CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Strands of gold and silver spilled out from me, forcing Rhahar back as the tendrils of eather whipped against the air, ripping open a blinding tear.

I walked through it without a second thought.

Eather spun maddeningly as a fierce rush of pine-and-sea-scented wind enveloped me, tossing the wisps of hair that had escaped my braid across my face. Awareness throbbed in the center of my chest, and I felt him.

Then I heard Lailah gasp and say, "Fates." Through the essence, I briefly saw her staggering to the side. I may have nearly shadowstepped into her.

Whoops.

The tendrils of gold-and-silver-streaked eather slowed and faded, revealing slivers of stone, ivory walls covered in bright-green ivy that glistened in the sunlight, and comfortable-looking brown leather settees. Several people were there, but at first, I only saw him.

Ash stood only a few feet from me, a shadowstone dagger strapped across his broad chest. He crossed that space in half a heartbeat.

"Sera." He clasped my cheeks, and a charge of energy shifted between us. "What are you doing—?"

"Is everything all right?" I cut in as Nektas appeared to Ash's left. We were on some sort of veranda.

"Of course."

"That's debatable," muttered Attes in his familiar, deep voice just as I heard the distant sound of barking dogs.

"What do you mean it's debatable?" I started to turn my head toward Attes .

Ash wasn't having it. He kept my attention on him. "Forget about him."

"That's rude," the Primal remarked as Lailah crossed between Ash and Nektas , holding a bronze cup.

"You shadowstepped here ?" Ash stated. "By yourself?"

The way he said it, like I was a child not old enough to ride a horse by myself, stroked my already frayed nerves. And not in a good way. "Three things."

Behind Ash, Nektas pressed his lips together and sat on one of the wicker settees.

"Number one," I said, holding up my hand, "I obviously shadowstepped here. Number two, I'm also clearly capable of doing so by myself."

Ash straightened. "Number three?"

"I'm not a child," I snapped and saw Lailah's eyes double in size as she lifted the cup to her lips.

"Trust me, liessa ," Ash drawled, his voice dropping to a shadowy, silky tone that stroked all the right nerves. "I know you are no child."

I ignored the simmering heat curling low in my stomach. Now was not the time for that nonsense. "Good to know we're on the same page, but I wasn't done. I came here because I was worried about you."

" Liessa …" The line of his jaw softened. "That was four things."

"Don't even try being cute," I warned him. "I should've just ignored the feeling I had."

"Sometimes, I think, ‘ Hey, I'm feeling lonely. Maybe I should look for something more long-term ,'" Attes said to no one in particular. "But then I'm always quickly reminded of why I'm more into the short-term."

Lailah huffed out a dry laugh. "As if that is a choice," she said under her breath.

A throat cleared behind me. This time, Ash didn't stop me from turning. Before I could even meet his gaze or speak, Attes lowered himself to one knee and placed his empty hand over his chest.

" Meyaah Liessa ," he said, his head bowed so deeply that his hair tumbled forward in waves.

"That's not necessary," I said for what felt like the hundredth time.

"It's completely necessary," Ash drawled.

I shot him an arch look. He simply winked at me.

"I agree with Nyktos ," Attes replied. "I'm honored to do so. It has been far too long since I have felt pleasure upon paying such respect."

The air chilled behind me.

"I would gladly spend a hundred years on my knee before you," Attes continued, his tone turning to silk. "Both of them if you so requested that of me."

"Well, that's really not necessary at all." I fought a grin as the temperature in the antechamber cooled more. "You can rise, you know."

"Your wish is my command." Attes rose, lifting his head. A flicker of surprise washed over his face as he blinked—correction…as he blinked one eye.

My mouth dropped open. It wasn't the shallow scar running from his hairline, across the bridge of his nose, and down his left cheek that had caught my attention. His right eye was swollen shut, and the skin around it and the lid were a gruesome shade of reddish-purple. "What happened to your eye?"

"Oh, this? It's courtesy of that one." He jerked his chin toward Ash. "Your dear husband."

My mouth fell open for the second time. I slowly turned my head to Ash.

"My fist slipped."

"It must've slipped really hard to leave that bruise." I crossed my arms.

"It did," he replied, his gaze sweeping over me.

"And did you hit him before or after he agreed to attend this meeting?"

"Does it look like he hit me only once?" Attes countered.

"You hit him twice?" I screeched.

"No," Ash said, dragging his lower lip between his teeth. "Three times."

I stared at him in disbelief. There were far more important things to focus on, but I couldn't believe he'd hit Attes three—

"It was more like four," Lailah corrected.

I turned to her. "I thought you were here to make sure they behaved."

"She tried, but she was unsuccessful," Attes said. "And that's kind of your fault. Since you declared him King—which I agree with, by the way—he demanded that she not interfere."

Ash smiled tightly. "I did do that."

Nektas snorted.

My head swung back to the draken . "And you couldn't stop him?"

"I could have." Nektas took a drink from his cup. "But Attes had it coming."

"Oh, my gods," I muttered, turning back to Attes . "And you were somehow unable to defend yourself?"

"What was I to do?" Attes tilted his head, sending a lock of sandy hair against a cheek also mottled, though a less violent shade of red. "Striking a King would be considered treasonous."

"That is true," Ash said.

I took a deep, calming breath. "That looks painful."

"It feels about ten times more painful than it looks," he said.

Ash huffed. "Don't waste your time feeling sorry for him. He could heal it. He's just not doing it."

"Why are you—?"

"Because he's attention-starved," Lailah interrupted.

I turned back to the Primal. The bruises did look terrible, but the Primal of Accord and War was a strikingly handsome man, even with the bruised and swollen eye. Not even the scar detracted from the chiseled features. But when I looked at the scar, I couldn't stop myself from thinking about how he'd gotten it. He'd been trying to stop Kolis from killing his children.

Gods, how fucking terrible was that? Kolis had harmed so many people, and all because he'd lost what was never his in the first place.

Sotoria .

Now that the shock of seeing Attes's black eye had faded, all sorts of messy emotions rose in me. I was happy to see him. Attes had helped me when I was held in Dalos , but he had seen a lot, and that brought forth so much anxiety it was no wonder I'd felt like I might vomit earlier. His presence also stirred up shame. And no matter how much I knew I shouldn't feel that, I couldn't stop my skin from feeling like it was crawling.

I looked away and drew in a shallow breath. "I feel the need to apologize for my husband's ill-advised actions."

"There is no need," Attes said.

" That , we can agree on," Ash remarked.

Attes stepped closer. "Your eyes. I've never seen anything like them."

My ears prickled at the low rumble of warning coming from Ash.

A gleam sparkled in Attes's one good eye, and it had nothing to do with the eather . "They are absolutely beautiful," he went on as if completely oblivious to the dark energy ramping up on the veranda. "Stunning."

"Thanks," I said. "I guess they happened because there's never been a true Primal of Life who was born mortal, so…" I gave a one-shouldered shrug.

"No," Attes said, practically purring the word. "There has not."

"You're showing a little too much respect," Ash advised coolly. "Keep it up and you'll find yourself neutered."

I nearly choked. "Really?"

"Really."

"That's a painful process I hope not to experience." Attes chuckled, and a deep dimple appeared on his right cheek amid the bruises. The glint of devilry faded from his smile. It was then that I noticed the shadows under his eyes. A pang lit up my chest. He didn't look like he'd gotten a lot of sleep, and I figured that had to do with his brother.

His enemy.

He took my hand, and two things happened. A faint charge of energy passed between us. And the Primal behind me growled.

"Ash," I snapped, exasperated.

"It's all right. He's only being protective of you. As he should," Attes said. I wasn't sure I agreed with that, especially considering Ash knew better. "I am glad to see that you are well. When I saw you last…"

I swallowed thickly, nodding at what went unsaid. When we were at the Primal Keella's residence in the Thyia Plains, I'd clearly been dying. I hadn't thought I would see him again, either.

"But here you stand, alive and the true Primal of Life. I could not be happier." He glanced at Ash. "And that is all because of you."

Ash said nothing as he stepped up and slipped an arm around my waist.

"And because of you." I squeezed Attes's hand. "I don't remember if I thanked you for your aid while I was in Dalos . But even if I did…thank you."

"There's no need."

"There is," I insisted. Ash's cool chest brushed my back. "If you hadn't taken the risk and told me I wasn't Sotoria , I would've seriously tried to kill Kolis. And it wouldn't have worked. He would've known the truth, and I would either be dead or…"

Or worse.

That also went unsaid.

Ash's lips brushed my cheek. "She speaks the truth."

Attes's smile was small and heartfelt, but there, as he released my hand. "He already thanked me once. No need to do it again."

Raising a brow, I looked over my shoulder at Ash. "You actually thanked him?"

"Yes." He kissed my temple. "I told you. We worked things out."

"With your fists," I muttered.

"He actually thanked me before he hit me," Attes said. "Or was it between the first and second punch?"

"It was between them," Ash said.

I shook my head. "I do not understand either of you."

"We understand each other," Attes interjected.

I supposed that was all that mattered.

I started to turn back to Ash when a shiver of unease coursed through me, each hair on my body standing on end. Instinct kicked in—the kind that had nothing to do with the vadentia and everything to do with the primitive part of my consciousness that sensed…

That death was in the air.

My eyes flew to Ash's.

He stilled, eather flaring brightly in his silver eyes as he picked up on my emotions.

Nektas rose, his chin lifting as he inhaled deeply.

Eather flooded my veins as I spun, scanning the thick, sweeping pines crowding the foothills of the snowcapped mountains. My heart began to pound.

"If you're feeling something, I'm not," Attes said as I walked forward.

"Neither am I," Nektas said. "But I do smell something."

Attes's booted feet hitting the stone as he walked echoed across the veranda as I eyed the dark shadows between the tightly packed trees.

I squinted, straining to see as far as I could into the vast forest. There was something about the darker splotches farther back. They didn't seem right. They were too thick and suddenly seemed closer. The barking from Essaly —in the opposite direction of the forest—picked up in a nervous, almost frantic chorus.

"What do you smell?" Ash asked.

I stopped at the edge of the veranda. What I saw weren't shadows. They were solid and prowled between the trees. I tensed as I suddenly saw a pair of amber orbs reflecting back at me. Dozens of them. But they weren't orbs.

They were eyes .

"I smell wet dog," Nektas answered as the luminous, predatory glow blinked out of existence.

"Son of a bitch," Attes growled as branches low to the ground rattled.

The barking ceased.

My lips parted as a…dog trotted out from the forest, its fur shining a deep reddish brown in the sunlight—if dogs could grow to be a size somewhere between a kiyou wolf and a dakkai , that was. And if they looked like they had been bred with a barrat .

The creature was ugly, and not in a it's-so-cute-it's-ugly kind of way. Fur rose in spikes all along its back—not because it was matted into that form but because it just naturally grew that way—or so it appeared. There was no fur on the pointy, twitching ears or on most of its tail, except for a frizzy ball at the end. And its face? Well, that was where the barrat part came in. It had the face of an overgrown rodent, whiskers and all.

" Kynakos , " I murmured, eyes widening. "Dogs of War."

The creature started prowling toward us, sniffing the air.

Attes was suddenly standing between us and the creature. " Stasi dato ," he ordered.

The dog's upper lip curled as it growled, baring teeth that would make a dakkai nervous.

Ash was beside me at once. "I don't think it's standing down."

" Stasi dato nori, " Attes shouted.

The creature's yellow eyes flickered over Attes to where Ash and I stood. Its powerful muscles rolled along its sides and back a heartbeat before it leapt into the sky. I jerked forward.

Ash caught my arm, and Attes cursed, moving blindingly fast. He caught the dog around the neck.

My eyes slammed shut, and I winced at the yelp and the sharp, sudden crack of bone I heard. "Poor puppy," I murmured.

"That's not a puppy, liessa ," Ash said, his hand sliding from my arm to my waist. "They're venomous beasts."

But it still looked and sounded like a dog. Kind of.

I cracked open one eye just in time to see Attes laying the hound down. He did so almost reverently.

"I assume that's not one of yours," Nektas said.

"No." Attes rose, his back still to us. "I stopped breeding them ages ago. They have the temperament of a starving dakkai , and you almost always have to put them down to avoid unnecessary bloodshed."

My hands closed at my sides. "Kyn."

Attes nodded. "He never stopped breeding them. But they've always listened to me. They're bred only to obey a Primal of Vathi."

The eather hummed violently as I lifted my gaze to the forest. It had gone eerily quiet. Had I overreacted by coming here? "Did my presence draw it here?"

"No," Attes answered. "The kynakos are fast, but it would take an hour or so for any of them to make their way here from Vangar , where Kyn resides. Unless…"

"Unless what?" Ash's arm tightened around me.

"The forests here are thick enough that damn near anything could be inside them and it wouldn't be seen from the sky," he said, looking down at the kynakos . "He hasn't tried it before."

"But things are different now," I said. "He knows who you've allied with, and he was in Dalos yesterday. He could've sent one of them to keep an eye on you."

"And with you spending your free time shit-faced," Lailah said, her chest rising with a sharp inhale as Attes's head jerked up, "you wouldn't be paying close enough attention to know if one of them was near your home."

I half-expected him to give her some playful or witty retort, but he didn't. A muscle flexed in his jaw.

"Let's hope it was just one of them." Lailah had drawn closer as she rubbed the heel of her palm against her chest. "No one wants to face a pack of war dogs on the hunt."

On the hunt…

If they hadn't been lurking nearby, and it would take them an hour or so to get there…?

My hand went to Ash's arm. Energy throbbed as I lifted my gaze to the pines once more. It was still so quiet. The prickly sensation remained, telling me I hadn't overreacted. Attes started to turn, the breeze ruffling his hair, and I remembered. I had been urged to come here for a reason. That…

The pine branches began to rattle again.

"There's not only one." My fingers dug into Ash's arm.

Attes swore, whipping his attention back to the pines. "Get inside the palace. Now."

It happened so fast that it left no time for escape. The Dogs of War exploded out of the forest—dozens of them. They raced across the field, jaws snapping and tails thumping.

"Motherfucker," Lailah muttered, withdrawing her sword.

As Ash pulled his shadowstone blade from its baldric, my right hand flew to my thigh but came up empty. "Shit," I muttered.

"Stay back," Ash said, flipping the dagger. "You have no weapon, and their bite is nasty as fuck, even to a Primal."

"You have two daggers," I pointed out. "And I have the eather ."

"You just used a whole lot of it to restore the Shadowlands," he reminded me. "And you're still a—"

"Baby Primal," Attes threw out as he whirled.

"Exactly," Ash said as my eyes narrowed. His gaze met mine. "We've got this."

My hands curled into fists. "Have I mentioned how much I miss my dagger?"

Attes dipped, catching one of the beasts around the shoulders as another rushed him.

" Attes !" Lailah shouted, darting forward. "Behind you!"

He cranked his head around as a kynakos leapt over the Primal as if he were just an obstacle in its way.

Clumps of grass kicked up as the Dog of War landed near the steps, its yellow eyes fixed on—

Bone cracked as Ash stepped forward and launched a shadowstone dagger at the kynakos , striking it square between the eyes. It fell back, dead before it hit the ground. "Do I have two daggers?" he responded.

"Asshole," I muttered as another shot past Attes , saliva dripping from its gaping mouth.

Nektas stalked toward the veranda just as Lailah spun, her long, dark braids fanning out as she brought her sword down on the back of the kynakos's neck . Dark red blood spurted and mixed with smoke as Nektas's chin lowered—

"Holy shit." I jerked back as a powerful stream of silver flames erupted from the draken's very mortal mouth.

The funnel of fire slammed into the beast, engulfing the creature within a heartbeat.

I stared at Nektas while Attes tackled another war dog. "You just spit fire from your mouth."

"I did," Nektas replied, wisps of smoke wafting out from the corners of his lips.

"Yeah," I whispered, blinking rapidly. Never in my life had I seen anything like that.

"I wish you could see your face right now." Ash pulled his dagger free from the kynakos and tossed a grin over his shoulder. "It's quite adorable." He whirled, releasing the other dagger. The blade struck the kynakos Attes had pinned to the ground.

Lailah cursed as one of the beasts dodged her. "What?" She straightened, her grip firming on the hilt of her sword. "Do I not look tasty?"

"You always look tasty." Attes grunted as he snatched another kynakos . "Exceptionally so."

"I didn't ask for your opinion," Lailah retorted, stalking past Attes .

Attes replied to her as he twisted the beast's neck, but I didn't hear what he said. That prickly, unnerving feeling remained as silver flames swallowed another Dog of War. The scent of burning fur and charred flesh filled the air as my gaze flitted from one kynakos to the next . My fingers twitched as one after another avoided injury, their focus singular. The kynakos were on the hunt. Another skidded to the side as flames pummeled the ground.

On the hunt…

A kynakos barreled past Nektas , its jaws snapping at the air as Ash turned, the length of his blade soaked in blood. Like before, the beast ignored closer targets.

"The Primal of no Court," I murmured, my stomach dipping as Attes grabbed the kynakos around its waist. Fear punched through my chest.

Ash shoved the dagger under the massive beast's jaw and turned his head toward me.

"I didn't overreact." Red-hot fury replaced the fear and had me stalking toward the veranda steps. "They're hunting you."

Nektas's gaze shot to mine. Understanding flared. "Fuck."

The corners of my vision turned white as power swelled inside me. Summoning eather to fight wasn't something I'd done often. When I used the eather against Kolis before my Ascension, it had been instinctual, born of panic and rage. The essence had just responded to my emotions—

No, it wasn't only that.

It had also responded to my will, just as it had when I summoned the water to fill the rivers. Even before my Ascension, the essence responded to what I wanted. Yes, it could be stoked by my emotions, and I had lost control before, but I wielded it. The eather didn't have power over me, and I was no longer just a vessel.

I controlled it.

Me.

No one else.

I lifted my hand, and the essence responded immediately to my summons. I understood the downside of using the essence, but these furry bastards were hunting my heartmate. And if I had to choose between him and anything—anyone—else, I would always choose him.

Bands of gold-tipped silvery light sparked, swirling down my arm. My will formed in my mind, and within a second, it transformed into raw energy. Eather erupted from my fingertips, forming several torrents of hissing, twisting gold-and-silver energy bolts. The tendrils of eather snaked through the air, casting flickering light and shadows across the grass.

Ash whipped around as a kynakos launched itself at him. The first current of eather slammed into the beast, and because I willed it a quick, soundless death, the Dog of War was snuffed out. Obliterated.

"Fuck," rasped Ash, tracking the essence as my gaze flicked to the right. Eather caught a kynakos mid-jump as a branch of energy spun between him and Nektas , arcing and then diving—

Attes swore, springing toward Lailah. He grabbed her around the waist.

"What the—?" she exclaimed as he lifted and spun her away from the tendrils of eather . "Was that even necessary?"

Attes held her several feet off the ground. "I don't want you to get hurt."

Coils of crackling essence formed a web and streaked above the grass, fanning out in every direction. The moment the energy brushed up against a kynakos , it was extinguished in a flash of bright light, leaving nothing behind but a shower of glittering dust. That, too, disappeared.

The field was empty, but I didn't call the eather back to me. The twists of pulsing power reared back, poised to strike.

" Liessa ," Ash said, coming up the veranda steps. "I think you got them all."

Nodding, I scanned the forest once more, seeing nothing. The sharp, uncomfortable feeling of apprehension had eased. It wasn't completely gone, but it was nothing like before.

My heart still pounded, but I released the eather . The strands of essence flickered out. I met Ash's stare as he approached. "They were after you."

Ash's jaw hardened as he hooked an arm around my shoulders and drew me to his chest. He pressed a kiss to my forehead.

"Fucking Kolis," Lailah growled.

"I don't think that was him," Attes said, and I frowned. "And trust me, I'm not giving him a pass, but he's never demanded that we use the kynakos to do his bidding."

"There's always a first," Nektas muttered.

"Yeah, there is." Attes's voice was closer. "But it's more likely that my brother was trying to earn Kolis's praise."

Fury rose in my chest as I pulled away from Ash and faced the other Primal. "I really do not like your brother."

He thrust his fingers through his hair. "Don't blame you."

"I assume you realize that summoning Kyn for the meeting is off the table now," Ash stated, and I breathed a sigh of relief. "I don't give a fuck about proving shit to him."

Attes nodded and dropped his hand. "I understand," he said, his voice heavy. "And I agree."

A pang of sorrow sliced through my chest. I wished it wasn't this way for Attes .

Lailah cleared her throat. "You said you had a feeling that drove you here?" she asked, glancing in Attes's direction. The Primal was staring off toward the forest. "Was it like the vadentia ?"

"The answer to that will have to wait," Ash said before I could reply. "I need to speak with my wife."

My belly did a series of little wiggles and flops as I dragged my gaze from the bushes. I didn't know if I should be worried.

Or excited.

Ash's voice dropped, sounding full of smoldering flames as he added, "In private."

Excited.

I was definitely feeling excited as my eyes locked on his molten silver gaze. But there were important things to discuss. Lots of things. Ignoring his rich scent, I forced myself to act responsibly. "We need to talk about what just happened—"

"That can also wait." Ash took my hand as he stepped into me. I felt him then, thick and hard against my belly. Our gazes collided, and he didn't look away as he said, "Lailah?"

"I'm good."

"As am I," Nektas shared, and my heart started to pound for a wholly different reason than it had before as a shadowy mist unfurled around us.

"Perfect."

I didn't even see the essence rise as Ash's mouth descended on mine, his tongue parting my lips with one fierce, wicked promise of what was to come.