CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

"You're very quiet," Nektas noted as we entered the gardens.

"I'm just thinking."

"Are they good thoughts?"

Passing the statue of Maia, I nodded. "They are."

"Relieved to hear that," he said. "Your mother is…"

"Something else?"

The sound that came from him was part laugh and part growl. "That is one way of putting it."

A surprisingly wry grin tugged at my lips. I was still processing everything that had happened with my mother. We hadn't talked long, but it felt like a major step in a good direction. I wasn't sure what the outcome would be. There was a lot of messy stuff to sift through, but I meant what I said. I wanted to move on. Let go. And I wanted to have real conversations with her. Maybe I would tell her what had happened before my father died, what he'd attempted to do. Though I didn't think that would bring her any peace.

"Your sister is very inquisitive," he said as we stopped near the nepeta blue.

My grin turned a lot larger then. "How many questions did she manage to ask?"

The cool breeze lifted the long strands of his hair, tossing them across his face and chest. "Far more than a mortal should've been capable of doing in such a short period of time."

I laughed. "Sorry about that."

A dark brow rose. "No need to apologize. The Queen is…amusing. And her wife is extraordinarily polite." He offered his hands. "They both handled the news of who you are fairly well."

"Ezra's known about my ability to restore life for a while, and she's always been very…pragmatic," I explained, taking his warm hands in mine. "And her wife? She was the first person I brought back to life. That was before I knew that restoring a mortal's life meant another paid the price. She doesn't know. And I don't want her ever finding out."

"Understandable." His fingers curled around mine.

"But I think she…kind of senses something. I don't know what, but maybe she knows on some kind of unconscious level," I said, glancing back at the castle's lit windows.

For the first time since…well, forever, I didn't feel an overwhelming sense of anger, inadequacy, or hurt. All of that was still there. One decent conversation with my mother wouldn't erase all of it, but it was muted by something new. Hope.

I pulled my gaze from Wayfair. "Ready?"

Nektas nodded.

I had originally hoped to visit Cauldra Manor—the ancestral Balfour home in Massene —to see if Delfai was still there. Him knowing how the Ancients had been entombed was a long shot, but it was the best we had. However, that was before I'd found Callum having supper with my family. Discovering what the fuck he was up to was the priority now.

Clearing my mind, I pictured the damn empty pedestal in the foyer as eather swelled. Tendrils of gold-streaked silver essence rose from the ground beneath us. The mist thickened and swirled, spinning up our legs. The vanilla scent of the purplish-blue flowers faded as we shadowstepped into the House of Haides.

The throbbing sensation of another Primal echoed in my chest before the mist evaporated. The feeling felt…familiar as I let go of Nektas's hands and turned, glancing at the closed main doors past the pointed archways.

"A Primal is here," I announced as I started down the hall, heading for the underground level.

"There is." Nektas brushed red-and-black strands back over his shoulder. "It's Attes ."

Well, that kind of explained why the awareness felt familiar. I had totally forgotten that Ash had said he would ask Attes to be here.

As we entered the left hall, I spotted Rhahar and Kars at the end, guarding the door near the back stairwell. Rhain stood with them.

The auburn-haired god turned as we passed Ash's office. He waited until we were almost upon them to ask, "How did things go?"

"Other than finding an unexpected visitor with them? Good. My step—my sister is going to alert the other kingdoms of possible impact." I stopped before them. "Do you know if the Revenant has come to?"

"I'm not sure, but we're about to find out," Rhain answered as Rhahar opened the door. "After we're finished down here, there's something I need to show you and Nyktos ."

I nodded as I entered the narrow, torchlit stairwell. The musty scent of the underground lair surrounded me as I thought about the underground pool and wished that was the source of my visit to the dank space as goldish-red flames danced off the damp walls.

That prickly sensation of unnaturalness returned as I followed the curve in the stairwell, our boots thudding softly off the stone. Remembering the steepness of the last step, I managed not to trip and fall flat on my face as my gaze flickered over the rows of bleached, twisted… bone .

The bones weren't gold nor carved from those of an Ancient, but my stomach still roiled upon seeing them. I dragged in a breath, forcing my gaze forward.

Ash drew his booted foot off one of the bars and rose from the wooden chair he'd been seated in as Attes turned.

Ash was before me in an instant, his arms around me and his mouth cool and firm against mine. He kissed me as he had before. Fierce. Hungry.

A throat cleared, but Ash was in no rush. I gripped the front of his shirt as he slowly ended the kiss, drawing my bottom lip between his. "How did things go?" he asked, resting his forehead against mine.

I closed my eyes, soaking in the feel of him. "Okay."

"Don't mind any of us," Attes drawled. "Take your time. We'll just stand here and wait."

"Shut your damn mouth," Ash said, and I grinned. His hands slid over my cheeks and into my hair. "I'm going to need more details when we have time." He tilted his head and kissed me once more. "I hope you're not too angry with me over my interference with your mother."

I may have been a little irritated by his unexpected presence, but the moment he'd said why he had come? How could I be upset with him? He'd felt that deep, cutting pain and defended me. I couldn't love him more for that. "I'm not angry with you."

His fingers curled into my hair. "I missed you, liessa ."

Gods .

Every beat of my heart was his. "Show me how much you missed me later."

The deep, sexy rumble that came from him sent a heated thrill through my blood. "I can't wait."

Neither could I.

Pressing one last kiss to my forehead, Ash stepped back and turned. Down the hall, Rhain was studying the floor as if it held the answers to life.

I cleared my throat. "Has he woken up?"

"He did right after I got him here," Ash said as we walked ahead.

"Huh," I murmured, scanning a cell that looked like a tree bear had burst through it, leaving several rows of bars shattered. A rusty dark color stained the floor of what had to be Veses ' cell. I looked over the etchings in the broken bones. Primal wards. They were powerful, just as the bones were, and would even hold a weakened Primal, but they were not unbreakable. Veses was proof of that. "He's a little too quiet to still be conscious."

Attes snorted. "That's because he started running his mouth, and Ash quickly grew annoyed."

I glanced up at Ash as the faint stench of stale lilacs reached me. "What did you do?"

One side of his lips curved up as we stopped in front of a cell. "Quieted him."

I faced the narrow cell. There were no cots or chairs. Just bone chains connected to the back wall—

I squinted. Something dark and wet was splattered on the back wall. My gaze lowered to where Callum lay sprawled on his back in the middle of the torchlit floor. The entire front of his gold tunic was drenched in blood, and there was a large puddle beneath him.

"Exactly how did you quiet him?" I asked, spotting a rather straight, pinkish-red line across Callum's throat.

"Removed his head," Ash answered.

I slowly turned to him. "You did what ?"

"Decapitated him," Ash said as if he were listing an uninteresting step in a recipe. "With a sword."

"His head reattached itself," Attes shared, folding his arms over his armor-covered chest. "It was quite disturbing to watch the tendons and muscles do their thing. They sort of crept and slithered across the floor until they reached his head." He sent me a grin as the picture he painted formed in my mind. "You should've seen it."

"I'm glad I didn't." Nausea rose so sharply I thought for a moment I might vomit all over Ash, but as my stomach calmed, I remembered something. "You threatened Callum once," I said to Attes . I couldn't believe I'd forgotten this. "You said you knew how to kill a Revenant."

A dimple appeared on Attes's cheek as he grinned. "I do, but it's not pretty. Kolis calls it the Fire of the Gods."

Ash frowned. "Draken fire?"

"I've seen that work on a fresh Revenant," he said, and I immediately wondered exactly how that had come about. "But ones that have been around for a while? They have to be burned beyond just a crisp, and they take longer to die that way. They need to be turned to ash. But what Kolis was talking about—the Fire of the Gods—it's draken blood. Ingested draken blood. Burns them up from the inside."

Nektas's brow rose. "Makes sense. Just coming into contact with our blood kills or severely wounds most. Ingesting our blood would kill almost anything."

But not a Primal or Ancient. Instinct told me that draken blood did something else entirely in that case. Something not good.

"I'm not sure I'm entirely comfortable asking the draken to open their veins for us," I said.

Nektas shrugged. "As long as it doesn't require much, it wouldn't be a problem. Our bodies heal quickly." The draken peered into the cell and smiled. "We can test it out with that one."

"You can open your vein and force-feed Callum, but that won't work with every Revenant out there," Attes pointed out. "We would need to have it bottled, and as you well know, storing draken blood isn't easy since it also burns through most fireproof stone. The only thing it doesn't is—"

"Basalt," Nektas cut in. "Another type of shadowstone ."

My stomach churned. "You mean more slag?"

"The slaggiest of slag," Ash corrected, causing my lip to curl. "It's where dragon fire impacts a surface and the temperature is at its highest, creating a medium to dark gray stone. The problem is, it's been a really long time since dragon fire has touched anything. Whatever is out there would've been long since buried."

Frustration started to rise, but then I stiffened. "I saw the creation of the Star diamond when I was in stasis—dragon fire killed an Ancient, leaving behind that diamond, but also—"

"Basalt," Ash finished, a slow grin appearing. "The Undying Hills."

I nodded. "I've never seen them before—well, in real life. But Delfai said the Fates erupted the mountain to get to the diamond, leaving the area and surrounding hills barren."

"Barren and gray." Attes squinted as he turned back to the cell. "I saw the Undying Hills a long time ago."

"I've been there," Ash said. "There was a lot of rock—rock that definitely could be basalt since the Arae erupted the mountain, likely unearthing it."

"I'll get on it as soon as we're done here," Attes offered. "Which we have to be, sooner rather than later."

I narrowed my eyes and glanced back at Callum. "Why is that?"

"The eirini ," Ash spat. " Attes was kind enough to explain that keeping Callum could be seen as a violation since he serves Kolis."

My nostrils flared with a surge of anger. "Well, there goes killing him."

"Unfortunately," Ash said. "But he needs to be free before the moon rises."

"Which is less than an hour from now," Rhain said.

I shook my head. "I know I've said this before, but I'm going to say it again. The eirini is bullshit."

"That it is," Rhain remarked.

"Too bad we don't have more time. If we did, we could let Thierran at him." Attes glanced over. "He's still here, right?"

"Yeah, but he's been keeping a low profile," Ash said.

So low, I had entirely forgotten the oneirou was here.

Rhain shifted, angling his body away from the cell. "Was your family able to say why Callum was there?"

"Not really." I sighed. "Apparently, he was there for a few days and mostly kept to himself."

The skin between Attes's brows creased. "That's odd."

"He's odd." I stepped forward as the fingers on Callum's left hand twitched. My gaze flicked up to his throat. The line there was barely visible. "He's waking up."

An intense silver glow filled the symbols etched into the bone bars with a wave of Ash's hand. As the light faded, a section of the bars swung open.

Ash followed as I walked into the cell, mindful of the blood and chains that secured Callum's slim wrists and ankles. The bonds were taut, preventing him from doing much more than wiggling around. I knelt at Callum's side. His features were still slack under the golden paint. I looked back to those in the hall. "Can someone grab me some water and a rag, please?"

"On it." Rhain took off in a blur.

Kneeling at Callum's head, Ash asked, "Please, tell me you're going to smother him with the rag and then drown him?"

I snorted. "That wasn't exactly what I planned."

"That's disappointing."

A low laugh escaped me as I looked Callum over, noting the width of his shoulders and the stark, tapered waist. He was thinner than I remembered.

I kept a close eye on him until Rhain returned with a bucket and a cloth. Ash rose to retrieve the items. The metal bucket clanged off the floor as he set it by me. I quietly took the rag from his hand and dipped the cloth into the icy water.

Faint tremors ran along the Revenant's body, but he didn't stir. Not even when I scrubbed a little harder to remove the thick paint from his face, revealing a smattering of freckles along the bridge of his nose and across the tops of his cheeks. He didn't have nearly as many as I did, but the sight of them was unsettling. I wiped at his brow, removing the paint there, and then I leaned back, taking in his heart-shaped face, angular cheeks, and full mouth—

I jerked my hand back as I stared at him. "Please, tell me you don't see what I do and that I'm imagining things."

Ash was silent for a few moments. "He looks…he looks like you."

My heart started pounding as I dropped the cloth onto the floor. Not only that. He looked young . He couldn't have been more than twenty—if that—when his life had ended and he'd been restored, forever frozen on the cusp of adulthood.

Attes moved closer to the bars. "But he looks more like Sotoria . Except for the hair, he's damn near the spitting image of her." A moment passed. "You two look like you could be cousins."

"I always thought it was weird that I resembled Sotoria . Like having her soul placed in my bloodline somehow influenced my features," I said. "I have my mother's face for the most part. Except for the freckles. That's all my father. His hair…" I thought of the painting and felt my stomach twist. My head cut to Attes . "I've only seen a painting of my father, but his hair was a deep reddish-brown color. Not the same as Nyktos's . More like red wine."

Attes jaw clenched. " Sotoria's hair was that color."

"Her soul was in your bloodline for hundreds of years on the Mierel side," Ash said softly. "It's possible that influenced more than just your appearance."

"Could be," Nektas considered. "Or you are of the same bloodline as Sotoria ."

My eyes flew to Ash's. He shook his head. "If the vadentia doesn't tell you," he said. "Then only the Fates can."

I nodded slowly. Either way, it was disturbing because I didn't like the golden fuck.

With that thought in mind, I picked up the bucket of water and dumped it over Callum's head.

The Revenant's eyes opened wide, his back bowing as he drew in a ragged breath. " Fuck ." Gasping, he sputtered, spitting water as his arms curled. The chains clanged off the stone floor.

"You were taking too long to wake," I said.

His head cut toward me.

Smiling, I wiggled my fingers at him. "Hello."

Water dripped off his nose, and he inhaled sharply. "Bitch."

Ash struck as fast as lightning. He grasped a handful of hair and jerked Callum's head back as far as possible without snapping his neck.

"Fuck," Callum repeated.

"Watch your mouth," Ash warned. "Or we will get to see how your arms and legs reattach themselves."

"I would like to avoid that," I said. "So, as long as you behave yourself, we will."

Callum's lips peeled back over his teeth. His canines were longer than a mortal's but shorter than mine. However, they looked sharp. "You're violating the eirini ."

"Are we?" I raised my brows. "If that's the case, we may as well just kill you. You know, might as well fully commit or some shit."

Ash forced the Revenant's attention back to him. "And guess what, fucker?" His smile was pure smoke and ice. "We know how to kill you."

Nektas neared the bars. "I'm more than willing to open a vein."

"He's helpful like that," I said as Ash released the Revenant's hair and stood.

Unease skittered across Callum's features, tightening the skin at the corners of his eyes and mouth.

"Or we can return you to Dalos before we've actually violated anything," I said. "But to do that, you're going to need to answer some questions."

Callum said nothing as his glare locked on me.

"Why were you at Wayfair?" I asked.

"Why are you still alive?" he replied.

Ash slammed his booted foot down on Callum's hand. The crack of several bones made me wince as the Revenant shouted. "For each question you refuse, another bone gets broken." A lock of hair fell against his cheek. "Understand?"

Callum clamped his mouth shut.

Ash tsked softly under his breath. "Let me ask you again." He ground his boot down. Blood drained from Callum's face. "Do you understand?"

"Yes," Callum rasped.

"Thank you." Ash lifted his boot, and his eyes met mine. "Go ahead."

"Why do I find you so…hot right now?" I asked.

"Fucking Fates," Rhain muttered from the hall.

Ash winked, and that didn't really help me behave appropriately.

I shook my head as he began circling Callum's body. "Why were you there?"

"I wanted to visit your mother," he said. "I find her quite interesting."

My head tilted to the side. "Come on, now."

The sharp crack of bone drew a shout from Callum. Ash had stomped his foot. "I…I answered her question."

"You're spewing bullshit." Slowly, Ash lifted his boot. "That's not going to fly either. Keep it up, and the femur bone will be next. That's the most painful one to break." Edges of his hair slid across his jaw. "It's my favorite."

Callum's lifeless blue eyes darted between Ash and me. "You two…are perfect for each other."

My smile was more genuine. "Aren't we, though?"

Sweat beaded Callum's upper lip as he shuddered. "I visit Carsodonia whenever I…I can." His stare fixed on the ceiling. "It's where I'm from."

"I know where you're from, jackass." I sat beside him. "That doesn't explain why you were at Wayfair."

Callum's gaze darted to where Ash had stopped. He stood by his hip and thigh. "Kolis didn't…ask me to go."

"Okay…" I waited for more of an answer.

"You'd better keep talking," Attes advised. " Nyktos is eyeing that bone of yours."

"You're a traitor." Callum lifted his head. "A fucking—"

I snapped my fingers in Callum's face. "Focus."

"I already told you the truth," he spat. "The former Queen makes for an enjoyable companion."

Ash lifted his boot.

"She does! She requires no idle chit-chat when with her," he said in a rush. "I can just walk the gardens or sit with her in fucking silence."

I held up a hand, stopping Ash. "You could do that by yourself."

"And where would I stay? It's not like there are many places there with spare rooms, and your inns are shit." The faint glow of eather pulsed behind his pupils. "They were shit when I lived there." His upper lip curled. "Besides, I wanted to see her once more."

I lowered my hand as the sensation of cold fingers tiptoed down my spine. "Once more? What does that mean?"

His stare held mine for a moment and then flicked away. "I figured I wouldn't be making many trips to the mortal realm for the foreseeable future." He closed his eyes, his features tensing. "And your mother? She respects me."

"Because she thought you were a god."

"So?" Tension bracketed the corners of his mouth. "I didn't think you would show up. I figured you'd be busy making…bad choices."

Someone who sounded like Attes chuckled under his breath.

I eyed the Revenant. My foresight was silent, so I looked at Nektas , remembering how sensitive the draken's senses were. "What do you think?"

"All I smell is the stench of pain and death," he said. "It's masking everything else."

Callum wheezed out a laugh. "You make it…sound like I smell bad."

I pressed my lips together. Part of me thought Callum was telling the truth, and that was kind of sad. "Why weren't you by Kolis's side?"

"He's been…in a mood." Callum tracked Ash as the Primal resumed his prowling. "I bet you can guess why."

Attes had said that Kolis hadn't shown up at Court, most likely holing up in the Sanctuary alone. But…

"It seems rather strange that you'd take a vacation while Kolis is about to lose his authority," I pointed out.

"Seems rather strange to me that…" Callum drew in a ragged breath. "That you think Kolis will lose anything."

Ash stepped on Callum's broken hand.

The Revenant howled, kicking his head back. "Fuck."

"He is going to lose everything," I said.

Breathing heavily, Callum turned his head toward me. "I want…my sister's soul."

"Why?" Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Attes move toward the cell. "So she can be reborn and terrorized by Kolis? Held captive?" My anger rose. "Stripped of all choice and free will? Assaulted? That's what you want? Fuck you."

His nostrils flared as he looked away.

I had to rein in my anger. We were running out of time, and there was something I needed to know. "Why did you tell my mother how a Primal can be killed?"

"That is a very interesting question," Attes noted.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Callum answered.

"Bullshit," I spat. "You told my mother that a Primal can be killed by someone they love. Something no mortal knew until you opened your mouth."

Callum's eyes closed. "I didn't say shit."

Spinning, Ash drove his foot down on Callum's left thigh. The sickening crack of bone, and the Revenant's hoarse shout, echoed through the underground lair.

"Clearly, you're worried about Kolis finding out what you did. He's not your problem right now, though. We are. So, do you want to rethink that answer?" I suggested.

The Revenant's flesh was pasty and damp with sweat. "There's…nothing to rethink."

Callum's other thigh snapped, followed by his right hand and left arm. By the time Rhain warned us about the time, every bone in his limbs had been shattered.

And still, the bastard kept up with the lie.

The realization that I wasn't going to get an answer from him drove me to my feet. Rhain had started to pace nervously in the hall.

"Sera," Ash warned softly.

"I know." Anger rippled through me as I once more knelt by Callum's head. "You still conscious?"

"How can I not be?" Each breath was ragged. "When…someone keeps breaking my bones."

I gripped his chin, forcing his head toward me. Two watery blue eyes locked on mine. "I want you to listen to me, Callum. If you go near my family again, for any reason, I will kill you. Eirini be damned. Do you understand me?"

"Yes," he gritted out between clenched teeth.

"Thank you." I released his jaw and unsheathed the Ancient-bone dagger.

And drove it through the center of his forehead.

He didn't say a word or even have a chance to blink. He died for the…who knew what time today, his eyes open wide.

Wrenching the dagger free, I cleaned the blade on an unstained section of his tunic. "I hope he wakes up with a headache. Otherwise, this was a giant waste of time."

"You think he was telling the truth about his reason for being in Lasania ?" Ash asked as he released Callum's limp body from the chains.

"Who knows?" I muttered, sheathing the dagger.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he was telling the truth," Attes said, entering the cell. "He's not openly disrespected in Dalos , but none of the gods who frequent the Court like him. They don't like anyone they view as being favored by Kolis."

"Poor him." I turned to Attes . "Can you take him?"

Attes nodded. "I'll drop him off somewhere." He flashed a grin. "Somewhere really inconvenient."

"As long as it doesn't interfere with the eirini ," Ash said, "you can drop him off in the Lassa Sea."

"Actually…" Attes's smile grew as he picked up the Revenant's lifeless body and tossed it over his shoulder. "That sounds like a good idea."

I woke with a jolt, essence thrumming through my body, along with an overpowering sense of something off in the air.

Something wrong.

Something unnatural .

I opened my eyes. The cool weight of Ash's arm remained around my waist, and his chest rose against my back as my vision adjusted to the darkness of the chamber. I lay there in silence, waiting for the sensation to subside. It didn't.

Did I have a nightmare? I had no recollection of such, but it wouldn't be entirely surprising if I had.

Scanning our surroundings, I didn't see anything wrong about the space. I looked at the balcony doors, holding myself completely still. I heard and saw nothing, but the sensation of some sort of…shift in the realm continued to rise. Hair slipped over my shoulders, falling into my face and across my chest as I rose halfway onto my elbow.

The arm around my waist curled. " Liessa ?" Ash's voice was gruff with sleep. "Is it a nightmare?"

I was so fixed on the sensation, I didn't have much of a reaction to his assumption. "No." I peered at the heavy curtains blocking the balcony door. "Do you feel it?"

In an instant, Ash was sitting upright. When he spoke again, all traces of sleep were gone. "Feel what?"

"I'm not sure, but it feels like there's something in the air that shouldn't be—something that shouldn't be here ." Confused, I shoved tangled strands back from my face. "You don't feel anything?"

"I don't feel anything." Ash's chest brushed my arm.

Confused, I searched the silence and stillness of the chamber. What was I feeling?

Ash leaned in, dropping a kiss on my shoulder. "Do you still—?" He stiffened against me, going so quiet that unease blossomed.

I twisted toward him, my stomach dipping when I saw streaks of eather lighting up his eyes in the darkness.

"Shit," he growled, tossing the blanket aside. He swung his legs off the bed and was on his feet in a heartbeat.

"What is it?"

"I feel it now." Moving to the wardrobe, he pulled on a pair of breeches. Two of the wall sconces flickered to life, casting a soft glow into the chamber. His skin had thinned.

My hands fisted in the blanket. "Is it Kolis?"

"No," he snarled, shadows swirling across the hard line of his jaw. "It's the Abyss."