Текст книги "Born of Blood and Ash"

Автор книги: Jennifer L. Armentrout

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Текущая страница: 15 (всего у книги 63 страниц)

There had also been Gemma.

The embers had healed the wounded. Was the land here not wounded? While I’d tried to use my touch before against the Rot and failed, it was different now. The Rot was gone, and I was no longer a vessel for the embers. I was the embers.

“It might work the same way as it does when I heal someone,” I said, lifting my gaze from my hands as that tingling sensation returned. “It’s worth a try.”

A moment passed. “You really feel like you have to do this?”

“I do.”

Ash opened his mouth but then closed it. He nodded, and I had a feeling he wanted to talk me out of this.

“I’ll be fine,” I assured him.

Ash inclined his chin, but the tic in the muscles of his jaw said he saw right through that assurance.

Hopefully, I would be okay. Healing hadn’t really taken that much of a toll on me before, but this was obviously different. And it was a risk, and possibly a foolish one.

But it was also a gift.

Lowering myself to my knees, I placed my palms against the dry earth of the bank. Soil crumbled at my touch, slipping between my fingers. Feeling Ash getting closer, I closed my eyes and did what I’d done before.

The essence throbbed within me, heating my skin. I opened one eye just as an aura of gold-streaked silver eather pulsed from my palms, spilling onto the dirt.

I waited.

And waited a few more moments.

“Nothing’s happening, is it?” I said.

“Not yet.” Ash knelt behind me. “Maybe it takes some time.”

“Or maybe I have no idea what I’m doing.”

“There is that.”

I slowly turned my head to him.

His silver eyes were the color of the stars above as they met mine. “What are you thinking when you try this?”

“What I’ve done before,” I answered. “I’m wishing for water to return.”

A dark eyebrow rose. “And that is what you did before? You simply wished to heal wounds and give life?”

“I know it doesn’t sound exciting, but yes, that’s what I did.”

“What about when you used the embers to fight?” he asked. “When you freed me?”

“I did the same.”

A lock of hair fell against his cheek when he cocked his head. “I don’t think that’s all you did.”

“Well, if you know what I did, then why don’t you tell me—?” I snapped my mouth shut as it suddenly occurred to me. “It was different as the embers grew stronger. I didn’t wish. I willed it.”

Holding my gaze, Ash nodded. “Remember what I said earlier? The essence is tied to your will. Not your wishes. That is what it responds to.” He paused. “Then again, maybe you’re not capable of bringing water to life.”

My eyes narrowed.

Ash grinned.

“Shut up,” I muttered halfheartedly as I turned to the river channel.

Taking another deep breath, I once more flattened my hands against the arid soil. I didn’t close my eyes this time. I stared at my fingers and the golden swirl on my right hand. Focusing on the pulse of eather inside me, I held on to it, coaxing it to the surface. My skin grew even warmer. A faint golden glow appeared beneath the skin of my hands, slowly traveling up my arms. I felt it flowing across the skin hidden beneath my cloak as I lifted my gaze to the river channel.

In my mind, I pictured fresh, clear water filling the waterway, rolling over the parched earth and soothing its cracks and scars. I willed it. Holding the image in my mind, I demanded it. Water would come. It would. Water would come.

The glow around my hands intensified, flaring with brighter pulses. Water would come. It would rush through this channel, healing this land. Bring life back to it. Water would. I would restore life—

Energy swelled, pressing against my skin. I’d gotten used to the ebb and flow of eather I used to only feel in the center of my chest, and even its intense force the handful of times I’d tapped into the essence of the Primals, but what I felt pulsing through me now was something else entirely.

A low trilling sound came from Ehthawn. Eather pulsed from my palms, rippling out in dozens—no, hundreds—of fine streaks. Arcs of eather went in every direction, covering the riverbed in a network of silvery-gold radiance that beat back the encroaching night. The spiderweb of luminous brilliance throbbed rapidly. One. Two. Three. Then slapped into the dry earth with a shocking, thunderous clap.

Sucking in a startled breath, I jerked back. Ash caught me by the arms, stopping me from toppling over.

“Sera?” Concern filled his voice as he cupped my cheek. He started to turn my head to his.

The ground trembled beneath us. All around us. Dirt beaded and clumped, rolling down the sides of the riverbank.

“Shit.” Ash stood, lifting me as Odin whinnied nervously. He urged me back a step.

Crolee lifted his head, letting out a low-pitched, staggered cry as the riverbed shuddered.

My stomach dipped. “Is it possible that I created an earthquake?”

“I’m beginning to wonder that myself. We should probably move—” he cut himself off with a sharp inhale. “Fates.”

“What?” I scanned the land, not seeing what had caused him to stiffen.

“Look,” he whispered hoarsely.

“I’m looking.” Panic and frustration crashed together. “Where?”

Ash curved his fingers around my chin and guided my gaze down to the center of the channel, where he pointed with his other hand. “There.”

I didn’t see what he was talking about at first. It was just the ground vibrating hard enough to cause the pebbles to bounce. But that…

“That’s not pebbles,” I gasped.

A short laugh burst from him. “No, liessa, it is not.”

Slipping free of his grasp, I went to the edge and bent slightly to get a better look. What I thought had been pebbles dancing in the vibrations were thousands of waterdrops. I looked down the riverbed a ways, stunned to see small puddles forming.

“It’s like it’s raining from the ground.” I laughed. “Gods, that sounds silly.”

Ash was right behind me. “But that’s what it looks like.”

Clasping my hands together, I tried to fight a smile but lost as I looked back at the palace. “This is…wow.” I glanced up at Ash. “It’s going to take forever this way, but this—”

I jumped back as a geyser of water erupted from the center of the riverbed, spraying the air with dirt and cold liquid. Ash caught me with an arm around my waist as the water expanded and grew, forming wings.

He all but picked me up and dragged me back to where Odin and the draken waited as another funnel of water broke through the ground, stretching high into the sky and sprouting water wings. Then another and another—

“I feel like the eather heard your complaint,” Ash stated dryly.

“I didn’t mean to complain.” Wide-eyed, my focus remained on the riverbed. The winged geysers curved forward, crashing back into the bed. “I was just pointing out how long it would take.”

He brushed dirt from my cheeks. “But not any longer.”

“No,” I whispered. “Not any longer.”

Fresh, white-tipped water covered the ground now, flowing down the deeper grooves in the earth as it rushed toward the riverbank, lapping against the sides.

Crolee shifted closer, his head tracking the spouts. Ehthawn reared, lifting his head to the sky. The low trilling sound came once more.

“Am I seeing things, or does the water look like it—?”

The air all around us charged. The essence in me pulsed as the draken lowered themselves until they were almost on their bellies. Energy built and built, constricting—

Ash spun toward his horse and ran his fingers along the silver cuff on his upper arm. “Odin, return to me.”

The horse’s form rippled as I stepped back. Odin turned to smoke, crossing the distance between us and returning to the cuff.

Ash’s hand found mine as a jet of water erupted again, this time behind us. All of us looked at the other side of the road. Fountains of water gushed into the air like moving, winged pillars. They arced, slamming into the riverbed.

“What the…?” Ash hauled me against his chest.

Tiny silvery lights appeared in the empty air before us, then over the riverbanks, the road, and then everywhere. I sucked in a startled breath. It looked like the stars had descended to the land, and in a way, they had.

“It’s the essence,” Ash rasped, shuddering. “It’s the eather of the realms—of the air and the land.”

The lights flickered, becoming gold. Pure, Primal energy flashed from all the stars above and around us, casting the entire Court—the entire realm of Iliseeum—in bright, golden light streaked with silver.

The eather hummed inside me as the very realm itself seemed to hold its breath.

Then it exhaled. Energy rolled out in every direction, the force of it more powerful than any wind I’d felt. Ash dug in, his arms tightening around me as he slid back a foot or so. The pressure even moved the draken as the ground began to tremble once more.

As the eather rippled out, kissing the land in its golden-silver glow, the dull grayness of what was left of the Rot vanished.

“Oh my gods,” I whispered. “Ash.”

“I see it.” His eyes were luminous pools in the gold-and-silver glow of the realm.

Along the road, blades of grass broke free of the top layers of soil and spread out, reaching the river and beyond. Fragile stems sprouted, stretching upward as leaves unfurled, and red buds formed.

“Poppies,” Ash breathed.

They grew along the road in clumps as the twisted trees shook out their gnarled limbs and straightened. Deep, violet leaves burst forth, filling the once-bare branches.

The glow of eather began to fade, and the energy left the air. Night fell once more. Starlight returned, and none of us moved as we stood there, listening to the hum of rushing water and the wind shaking the leaves.

My gaze fell on the poppies. They opened, slowly revealing their crimson petals to the stars.

“I hope the poppies are in a good mood,” I said. “And don’t poison us.”

Ash didn’t answer.

Heart thumping, I tore my gaze from the flowers.

Ash was staring at me with eyes wide and full of swirling streaks of eather, lips parted enough that I could see the tips of his fangs.

I touched his chest. “Ash?”

His throat worked on a swallow. “How are you feeling?”

“Normal. Fine.” I searched his features. He looked a little pale. “How are you feeling?”

He shook his head silently as he lowered himself to one knee before me, my hand still held in his.

A jolt ran through me. This wasn’t the first time he’d done this. I’d never forget how, upon learning that I carried the true embers of the Primal of Life, he’d knelt before me. It still shocked me.

Crolee rocked back then, lifting his head to the night sky. His call echoed Ehthawn’s—one I heard in my bones and understood as Ash’s lashes lifted. Molten silver eyes pierced the night.

“Awed,” he rasped. “I’m in fucking awe of you.” He bowed his head, pressing his lips to my palm and the golden swirl of our marriage imprint. A faint tremble radiated from his hand to mine. “My Queen.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

I woke to find myself half-sprawled across Ash’s chest and feeling…strange.

And nauseous.

I lifted my head, glancing toward the balcony doors. The world outside still carried the darkness of night. Gods, I couldn’t have slept that long after returning to our chambers.

I started to lay back down when the inside of my mouth filled with saliva, forcing me to quickly swallow. My eyes widened at the acidic taste in my mouth.

Oh, gods, I wouldn’t vomit on Ash as he slept. Or anytime.

Carefully, I eased out of his lax embrace, not wanting to wake him.

I failed.

Before my foot even hit the floor, Ash stirred. “Liessa…”

“It’s okay,” I assured him, wincing at the churning in my stomach. “I’m just getting something to drink and going to the bathing chamber. I’ll be right back.”

“Hurry.”

I smiled despite the nausea and quickly rose. Padding barefoot across the floor, I stopped at the small table and poured myself a glass of water. Taking a few quick sips, I glanced at the bed and made my way to the bathing chamber. Ash remained on his back, one arm curved against the pillow beside him and the other hand resting on the blanket gathered at his lean hips. Despite feeling queasy, heat pooled low in my core. As weird as it sounded, there was something decadently sensual about a sleeping man. I’d never noticed before.

Gods, I wanted to rip that blanket aside and straddle him.

A sleepy growl rumbled from Ash’s chest, causing tight, fine shivers to race down my spine.

“Liessa,” he murmured, his voice thick with sleep and… I inhaled deeply, catching the scent of his arousal. “I can taste your slickness on my tongue.”

My lips parted at the sharp pang of desire his words elicited.

The deep growl came again. “You should come back to bed now.”

I was half-tempted to do just that, but until I was sure I wouldn’t throw up, I figured it would be a bad idea. “I’ll be right back.”

His snarl of disapproval brought another smile to my face as I tore my gaze from him and entered the chamber. I drank as much water as I could, erasing the taste in my mouth before placing the glass on the vanity. Luckily, as I took care of personal needs, the nausea subsided. I felt completely normal.

Actually, that wasn’t entirely true. I still felt strange. My skin prickled on and off. I figured it must have something to do with me using the essence earlier to restore the river.

I picked up the glass of water, drinking what was left—

I gasped, nearly dropping the glass as Ash appeared behind me in the mirror. He wordlessly reached around me, plucked the glass from my grasp, and placed it on the vanity. “Did you just shadowstep from the bed to the bathing chamber?”

“Maybe,” he said, burying his face in the crook of my neck as he folded an arm around my waist and pulled me against his chest. His right hand rested on my belly, just above my navel. Even in the dim light of the bathing chamber, the contrast between my paler skin and his rich tones was stark. “I grew impatient.”

He’d also grown hard.

My skin flushed at the feel of his thick length against my back. “I wasn’t gone that long.”

“We will have to disagree on that,” he said, and I saw his hand sliding down in the reflection. I widened my stance, giving that wandering hand of his permission.

My heart thudded as I watched his other hand curl around my right breast. My already pebbled nipples hardened as he drew his finger across the peak. The breath I took caught as his lips coasted up the side of my neck, drawing forth blade-sharp anticipation of feeling his fangs against my skin and…an emotion I refused to focus on.

I bit my lip as he rolled the nipple between his forefinger and thumb. A tremor went through me. “Should we return to the bedchamber?”

“I’m too impatient to do so.” He nipped at my ear as his hand delved between my thighs. One long, cool finger slipped inside, drawing a ragged moan from me. “And you know what you are?”

I watched the tendons of his hand flex as his finger—fingers—moved inside me. “What?”

“You’re just as slick and wet as I tasted earlier.”

Oh, gods.

A shudder of heat and desire went through me as my hips twitched against his hand. His fang scraped my earlobe once more as he withdrew his hand from my thighs and dragged his palm up my stomach, leaving a glistening trail in its wake.

“So very wet,” he purred.

My skin was burning, but it had little to do with how blatant my arousal was. His fingers dragged over my left breast as his lips brushed my temple—

Something cool and soft slipped over my calf, causing my body to jerk. I started to look down, but Ash folded his hand over the front of my throat. He tipped my head back, and I caught a brief glimpse of the silvery orbs of his eyes before he claimed my mouth with his.

The kiss was fierce, parting my lips with one sweep of his tongue as that cool, swirling mass of energy reached my knee. My pulse pounded as his tongue swept over my fangs. The rich, smoky taste of his blood hit my tongue as cool air kissed the area between my thighs. A shudder racked me as I felt another tendril curl itself around my upper leg, lifting it and spreading me open. Ash chuckled against my lips and then deepened the kiss, his tongue thrusting just as the essence did the same. I cried out, my back arching as his Primal essence filled me. His mouth left mine, but his hand stayed at my throat as my gaze flicked back to the mirror.

I was transfixed by what I saw, unable to look away as the thick, shadowy tendril wrapped around my right leg moved deep inside me.

“You’re even wetter now.” Ash’s rough voice vibrated through the bathing chamber as he, too, was fixated on our reflection. “Even more soft and hot.”

Gods, he was…

Ash was wicked.

I trembled as I felt crackling air spin itself along my right leg, the buzz of energy teasing and humming as it climbed. My breath stuttered as I felt his essence beneath my rear, lifting me until neither foot touched the floor.

“That’s my pretty, wet pussy,” he whispered in my ear. I moaned as the hold around my waist tightened. “I need to feel it on my cock.”

“Yes, please.”

His laugh was short and rough. The essence retreated, but before I could mourn its loss, Ash’s cock was buried deep inside me.

“Oh, gods,” I cried out, feeling all my tiny muscles clench around him.

Ash wasn’t in the mood for sweet, tender lovemaking. Obviously. He fucked, and with the way he and his essence held me, how the pulsating strands of eather moved me back against him as he thrust into me, he had complete control. And that heightened my lust to the point where it was almost painful.

“You’re so beautiful,” he rasped. “So perfect.”

My head fell back against his chest as he rocked against me—

A thin tendril danced over the curve of my ass cheek. My eyes flew open.

Ash’s movements stilled. His gaze in the reflection snared mine. The wisp of energy slipped over where we were joined, teasing the empty, sensitive opening. “What do you want, meyaah Liessa?”

I immediately knew what he wanted to hear me say. “Fuck me,” I whispered. “Fuck my pussy and my ass, my King.”

His chuckle was darkly sensual. The current of eather pulsed and then eased itself into me. The sound I made scorched my cheeks as the pressure filled me to the point where I felt like I would lose all sense. Tension curled so tightly there was a good chance I would come if he so much as twitched.

But he didn’t. Ash was utterly still behind and in me.

“You forgot something,” he chided.

“What…?” My eyes narrowed as I realized what he meant. “How about, fuck me now?”

“That’s not it.”

“I know.”

The tendril expanded slightly, drawing out a ragged curse. “What do you want, meyaah Liessa?” he asked again.

I could refuse, and if I did, I knew he’d still give me what I wanted, but he also knew it wasn’t what I needed.

I turned my head toward his. “Fuck me.” Our lips brushed. “Fuck me in my ass and pussy, Ash.”

He groaned. “As you wish.”

And that is what he did. His hips and essence moved in perfect rhythm. The pleasure was all-consuming, almost too much, and I strained and twisted in his hold as the curls of tension built quickly. Ash thrust deep and hard, holding me tightly as I ground on him. The coil deep inside me spun and spun until I didn’t think I could take much more. My entire body was too sensitive. I was too full.

The hand at my throat tipped my head back. “I love you,” Ash whispered against my lips, kissing me.

Those three words sent me over the edge. The climax took me hard, rushing through me in pounding waves of ecstasy. My cries were lost in Ash’s groan as he found his release.

I didn’t know how long we stayed that way as sweet aftershocks fluttered through both of us, but my knees were still a little weak by the time he eased himself from me and placed me on my feet.

He kissed my temple. “Stay right there.”

“Yes, sir,” I murmured.

He shot me a quick grin, then found a washcloth that he dampened. Returning to stand behind me, he kissed the corner of my lips as he gently swept the washcloth between my thighs. The act of him cleaning me up was so sweet I thought I might cry. Like seriously. Tears clogged my throat, and I rolled my eyes at myself. I had no idea why I was so emotional. I was going to blame post-orgasmic bliss.

“Coming back to bed?” Ash asked, tossing the washcloth into a hamper.

I nodded. “In a minute.”

“Don’t take too long.” His lips brushed my forehead. “You’ve kept me up long enough.”

“Me?” I laughed as he stepped away. “I was minding my own business in here, thank you very much.”

“Yes, you were minding your own business walking around naked.” He opened the door as he looked over his shoulder at me. A lock of hair fell across his face. “While being as wet as sin.”

My mouth dropped open.

“What else was I to do?” he questioned, one side of his lips curving up.

I snapped my mouth shut as my eyes narrowed. He chuckled, turning away. “You know,” I said, “it’s inappropriate to point out things like that.”

“One would also think having such a hungry pussy is also inappropriate,” he replied.

A shocked giggle burst from my lips. “Naughty Ash.”

“Naughty pussy, more like.”

“Oh, my gods.” I smacked my hands over my face. “I think we can stop saying pussy now.”

Ash chuckled. “I’ll be waiting for you.”

I shook my head as he closed the door, even though I absolutely loved this dirty side of him. I thought back to what we’d just done. I really loved the dirtier side of him.

Figuring it would be best if I stopped thinking about that before I found myself once more in Ash’s arms, I bent over the vanity and splashed cool water on my way-too-hot face. I plucked up the nearest clean towel to dry myself as my gaze drifted to the mirror.

Even in the dim glow of the lamplight, seeing my eyes still came as a shock, despite looking like my freckled self.

Well, not completely like myself. There was a slight golden glow to my skin that hadn’t been there before I rose as a Primal. I lifted my upper lip until the tips of the two small fangs appeared.

What would Ezra think upon seeing them? Gods, she would have so many questions, and I…I wanted to answer them. My eyes closed as a pang of yearning ran through me. I wanted to see her and Marisol. Perhaps even my mother—

The sudden sensation of pins and needles erupted as the eather pulsed in the center of my chest and formed what felt like a cord. A connection. That link surged through me, pulling taut as it stretched beyond the palace and the Shadowlands. Essence swelled, flooding my veins. Behind my closed eyelids, I saw gold and silver. The intensity snagged the breath I took. I pressed my hand to my stomach as the rise of power crested and then steadied, leveling out.

It balanced.

Black washed over the silver-laced gold light. Black streaked with crimson.

Sucking in a sharp breath, my eyes flew open—

My heart lurched.

What I saw was brief and only lasted a heartbeat, if that, but I saw.

And it wasn’t my eyes that met mine. It wasn’t my reflection that stared back at me.

It was silver eyes streaked with red. It was the face I saw in my nightmares.

Kolis.

Ash once more shadowstepped into the bathing chamber. “What’s wrong?”

I staggered forward, my mouth dry. What I saw now was my reflection. The same as before, except the freckles stood out more starkly. But I had seen him.

“Sera?” Ash was at my side, placing a hand on my lower back. “Talk to me.”

“I’m okay,” I said hoarsely. My heart pounded as I gripped the vanity, willing myself to calm. “I…I just need a moment.”

He ran his hand up and down my back. “Take as many as you need.”

The calming sweep of his palm helped push away the panic and confusion, clearing my thoughts enough for me to focus on what’d just happened. I knew Kolis hadn’t really been here, but I also knew what that cord-like sensation meant. What it was telling me. It was either the vadentia or all the information I’d gained during the Ascension.

That link—that connection—had always existed between the true Primal of Life and the true Primal of Death. After all, Life could not exist without Death. They walked the realms side by side, and all that link meant was that Death had awakened. Had become conscious. Aware. That was why I hadn’t felt it before, and I would also bet that it was the source of what had awakened me and left me feeling nauseous. Shockingly, Kolis had still been in stasis up until this very moment.

“Fuck,” I whispered, and Ash’s hand momentarily halted before continuing. Opening my eyes, I faced Ash. “It’s Kolis.”

The tendrils of eather stilled in his eyes as he curved one of his hands around mine. “Talk to me,” he said.

“I sensed Kolis.”

Those wisps of eather brightened as intensely as stars. “I’m going to need more details.”

As I told him what happened, his jaw clenched and became as hard as the shadowstone around us. “It was weird, but I know he’s been in a stasis until now.”

“Do you still feel him?”

“No.” I frowned as I thought twice. “I mean, I don’t technically feel him.”

Frigid air blew off Ash. “What does that mean, Sera? Do you hear him? Feel anything?” His flesh thinned as his head dipped until we were at eye level. “Please, do not lie to me about this. I beg of you.”

“It’s more an awareness of him, of him being conscious,” I quickly clarified. “And that is all.” I squeezed his hand. “I swear.”

His chest rose with a heavy breath. “I didn’t know that was possible.”

“I didn’t either. Well, I did but didn’t realize I knew,” I said, knowing that made little sense. “There’s a lot of stuff in my head. Too much, really. But it’s quite possible that no one else knew about that, not even Nektas.”

Ash nodded, his flesh gradually thickening. “If he did, he would’ve said something.” His jaw loosened. “Well, now we know why he has been so silent. Stasis was the true cause of his absence and lack of action.”

I wanted to deny it, but it would be foolish to do so.

“This doesn’t change our plans.” He cupped my cheek.

“I know.”

“You done in here?”

I nodded, and worry started to fester as Ash led me from the bathing chamber. I took a deep breath, reminding myself that nothing had changed. We’d been operating as if Kolis had been awake this entire time anyway.

But even I knew that was a whole lot of bullshit because Kolis was awake, and that changed everything.

The following morning, I knew I should be with Ash as the security for today’s speech was discussed, but instead, I was on the Rise, walking toward the wall facing Lethe. It was the easiest way for me to see the Dying Woods. Something had occurred to me.

The Shades.

The slight heels of my leather boots clapped softly on the stone as I glanced down, seeing lush grass filling the courtyard and Rhahar’s lurking figure just beneath me. He wasn’t alone. Kars, the fair-haired and muscular guard who had once offered to train me, was with him. They had been following me since the moment Ash left.

Something odd had happened when I’d spotted Kars as I climbed the Rise. I’d never been able to tell before if he was a god or a godling—the child of a mortal and a god—but I’d known right then that he was one of the rare godlings who entered the Culling and survived. It was similar to what had happened when I saw the guard on the Rise yesterday.

The vadentia sure was strengthening quickly.

However, the embers inside me since birth had already matured to an extent, which likely explained why things were happening faster for me.

But that rapidly developing ability wasn’t why I was on the Rise.

When I used the essence to fill the riverbed, I’d been focused on bringing water back to the Shadowlands. But I’d restored a lot more than that.

The Shadowlands were virtually unrecognizable.

A pleasant breeze swirled along the Rise, lifting a stray curl as I continued on. I thought I had a good idea how this had happened. When I tapped into the essence, I had also willed life to return to the Shadowlands. That was how the fields of poppies and grass had appeared. How the trees along the road into the Shadowlands straightened and sprouted glossy violet and green leaves. It was why the soil was a rich, dark brown. I did more than I had intended to. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, except that there were dead things moving about in the Shadowlands.

The Shades.

Had my will impacted them?

The eather stirred restlessly as my steps slowed. The sea of vibrant crimson thinned, and the twisted, bare, ashen trees appeared, scattered at first and then becoming more crowded as the woods thickened.

I stopped at a parapet to scan the Dying Woods. A gloom clung to the trees where the forest was the thickest, obscuring everything below the tops of the thin, gnarled branches. My gaze traveled to the thinnest part of the Dying Woods. I could see the dull, lifeless ground through the stagnant fog gathered midway down the trees.

The Dying Woods hadn’t changed.

Movement drew my attention toward the heavier parts. The gloom there had thickened, and it moved. Eather throbbed, pressing against my skin.

Shades.

I sucked in a sharp breath and took a step back. My hands spasmed and then fisted. Wispy gray forms slunk around tree trunks, creeping toward the edges of the Dying Woods. I closed my eyes, pushing down the swell of eather as my fingers tingled. The Dying Woods remained as it had always been. That was good news. A part of me had been half-afraid that I’d brought all the Shades back to life.

And I was a little sad.

Not all the Shades were evil—well, now they were, but they hadn’t all started out that way. Some had just been afraid when they came upon the Pillars of Asphodel, terrified that they would be sentenced to the Abyss for stealing, telling lies, forgery, or adultery. Bad things, but sometimes necessary. Mistakes. Actions that hadn’t damned them.

Until now.

Now, they were lost.

And I knew why that bothered me. I’d spent the better part of my life fearing where I would end up after my death. Even after Ash, I had been afraid. I didn’t know if the Fates would intervene, preventing Ash from judging me kindly. The worst part was that I knew where I deserved to go. It wasn’t the Vale, yet I was the Agna Adice.

The Great Condemner.

And how messed up was that?

A lot. The answer was a lot.

But why hadn’t my will affected the Shades and the Dying Woods? Opening my eyes, I saw that the Shades were closer, gathering near the edge of the trees. The sensation of fingertips along the nape of my neck hit me as the answer to my question formed.