I know why I suddenly felt something profane."

Callum halted ahead of me, the painted wings on his face twitching a second before his expression smoothed into a smile as well-practiced as Kolis's. I didn't like the Revenant for a whole slew of reasons. The feelings were mutual, but what wasn't was the sorrow I couldn't help but feel for him. Sotoria's brother was a tragedy.

" Seraphena ," he said, his tone level. Courteous, even. "I see you are as charming as ever." His eyes, which were such a pale shade of blue they were almost lifeless, drifted over me. "And as inappropriate."

"How so?"

"You're dressed worse than a common tavern wench and not fit to meet with the King," he replied. "And you were supposed to wait outside."

"Two things." I quickly glanced at the sheath and the golden hilt of the dagger on his left arm as I held up two fingers. "I got tired of waiting." I lowered my pointer finger, leaving the middle one still raised. "And I'm meeting no King today."

Callum's mouth tightened. "Charming."

I turned my hand around so my middle finger faced him.

"Very charming." He clasped his hands behind him. "But not as much as the last time I saw you. How are your arms feeling?"

Muscles throughout tensed. "Perfect." I smiled. "How is Kolis feeling? Last I saw, he had a few extra holes in him."

Callum tilted his head. "You will see for yourself soon enough." He stepped to the side and turned as he said, "Come."

I kept smiling, even though it hurt my face as I followed Callum through the doors, making sure I walked on his left side. We entered a wider hall lined with marble statues of… I saw a chiseled jaw and features similar to Ash's. "Kolis has statues of himself as decoration?"

"Of course he does." Callum stared ahead. "He is the King."

"Of tackiness?"

"And what are you the Queen of?" Callum responded, his chin tipping up a notch. "The Queen of Nothing? No, that doesn't sound right. How about the Queen of Lies?"

"To be honest, Queen of Lies has a nice ring to it." On my other side, Aydun frowned. "I kind of like it."

"You would." Callum's steps slowed as the hall curved. "I knew you were lying the whole time."

I said nothing as we passed more statues of Kolis.

"My sister…" His chest rose with a deep breath as stale air flowed in through an open window. "She had everything you will never have, starting with class."

"And yet, Kolis sought to dress her in a manner that exposed every part of her body?" I replied. "So classy."

Callum's jaw flexed. "Perhaps, deep down, he knew the truth."

"Ah, yes. That's exactly why." Anger pulsed. "He would never treat her that way. Never mind the fact that he sought to hold her captive again and force himself upon her."

Aydun's brows rose.

"You have no idea what you're talking about," Callum shot back, the veneer of civility cracking.

Just like before, disbelief rose. "I will never understand how you can justify Kolis's actions toward someone you clearly loved."

Callum went quiet.

"Then again, I will never understand how you can stand by while Kolis collects his favorites in an attempt to replace her, either."

"They were all sad attempts. Especially you. You were the saddest of them all." Callum's smile was sharper as he glanced at me. "Guess what I heard?" His voice lowered as if he were sharing a juicy secret. "Kolis is already building another cage."

My skin heated from the inside.

Callum chuckled as a rounded archway appeared, leading to a hall I recognized as the one we'd entered before. "Wonder who he plans to put in this one. You?"

My fingers twitched.

"Perhaps his nephew. Yes, it will likely be Nyktos ." Callum nodded. "We know what will happen to you." He winked. "It's all Kyn can talk about."

The control I had on my temper snapped as we passed another fucking statue of Kolis. I pictured it doing exactly what I wanted to do to Callum and Kyn.

The statue shattered with a clap of thunder. Callum jumped as the Ancient jerked to a stop.

Slowly, both turned to look at me. "What?"

"You know what?" Callum spat. "That was disrespectful."

"Was it?" I angled my body toward Callum's.

"It was." A faint glow of eather appeared behind his pupils. "But not nearly as disrespectful as lying about Sotoria ."

"Did I lie?"

"You're really going to try that route again?" Callum laughed. "It won't protect you."

I met his stare as my muscles loosened. "It wasn't your fault, you know. What happened to Sotoria was Kolis's fault and his alone. I wish you knew that. You likely would've led a normal life and passed on to the Vale. But everything done to her beyond that? You're just as complicit." I lowered my voice as he had. "And she feels the same as I do when it comes to you. She feels sorry for you, but she really fucking hates you."

Callum jerked his head back as if my words were a slap.

"That rule you spoke of," I said to the Ancient. "Does it apply to everyone?"

Aydun's lips actually curved up. "No, it does not."

"Good." I snapped forward, wrapping my hands around the grip of Callum's dagger.

His eyes widened as he twisted, grabbing for me, but I was faster than he was even before I Ascended.

And I was way faster now.

I yanked the dagger free and grabbed a fistful of his hair, jerking his head back so I could thrust the shadowstone blade through the underside of his jaw.

Callum was dead before I even tore the blade free.

"Gods," I said, watching him hit the floor like a sack of potatoes. "That felt good."

"What a strange thing for the true Primal of Life to say," Aydun stated dryly, glancing down at the crumpled form. An eyebrow rose. "And do."

"He had it coming." Kneeling, I quickly wiped the blade clean on his tunic. "And he'll come back."

"Unfortunately."

I looked at him as I rose. "Do the Ancients not approve of Kolis's creations?"

Aydun glanced down at the Revenant. "It's kept the balance."

I shoved the dagger into the back of my pants in case I needed it. "That's not an answer."

His gaze met mine. "What has kept the balance is a mockery of life. Reanimated flesh and bone and little else. This one is something more."

Yeah, he was.

I glanced through the door, past the shadowy alcoves to the golden curtains at the end of the hall. "What of the Ascended?"

"They are only a slight improvement," he answered. "They have souls."

My gaze flew back to his. I wasn't expecting him to say that.

"But neither were enough to keep the balance once you were born," he continued. "If you had died during your Ascension, taking the last true embers of life with you, what Nyktos saw in his vision would've come to fruition."

A chill broke out across my skin.

"He would've caused the Ancients in all the lands, both here and beyond the Primal Veil, to awaken," Aydun said. "Between him, his father, and his uncle, Nyktos is the one who came the closest to destroying the realms."

I stiffened. "But he didn't."

"He could have."

"He did what he did because he loves me," I insisted, anger rising once more.

"Selfishly," the Ancient tacked on. "He loves you selfishly , therefore risking the lives of nearly all who walk these realms." Stars burned in his eyes. "We got to where we are today because of another who loved so selfishly."

I stepped toward the Ancient without thinking. "Do not ever compare him to Kolis."

"I am not comparing them," he replied, utterly unbothered by my fury. "I'm pointing out what that kind of love is capable of."

"How…how can someone so old be so wrong?" I said, shaking my head. "What you're trying to compare? What Ash and I feel for one another and what Kolis felt for Sotoria ? They are two very different things."

Aydun frowned, his head cocking. "How so?"

"What Kolis feels for Sotoria is an obsession."

"And there is a difference?" Curiosity filled his tone.

I stared at him, my mouth slightly agape. "How am I once again explaining what love is to a man who is fucking old enough to know better?"

Aydun looked even more confused.

"My gods," I muttered, searching for the kind of patience Ash had. "The difference is that I feel the same way for Nyktos as he does for me. Yeah, maybe he's obsessed with me, but I am also obsessed with him. It's consensual. Mutual. What that is?" I jabbed a finger in the direction of the golden curtains. "Is one-sided and twisted. Rot not much different than what affected my homeland. It's ugly. What Kolis feels is selfish, and I know firsthand just how wrong what he feels is." I stepped back, my throat thickening. "What Nyktos feels for me? It's beautiful. A miracle. It's…it's hope ." I blinked tears from my eyes. "And I'm truly sorry that there are people, be them Ancients, gods, or mortals, who don't know there is a difference."

Aydun stared at me as I had done with him seconds ago, looking completely flummoxed.

And I didn't have the time or the desire to explain further.

Checking my emotions, I turned and entered the hall, glancing at one of the alcoves. No soft moans or deep groans came from them today, but a low hum of conversation drifted out from the chamber ahead, as did the sounds I expected to hear from the alcoves. My jaw clenched as my attention shifted there when the thud of awareness in my chest increased. The shadowstone dagger I'd helped myself to provided more comfort than the Primal essence did. Right or wrong, I was far more used to wielding a blade than eather . Maybe that would change someday, but for now, the feeling of the hilt digging into my back gave me strength as I pushed the curtains aside and stepped inside the wide, circular chamber. I came to a complete stop. It wasn't the Primal present that halted me, even though I should be focused on him.

It was the source of the raspy moans and groans.

My skin prickled as my gaze swept over the gold-painted ceiling, past the armored guards lining the walls, to the deep couches and settees sitting in front of the curtained windows of the atrium. They were mostly empty, except for a handful near the raised, columned dais framed by two closed archways. There weren't just gods on those couches with their faces buried in necks or between thighs.

My eyes locked with ones that had been warm brown but were now pitch-black with only a flicker of light deep within them. Gods, I recognized the fine features forever frozen in youth.

It was the Chosen I'd seen Kolis turn. Jove.

Aydun nearly walked into me as he entered the chamber, but I couldn't pull my eyes from Jove as my heart thumped.

What had Gemma said about the Chosen who disappeared? Some returned as something else—a cold creature never seen in the daylight.

The Ancient had said the Ascended had souls, but the eyes latched onto mine appeared vacant of such.

Jove's eyes closed as he drank deeply from a god's throat. The god's head fell back with a heavy, guttural moan echoed by another—a female goddess half-sprawled on the couch beside them, her golden gown hiked up to her waist. A pale head was nestled between her thighs.

I couldn't believe Jove was here. Not much time had passed since he'd been turned, and Kolis had made it sound like it could possibly take months for the Ascended to learn how to control their bloodlust and be trusted.

But maybe that wasn't the same for all of them, especially if they did have souls. That meant some small part of who they were before remained inside them. Perhaps how strong that part was determined how long it took them to control themselves.

" Meyaah por-na ," rumbled a deep voice.

Violent energy pulsed within me as I pulled my gaze from the feeding and found the Primal of Peace and Vengeance. I understood what the bastard had said.

My whore.

Kyn was seated at a settee to the right of the dais and the gaudy, gilt and diamond throne, a woman draped in gold and ivory perched on his lap—one whose hair was a light shade of blond nearly as pale as mine. Static rippled down my arms, causing my fingers to twitch.

Kyn smiled at me, flashing long, sharp fangs. Two dimples appeared on his cheeks. "Show me the respect I'm due," he said, slipping his hand between the slit in the woman's gown. "And get on your knees."

A light, airy chuckle came from one of the other couches. Anger and disgust crashed together as I held Kyn's stare. I wanted nothing more than to lash out like I had with Callum, throwing the dagger at that smirk on his face.

I looked away from him and glanced at the large, prowling wolf carved into the floor, so similar to the one on the throne room doors in the House of Haides. It was their family crest, created by Eythos and Kolis's father.

"Did you not hear me, por-na ?" Kyn's palm ran up the inside of the woman's leg. "On your knees."

I had no idea how Ash had maintained his composure among such a disgusting asshole like Kyn for years—decades—but he had.

And I would, too.

Sort of.

I smiled at Kyn. "Make me."

Aydun stiffened.

The hand delving under the skirt froze. Silence came from those on the couches.

Kyn's laugh was full of malice. "Oh, I plan to."

The Primal reminded me so much of the Lords of the Vodina Isles, and my smile grew. "I can't wait to see you try."

"You think Nyktos will be able to stop me?"

"He won't need to," I told him. "Because I will."

The air shifted, thickening as streaks of eather pierced Kyn's stare. The woman in his lap paled. She looked like she didn't dare breathe too deeply.

"Remember the rules." Aydun spoke up finally. "They do apply to other Primals . There will be no fighting."

"Lucky for you," I said to Kyn.

Aydun's head whipped toward me, a warning look in his glare. I ignored it, raising my brows at the Primal.

A muscle ticked in Kyn's jaw. Seconds passed with no further comment. Letting out a low laugh, I looked away, giving the guards a scan. Some of them were gods. A few had those pale, lifeless eyes.

Awareness throbbed through my body. A draken was near. More than one.

"Where is Kolis?" Aydun asked.

Kyn lifted a shoulder as his hand moved between the woman's legs. "He'll be here." His gaze shifted to me. "Why don't you come over and sit on my other leg?"

I wouldn't even dignify that with a response, but the Ancient examined the Primal with naked distaste.

"You created them," I muttered under my breath to the Ancient. "Well, you created his parents."

Aydun sneered. "I am not responsible for the bloodline that created that…creature."

I glanced back at Kyn. He stuck out his tongue, wiggling it in my direction. "Who did you create?"

"That is none of your business."

"Okay, then." I sighed.

"There's enough room for both of you," Kyn called out, and the woman giggled nervously. "And I've got two hands and a tongue."

"But no cock? Shocking," I retorted.

"You'll need to earn that, por-na ." Kyn nipped at the woman's throat, and she gave another strained laugh.

I focused on the woman. I saw a faint glint of eather in her eyes before her lashes swept down. She was a godling. I had no idea how she'd ended up in Dalos , but I had a sinking suspicion that she wasn't from Vathi and also wasn't exactly thrilled to be where she was.

I thought of Evander and Jacinta. I'd read that situation wrong and killed an innocent god. This could very well be the same thing.

But…

But how much control did this woman even have? Like with the Chosen? Kolis gave them a choice, but what kind of choice was it at the end of the day? What kind of choice did this woman have with such an imbalance of power between her and Kyn?

Footsteps behind me drew my gaze. A bare-chested draken with long, wavy blond hair strode in. "I knew you'd arrived," Diaval said, "when I found him picking himself up off the floor."

Callum followed, his lips pressed together. He stopped beside me. Not close, though. He gave me a wide berth. "Give me back my dagger."

"No," I said, my attention moving to Diaval . The draken had dropped onto one of the couches, distracted by the Ascended feeding beside him. Or fucking. Man, that had escalated.

Callum crossed his arms like a petulant child as another draken walked in, one with light brown skin and dark, braided hair. Sax. I watched him walk to stand near Diaval , remembering what Ash had said. This had been one of his father's draken .

Did that mean…?

"You're a liar and a thief," Callum said.

"And the true Primal of Life," I replied. "Whose temper is currently worsening by the second. So how about you shut the fuck up?"

The Revenant turned his head to me. "Rude."

I moved to put Callum on the floor again, but a soft cry from the woman in Kyn's lap stopped me. Her eyes were squeezed shut, and her brow was tensed in pain. Kyn wasn't feeding. He was still staring at me with the fucking idiotic smirk on his face. My gaze dropped to where his hand was. He was hurting her.

I moved before I realized what I was doing.

" Seraphena ," snapped Aydun.

I crossed the atrium. The woman's eyes had opened, and her lashes were wet as she ducked her chin.

Kyn's smile grew. "You changed your mind?"

I stopped in front of them, taking hold of the woman's chin. She gasped, her gaze flying to mine, and I knew. Perhaps it was because the vadentia was already growing stronger, or maybe it was just normal instinct. Either way, I knew the moment her eyes locked with mine.

I dropped her chin and then took her hand. It was limp in my grasp for only a heartbeat, then it firmed. I pulled her from Kyn's lap.

"Return to your home," I told her. "Now."

The godling didn't hesitate. She scurried across the chamber, and I hoped she listened to me and fled Dalos .

Kyn, the fucker, adjusted his crotch as he leaned back. "And here I thought I'd have to break you in." He patted a knee. "But don't be too willing. That takes the fun out of it."

It took everything in me to step back and not rip his dick off and shove it down his throat. It took everything and even more to turn away.

"Don't turn your back on me, por-na ." The air stirred as Kyn shot to his feet.

I kept walking.

"You fucking bitch," Kyn snarled.

I couldn't see him, but I felt him grab for me. I spun back, but Kyn was faster. He caught my forearm, and his grip was cruel. The contact of his flesh against mine was worse than the pain, though. It turned my stomach with disgust.

Kyn said something repulsive about how he'd make Ash watch while he committed some hideous act of defilement, but I barely heard him. Eather-rich blood pounded in my ears as I lifted my gaze from his white-knuckled grip on my arm and met his.

Fuck the rules.

I smiled as the eather rose. Silvery light crept through the corners of my eyes as wisps of gold-laced eather seeped from my skin.

Kyn dropped my arm, jerking his hand back with a hiss of pain. Smoke wafted from his fingers, and the scent of charred flesh rose. His irises disappeared in a flash of silvery eather . "You fucking—"

"Enough!" Aydun threw out his hand.

Kyn's eyes widened, and then the space before me was empty.

What the…?

Kyn had simply been there one second and gone the next.

Confused, I looked around the chamber as the eather settled. I didn't see him anywhere. I turned back to the Ancient. "Um…"

"I put him in a time-out," Aydun bit out.

I blinked. "Would've been great if you'd done that earlier, like when…" I trailed off as the center of my chest throbbed intensely.

A sensation akin to thick oil coated my skin. The tiny hairs on the nape of my neck rose as eather stirred restlessly, pressing against my skin. I turned to the dais as Callum strode past me.

The true Primal of Death was here.

I was suddenly rooted to where I stood as the gold banners hanging between the two doors framing the back of the dais wall parted.

Guards in gold armor lined both sides of the wide hall I hadn't known was even there. They turned in unison, facing one another as they lifted gleaming swords to create an arch.

"Bow," Callum announced from the dais, his voice loud and chin held high. "Bow for the Great Protector, the Keeper of Common Men, and the Warden of the Gods. The true King of Men and Gods."

That was not his title. That belonged to Ash. These were just words strung together to inflate an already oversized ego, and it sounded ridiculous to me. Protector? Warden? It had to be a joke. A laugh bubbled up in my throat, but it didn't escape my lips as Kolis appeared in the hall and those throughout the atrium, even the Ascended, who had been feeding and otherwise engaged, stopped what they were doing and knelt. None of them had even stopped to fix their clothing.

Everyone except for the Ancient.

And me.

The swords swept down as Kolis passed beneath them, the top of his flaxen head nearly touching the ceiling—a head that bore no crown.

I didn't know what I felt as I watched him cross the dais, but he didn't look well.

Kolis was undeniably a beautiful man with his shaggy blond hair, cut jaw, and angular cheeks. He still was. But he appeared as a ghost of his former self. Thinner. Less… shiny . Dark shadows shaded the skin beneath his eyes and cheekbones. The Primal was still weakened.

That wasn't the only thing.

There was no hint of golden life in him now—no flecks of gold in his eyes or beneath his skin. Instead, there were slivers of deep, dark red in his silver eyes and churning slowly beneath his flesh. He even wore the true shade of death. Crimson.

The color of blood.

Kolis smiled down at me with one of those well-practiced, fake smiles that never ceased to make my skin crawl.

I didn't flinch, but I could feel his touch. I didn't wince, but I could feel the scrape of his fangs against my throat. I didn't move an inch, but I could feel his arms around me, his embrace too tight. At that very moment, I knew exactly what I felt. It wasn't nothing. It was a ruinous everything . I had to check myself again. I had to shut all of it down. No fear. No panic. No fury. And I did. I pushed it all down until I felt nothing but a simmering rage.

Until I could return his smile. "You look like shit," I said. "I'm guessing I woke you too early from stasis." My smile, just as skilled and fake as his, grew. "My apologies."

Behind me, the Ancient cursed under his breath, and the atrium went utterly silent.

Kolis's smile faltered. "And yet, you look extraordinarily well." His gaze moved to those kneeling. "Leave."

The Ascended and the various gods hurried from the space. The guards in the atrium and the hall, the draken , and Callum remained.

"You, too," Kolis said to the guards, then the draken . "Go."

Diaval grumbled as he rose. "And here I thought I would have some entertainment today."

As the heavy curtains along the back wall behind the dais swung shut, Sax followed the alabaster draken , his gaze briefly meeting mine before he quietly left. Then, it was just Callum, the Ancient, this fucker, and me.

Kolis turned his back on me, though. He slowly walked to the throne and lowered himself into the seat, his hands settling on the arms of the chair.

Silence stretched as the seconds ticked by, and for some damn reason, an image of him flashed in my mind when he lay sprawled on the floor with a look of… relief in his features.

Remembering that caused my stomach to clench and my non-existent patience to rear its head. "You wanted to talk," I said. "I'm here. So, talk."

Callum hissed. "Do not speak to the King—"

Kolis raised his hand, silencing the Revenant in an instant. And, gods, I wished I had that ability when it came to Callum.

"I did summon you here." Strands of blond hair fell against his jaw as he tilted his head. I didn't think the Primal had blinked once since he'd walked in. "You shouldn't have Ascended."

I said nothing.

"Which means you lied about Nyktos's kardia ."

"I told the truth about his kardia ," I said.

"And you continue to lie even now?" A half-grin appeared. It lacked the effort of making it look even somewhat real. "He risked dooming the realms to Ascend you. Only one in love would do such a thing, and one cannot be in love without a kardia , unless…" His chest rose with a sharp breath as his regard shifted to the Ancient. "Mates of the heart. Interesting."

Pettiness was the next to rear its head. I wanted to throw it in his face but speaking about something so beautiful and using it against someone like Kolis felt wrong. As if it would taint Ash and me. "I don't think that's what you wanted to discuss."

"No. It isn't." His fingers tightened around the arm of the throne as his focus returned to me. He fell silent again.

My hands fisted at my sides. "I assume you summoned me here so you can demand that I denounce any claim to the Throne of the Gods and pledge allegiance to you."

Kolis chuckled softly, the sound making my skin crawl. "I imagined you would demand something similar of me, except asking for me to return to my rightful place in the Shadowlands."

I said nothing because we did not even remotely plan to allow that.

"I have no intention of doing that," Kolis continued.

Catching the smile on Callum's face, I said, "Not a part of me is surprised to hear that."

"Then where does that leave us, Seraphena ?" Kolis asked. "At war?"

My heart kicked against my chest as the Ancient stiffened beside me. "You don't want war."

Kolis was quiet yet again. Too quiet.

My heart started pounding faster. "Because you know what can happen if it comes to that." I jerked my chin at Aydun. "There will be no winners."

"Not necessarily true," he replied. "As long as the embers of life and death remain, there will be balance."

"But a war will disturb those who have gone to ground." I looked at Aydun for him to back me up, but the Ancient was frustratingly quiet.

"Perhaps." Kolis shifted on the throne. A moment passed, then another. The muscle by his temple ticked. "You do look like her."

I went rigid.

Wistfulness flashed across his features, causing my skin to crawl. "I can see parts of her in you, even now."

"But she is not her, Your Majesty," Callum interjected.

"I know." The skin over the knuckles of his left hand thinned, revealing a hint of crimson underneath. "But she was in there. Her soul, that is."

I showed nothing, even as unease festered.

"That's what my brother did, right? He placed her soul with the embers into your bloodline? But I imagine he intended for you to be reborn as Sotoria . That didn't happen. But her soul was in you."

"Her soul is where you cannot reach it," I said. "In me."

My lie was smooth enough that Callum stepped back, bumping into the dais.

Kolis's chin lowered as the shards of red grew in his eyes. "You took the Star diamond. I imagine my brother's soul was released, and that is where you have placed hers."

Fuck.

"We released Eythos's soul and then destroyed The Star." My thoughts raced. I had no idea if the diamond could be destroyed, but I remembered how it had been created. " Nektas did."

"Lies." Kolis laughed. "If you weren't clever enough to discover the importance of The Star, my nephew is. You have her soul in that diamond."

Fuck .

I could see I wouldn't be able to convince him otherwise. Which meant that any protection I may have gotten from Kolis believing that Sotoria was still inside me was gone.

Kolis's grip on the throne's gold arms eased. "I brought you here to make a deal, Seraphena ."