CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX

CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX

Midas, the capital of the Callasta Isles, was silent, and the air smelled of iron as I walked the center aisle of the City Hall while Nektas watched from his perch on the Hall's colonnade.

Bodies lined the aisle.

Hundreds of them.

" Don't allow this to leave a mark ," Ash had said as we stood before the gods and godlings who'd refused our offer to start over with some semblance of civility. The majority had quickly accepted and pledged their loyalty to Ash and me, but it wasn't their loyalty we sought. We wanted their genuine promise to change the way they had lived under Veses ' rule.

I had a feeling that, inevitably, more lives would join those we'd ended today. My suspicions of such were rooted in what lay just beyond the City Hall.

My gaze went to the patches of disturbed earth I saw through the colonnade. There were six of them, and they were as wide as Nektas was long.

A goddess who went by the name of Tindra had told us what they were. Mass graves. Both Ash and I were shocked. If anything was left of a god or mortal, it was generally burned. To leave them in the ground was to allow their bodies to rot. It was a sign of disrespect.

Tindra had said each gravesite likely contained hundreds of bodies. Which meant there were thousands of decaying corpses between the six sites. Thousands . When Ash had asked why they were not given a proper burial rite, Tindra explained that Veses never performed burial rites for those executed. And the crimes committed that were so deserving of capital punishment? It ranged from refusing to carry out an order to actual murder and everything in between. But it wasn't just the so-called criminals whose final resting place was so disgraceful. Victims who had lost their lives over a quarrel or at the hands of a jealous lover had been routinely tossed into these pits, as well.

My gaze shifted to the slender, dark-haired goddess. Her black robes rippled in the breeze as she stood silent and still, her brown-toned features somber as she stood before the fourth gravesite.

Tindra's husband had been one of the victims tossed so carelessly into the fourth site several decades ago.

"I think many were disgusted by what was happening," Tindra had said when asked why no one seemed to have an issue with this. "At least in the beginning. But this…this is how many have lived for so long. Die or survive by any means necessary. It's the only life we know."

I could see why Rhain had refused any claims to the Court. And what lay beyond the City Hall was why I feared that what remained of Veses ' Court would shrink in the coming months and years.

I turned to where several gods of the Court were busy wrapping the bodies of the newly dead under the watchful eye of guards brought here when I summoned Attes to assist with locating whatever Ancient bones Veses had stashed away.

Don't let this leave a mark…

I motioned for Elias to join me. He'd come with Attes , and soon, a contingent of Attes's forces would join the Shadowlands in securing the Callasta Isles.

The brown-haired god approached, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. He stopped a few feet from me and bowed.

"Elias." I sighed. "You do not need to bow."

"Sorry. It's a habit." He straightened, his gaze flickering briefly to the gravesites. "What can I do for you, meyaah —?"

"Sera," I corrected. Considering everything Elias had seen me go through while being held captive by Kolis, I believed we were well past formalities. "It's just Sera."

He nodded in acceptance after a moment.

I angled my body toward the gravesites. "There are thousands of bodies in those pits."

"Fates." Elias's gaze followed mine, his lips parting in disbelief.

"I know their souls have already passed on," I said, "but I would like for you to gather a team of gods from Midas to excavate the sites and give them proper burial rites. Kars will be able to assist you."

"I can do that." His gaze shifted. He was looking at Tindra. "She's still out there."

"Her husband is in that fourth gravesite," I told him. "She said he's been in there for decades."

"Fucking Fates," Elias muttered in disgust. "Some of them will be nothing but bones."

"I know." Chilled, I folded an arm over my lower stomach and looked at the god. "I have a feeling this isn't the only place like this we'll find. There may be similar ones in other Courts."

"You wouldn't be wrong." Elias ran a hand through his hair. "There are three times this many on the outskirts of Dalos ."

Pressing my lips together, I closed my eyes. I wasn't surprised to hear that, yet I didn't know what to say.

Elias left to carry out my request. I saw him stop to speak with Tindra. Did they know each other? The answer started to come to me, but I stopped myself before I saw what was none of my business. Besides, I had already seen into the lives of enough people. It was how I knew that those we'd ended today weren't just being foolishly arrogant when they refused our offer. They'd had no intention of even attempting to live a different kind of life.

Ash arrived with Attes , the latter informing me they'd discovered one bone spear and some bone chains. It was only one set of chains, not nearly enough to keep Kolis secured, and that included what Penellaphe had managed to locate in Lotho . However, there were still more Courts to search.

My gaze shifted to the bodies filling the City Hall. And there would be more deaths.

Don't let this leave a mark…

Ash and I returned to the Shadowlands shortly after. We had our dinner in the antechamber after updating the others. I didn't think either of us was in the mood for company outside of each other.

I'd told him what Keella had shared with me. Parts of it were obviously no surprise since we had come to believe beforehand that part of what had happened had been Eythos's plan. He was disquieted by the idea of the Fates wanting to wake the Ancients as much as I was, though. In the end, it simply meant there was no room for error. Kolis had to be entombed, and Sotoria needed to be released immediately.

I watched Ash as he rooted through the bowl of sliced fruit, inspecting a strawberry before moving on to another until he found the plumpest one to offer me. He'd done the same with the melon, the chicken, and the vegetables.

"Why do you keep doing that?" I asked, biting into the sticky, sweet berry.

He glanced over at me with a raised brow as he chose a strawberry that looked deformed. "Doing what?"

"Inspecting each and every piece of food before you give it to me." I caught a drop of juice on my lip with the tip of my tongue.

I waited. Ash didn't answer. He was…staring at my lips.

"Ash?"

He blinked, lifting his gaze. There was no mistaking the heat in his eyes. "I'm sorry, what were you saying?"

I grinned and asked the question again.

"Oh." He shrugged as he sat back. "I just want to make sure you have the best there is to offer."

Now, it was my turn to blink repeatedly at him as I fought off a wave of emotion.

Ash eyed me closely. "You okay?"

I cleared my throat. "Yes." Leaning over, I wrapped my hand around the nape of his neck and drew his mouth to mine. His kiss tasted of strawberries. "I love you."

He returned the kiss, and for a little bit, the food was forgotten. So was everything else. It didn't stay that way, though. Now, I lay in bed beside him, my back nestled against his chest and his leg tucked between mine. His hand rested protectively over my stomach. I loved that. I loved sleeping this way, and I wanted to rest. I needed it. Tomorrow would be another…complicated day. But I stared at the shadowstone walls, my thoughts running from one to another. When I closed my eyes, I saw the bodies in the Callasta Isles City Hall and the disturbed soil outside the colonnade.

I saw Veses ' face.

Gods, Kolis would be pissed when he woke.

" Liessa ," Ash murmured. "What's on your mind?"

I frowned. "It boggles my mind that you can appear completely asleep and yet somehow know I'm not."

"It's another talent of mine," he remarked. "Talk to me."

Those three words still made me want to squirm a little, but they didn't incite as much unrest as they had before. "I'm just…I'm worried about the Callasta Isles—if our people are safe there," I said, placing my hand over his. "There's only one draken who didn't join the attack, but we can't even be sure he's trustworthy."

" Nektas seems to have taken Jarah at his word," he said, speaking of the younger draken with gold and black scales. "I'm sure things will be calm there, at least for a little while. If not, you will sense any great unrest."

I nodded, concentrating on the swoop of his thumb along the skin below my navel.

Ash was quiet for several minutes. "I don't think that's the only thing on your mind."

It wasn't.

"You're thinking about what we did today."

I was.

He pressed a kiss to my shoulder. "What did I tell you?"

"To not let it leave a mark."

His lips brushed over the skin he'd kissed, drawing a tight shiver from me. "But it is."

It was.

"Sera…"

"I want them to leave a mark," I blurted out. "I need them to."

He rose slightly, and even though I didn't look at him, I felt his questioning gaze on me.

"It's not like I regret what we did," I said, tracing the tendons on his hand. "It's what we should've done since the beginning. And I know it's neither right nor wrong. It's simply…necessary."

"But?" he asked quietly.

"But I…I keep seeing Veses ' face," I admitted. "She really thought I wouldn't do it, and you wouldn't allow it."

"Her arrogance was only one of many self-destructive flaws."

Normally, I would've agreed with that or laughed. Possibly both. But I wasn't sure if that was why. "Deep down, Veses really did think we were…" The back of my eyes burned for some damn reason. "That we were better than that."

"She thought we would be like Eythos ," he said, his arm tightening around me. "We are not."

"We aren't," I whispered.

Ash went still for a moment and then moved, guiding me onto my back. Our eyes locked. "You're upset."

"You're reading my emotions."

"You're projecting," he stated, shifting his weight onto his elbow. He cupped my cheek. "Do not spend a second being sad about Veses ' fate."

"I'm not."

In the slivers of moonlight, I saw his eyebrow rise. "You're such a terrible liar."

"Whatever," I muttered.

Ash sighed. "I heard what you said to her, Sera. That you wished it could have been different for her and were sorry it wasn't."

I really should have kept that to myself.

"You meant that."

"I did." Frustration rose as my eyes continued to sting. "And I don't even know why. I hate Veses for what she did to you and for how she ran her Court. Still do, even though she's dead. And I don't regret ending her. It had to happen, but…" I closed my eyes, emotion lodging in my throat. "But she wasn't always like that. You said so yourself."

"Neither was Embris ."

" Veses was different."

"Why is that?" he asked.

"I…" I breathed through my nose as words worked their way around the knot in my throat. "She said it was nothing."

Ash went still again.

"She said how Kolis treated her and the things he made her do was nothing." My voice came out hoarse. I opened my eyes. "It wasn't nothing. Gods know, I knew every time I said that what he did to me wasn't nothing. And I know—" My voice cracked, and I shook my head, not wanting to shed a godsdamn tear over Veses . "I know Veses knew that, too. But she loved him. And maybe that was what turned her into what she ended up being. Always loving someone who loved someone else. I don't know. But I can see a—"

"You should never see yourself in her," he cut in, tipping my head back so my eyes met his. "Never."

"I can see a part of me in her," I continued, chest rising and falling fast. "Not the part that made her such a bitch, but the pain in her eyes. I saw it while in Dalos . She tried to hide it, but she…" A tear snuck free, and Ash immediately caught it with his finger. "But she did this—all of it—to herself. And if I…"

That was it.

If I had continued as if all that'd happened to me was nothing, I could've ended up like her. Maybe not as bad. Perhaps even worse, but in a different way. Because that kind of pain and shame, that kind of heartbreak, rotted you from the inside. It destroyed the glimpses of who you once were. And perhaps that was why her death bothered me. Because I could've done it to myself. Killing her was like killing that one part of me that had reluctantly connected to her.

I didn't have to say all of that, but Ash still understood. I knew he did as he kissed each tear that started off as grief and then became relief. When they stopped, and I eventually found myself nestled once more against his chest, I finally fell asleep.

And I slept deeply.

Until I woke before dawn, gasping for air as a shout of fury slammed around in my head. I felt that cord . The connection that signaled the balance being righted once more. Even with my eyes open, I could see the darkness descending—black streaked with crimson.

Kolis was awake.

"Whoa," Saion murmured as he leaned back in the settee.

I'd just finished the first stage of Ascension in case Phanos decided to either remain loyal to Kolis or refused to involve his Court. Only a tiny part of me held on to the hope that Phanos would choose us.

"You okay?" His cousin stood beside him, watching carefully as I closed the wound on my wrist.

"Yeah. Just a head rush." Saion looked dazed as he tried to focus on me. "Your blood is…" He trailed off as a low growl of displeasure echoed from behind me.

Beside me, Reaver lifted his scaled head. A few minutes ago, he had growled when Saion neared me, which forced the god to stay seated and me to go to him.

Saion cleared his throat, sitting straighter. "It's, um, something else."

I shot Ash a frown over my shoulder as Jadis turned in her father's lap, her brilliant blue eyes blinking. "You're being ridiculous again."

He ignored me, his glare fixed on Saion.

"Why is everyone growling at me today?" Saion asked.

The poor god was really having a rough morning.

I knew why Ash was growling. It was the whole keep-away-from-my-pregnant-wife thing, which made me so grateful that Kars was in the Callasta Isles because he'd surely get himself killed. But with Reaver, I had a feeling he was picking up on Ash's tension and responding to it.

"Did I do something?" Saion asked, bewildered.

"No," I was quick to answer, elbowing Ash in the stomach.

"Uh." Saion glanced at Rhahar and then Ash before raising his hands. "I feel the need to apologize."

"You don't need to apologize," I said. "He's just cranky."

"Cranky?" repeated Ash.

"Well," Nektas drawled, rising from his chair with Jadis in his arms. The little draken was still focused on Ash as she clutched her father's hair with her claws. "I think it's time we head to the Triton Isles."

"He's right." Saion shook his head, smothering a yawn. " Phanos would've felt this."

And with Kolis being awake, we needed to make it quick.

I ran my fingers over Reaver's head as Nektas handed Jadis off to Aios . The youngling immediately went for the goddess's hair. I turned to Ash and asked in a low voice, "You okay?"

The rigidness of his jaw was starting to fade. Nodding, he folded an arm around my waist, and I saw Reaver approaching Saion, cautiously nudging the god's leg with the top of his head. I guessed that was the draken's way of apologizing.

"Ready?" Nektas asked, approaching us.

"Yes." Ash looked at the others. "Remember, Kolis is awake. Everyone needs to be on high alert."

There were several nods of agreement, and as the mist began to swirl around us, I saw Aios stretch a hand toward Reaver. I didn't like leaving any of them while Kolis was awake, but I reminded myself that the younglings would soon return to Mount Rhee.

The smell of brine reached me before the bright light penetrated the fading mist. We were facing the sea. Sunlight glittered off the endless water, creating a stunning tapestry of sparkling diamonds. Squinting at the surface, I immediately thought of the ceeren who'd given their lives for me.

Gods, I really hoped Phanos made the right call—actually, speaking of Phanos … I started to step back—

Ash caught my arm as Nektas cursed. My gaze flew to his. "Careful," he said. "You're about to step on a lamaea ."

I spun around and looked down, quickly wishing I hadn't.

The pale gray creature wiggled and slid across the sand. The fleshy smack of its flopping fins and the slippery slide of its dragging tails could fill a bucket of nightmares. I was so shocked by the sight of it that I couldn't even concentrate enough to allow my vadentia to tell me what I was looking at. "What…what is that?"

"Another of my father's ill attempts at creating new life," he answered. "A lamaea ."

The creature's almost mortal head and beady black eyes narrowed at Nektas . The draken gave the lamaea a wide berth.

"No offense," I murmured, "but your father really needed to stop trying."

"None taken." He stepped forward as if to walk in front of the creature.

My grip tightened on his hand, and I dug my boots into the sand. "Do you think that's wise?"

"They're harmless," he replied as the thing reared up on its fins, waving its tail arms. There was a distinctive fishy smell.

That was a whole lot of nope.

"Is it…waving at us?" I asked.

Ash grinned. "I believe so."

I gave a short, awkward wave back. The lamaea made a deep, chortling sound before flopping back to the sand. Somewhat dumbfounded, I watched it make its way to the shore and then disappear into the dazzling water.

"Damn it," Nektas growled, drawing my attention. He had one foot lifted, and the sole was covered in something thick and glossy. "I stepped in lamaea slime."

My lip curled as nausea rose so violently that I had to clap my hand over my mouth while Nektas charged up a short hill to where some leafy palm trees swayed in the breeze.

"Maybe you should wear shoes," Ash commented as he led me around the trail of…goo.

Nektas frowned as he dragged his foot over the grass. "Shoes are cumbersome."

Ash snorted, glancing back at me. Concern immediately filled his gaze. "You okay?"

Nektas looked up when I nodded and forced a swallow. "Yeah, I just don't need to be thinking of gooey stuff right now."

"You and me both," the draken muttered.

I trudged through the sand, a fine sheen of sweat breaking out across my forehead by the time we joined Nektas under the palms. I really should've worn one of those sleeveless tunics instead of the quarter-length-sleeve gray one. It was hot under the bright sun.

Wiping my forehead, I looked up and caught sight of the ivory-and-blue-painted limestone palace. The entire second- and third-floor walls were made of glass. "There's no Rise?"

" Phanos once said he didn't want his view of the ocean obstructed," Ash said as we crossed onto stone pavers carved into the shape of bivalve shells.

I could understand that desire as I scanned the silent palace grounds. "He isn't here."

"I don't think anyone is," Nektas said, eyeing the thicker foliage crowding the back of Phanos's palace. "Could they be on one of the other islands?"

"I don't know." Ash frowned as he released my hand and stalked toward the pillared veranda that appeared to circle the entire first level. Bright-red flowers lined the roof's edge, trailing long stems of blossoms. "There should still be guards present here."

As we followed Ash and stepped under the shade of the veranda, a sense of unease rose. A thin veneer of salt hung in the air as the wooden planks creaked under our steps. That gnawing sensation from deep within grew, sending a shiver of premonition down my spine.

"Something's not right," I murmured, almost to myself, but Ash caught the words and gave a curt nod, his jaw set in a way that told me he was on edge, too.

Beside me, Nektas's gaze darted around as he sniffed the air. "I don't like this. At all."

Neither did I.

We reached the back of the veranda, where the shade gave way to a glaring sunlit expanse. The bay unfolded before us, a canvas of vivid blue. Across the water, the silhouettes of other islands rose like slumbering giants. The quiet should have been calming, yet it only served to amplify the disquiet—the wrongness—that whispered through the sea breeze.

My eyes swept over the docks that jutted into the bay like bony fingers. Where ships should have been lashed securely to the moorings, there was only the slap of waves against empty wood. My stare fixed on the ghostly dance of loose ropes in the water.

When I spotted the ropes remaining on the docks, their edges frayed as if they had been hastily severed, my unease turned to dread. "How many ships does Phanos have?"

"Roughly two hundred," Ash stated grimly.

My heart sped up. Not all of Phanos's forty-some thousand soldiers were ceeren . Some were gods and godlings who wouldn't be able to take to the water themselves. My hands fisted as I lifted my gaze to the island, where I could see limestone buildings dotting the hills and valleys.

Eather throbbed intensely. " Phanos could be anywhere."

Ash turned to us. "Two hundred ships would be hard to miss, though," he stated, eather piercing his eyes like streaks of lightning. " Nektas , can you take to the air and see what you can find?"

"What about you two?" he asked as the breeze tossed long strands of hair across his broad shoulders. "I don't like the idea of you two staying here."

"We're not," Ash said. "We're going to return to the Shadowlands in case he's headed there."

"We also need to get word to Theon to be on the lookout," I said, and Ash nodded.

Nektas hesitated, clearly not wanting to leave us, but he nodded and turned, rushing toward the edge of the veranda. He leapt, a shimmery wave sweeping over his body as he shifted into his draken form. His massive wings cast foreboding shadows over the water as Ash came to my side. Dragging my gaze from Nektas , I reached for his hand—

I sucked in a sudden breath as an icy-cold sensation shot down my spine and spread throughout my limbs.

"What is it?" Ash demanded, clasping the nape of my neck.

"I…I don't know." Swallowing, I shook my head as a new awareness pressed down on me, heavy and dark, thudding in my chest and settling in the pit of my stomach. My hand went to my belly.

Ash's inhale was sharp. "Is it the babes?"

"No, it's something else." The skin beneath my ear erupted in tingles, and I said, "I need a minute to figure this out."

Ash went quiet but held on to me. I closed my eyes and concentrated. What I felt reminded me of the echo of death, but it was slightly different. "My stomach keeps dipping like…like something is gravely wrong. Not here, but—" My heart lurched, and my eyes flew open. "I think I'm sensing unrest in Iliseeum ."

"Can you tell if it's in the Shadowlands?" His thumb swept over my fluttering pulse. "Or where it's coming from?"

"I don't know." My skin kept tingling. "But I think I can follow it. Like if I focus on it, I can take us to it."

A muscle flexed in his jaw. "I'd rather take you home first."

"We don't know if that's what I'm feeling," I argued. "We need to figure out what's happening, especially considering what we just found here."

Ash cursed, then nodded. His skin had already begun to thin as I stepped into him. Concentrating on the feeling of unrest, I summoned the eather and felt the Triton Isles slip away from us. The next breath I took filled my lungs with the scent of scorched earth and the metallic tang of blood as Ash and I shadowstepped smack-dab into the middle of a battle.

"Vathi," I gasped and knew immediately what we were seeing—what had happened.

Kyn had launched an attack against his brother.