Текст книги "Born of Blood and Ash"

Автор книги: Jennifer L. Armentrout

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Текущая страница: 59 (всего у книги 63 страниц)

As wrong as it was, a smile crossed my lips. I lifted my head—

The space around me stirred as Ash’s roar thundered. I spun, catching a brief glimpse of Kolis skidding across the ruined floor before my gaze locked with the pale blue eyes of a Revenant.

Callum smiled. “Miss me?”

I stepped to the side, fast but not fast enough. Air punched from my lungs in a fiery burst of pain.

Shadows peeled away from the sides of the Temple, rippling and racing across the floor. I looked down.

A bone dagger jutted out of me, the hilt reverberating from the impact of the thrust. The ungodly heat of the bone blade started to burn my flesh. I staggered back. “Were you aiming for my heart?”

“I was.”

I lifted my gaze, and a metallic taste filled my mouth again. “Guess what?” I gritted out, grabbing the hilt. “You missed.”

Callum sighed, shoulders slumping. “Shit.”

Behind him, a violent, churning mass of shadows pulsed and throbbed. In the center, two silvery eyes glowed with feral rage.

“And you’ve really pissed off my husband.” I smiled through the burn of pain. “Fucker.”

Callum started to turn, but the shadows snaked out, slamming into him. Twin streams of smoky eather burst through his shoulders, throwing him back several feet behind me and into a hall. Another sliced through his stomach. Screaming, he flailed wildly as he was sucked into the air.

Jaw clenched, I yanked the bone dagger free. It hadn’t been in there long. I would heal. At some point. “Gods,” I hissed, taking a deep breath, then looked… I could no longer see Callum—well, I saw pieces of him falling and splattering off the floor, but I didn’t think that counted.

He’d come back.

I started to turn but stopped. My eyes narrowed on the air distorting around Callum’s remains. “What the—?”

But right now, that wasn’t the biggest problem, nor was the pain in my chest.

Kolis had released Naberius.

The draken formed from crimson-and-black mist in a wave of scales and bared teeth. A meaty foreleg swept out, his talons as sharp as daggers.

“Watch out!” I screamed, but it was too late.

Naberius raked his talons across Ash’s back, cutting through his wings. He stumbled, pain flashing across his features for the briefest moment when his wings evaporated in a shower of sparks. The scent of his blood ignited a fury in my chest, hotter and brighter than the flames of a thousand suns. The ceiling overhead suddenly shook. Something large and heavy had landed on the roof. A crack immediately appeared.

The ceiling peeled back, and Nektas descended into the chamber, sinking his forelegs into Naberius’s back.

The other draken roared in agony as Nektas lifted, carrying Nab upward.

“Return to me!” Kolis shouted, brushing his hand over the cuff on his upper arm. “Now.”

Naberius shuddered, turning into a shimmery red-and-silver mist as Kolis landed on the floor. Stone and debris slid across the floor when he stalked toward Ash.

“I will strip the flesh from your bones, nephew.” Eather spun from his hands. “She will be cloaked in your skin—” His words ended in a shout of anger as Thierran appeared behind him like a hooded wraith, clasping the sides of Kolis’s head.

Kolis’s body bowed, and his arms went rigid. A low murmur came, like a whisper of wind rolling through the chamber. Thierran reached deep into Kolis’s mind and took his worst fears, amplifying them. Behind the painted red wings, his eyes went wide. The mist around Kolis evaporated as Ash straightened, exhaling heavily and shaking off the pain. The eather slowed, and Kolis’s mouth dropped open. His pupils dilated as the murmurs increased, feeding the waking nightmare.

“No,” rasped Kolis. He began to tremble. Streaks of dampness cut through the red paint under his eyes. “No. I love you. I’ve always loved you.”

“Sick fuck,” Ash growled.

Thierran’s gaze met mine. “You need to knock him out. Now.”

“Gladly,” I spat.

I extended my hand, palm upturned toward the sky, and drew upon the ancient power coursing through my veins. The air crackled with energy, every particle vibrating with the force of my will.

“Sotoria—no,” Kolis begged—sobbed. “Please.”

Eather crackled across my palm. I unleashed the bolt of pure power, a torrent of light so intense it seemed to tear the very fabric of the realm.

The bolt struck true, hitting Kolis in the chest. He let out an ear-splitting scream when the energy coursed through him, throwing Thierran back. The eather seared Kolis’s flesh and bones, making him convulse. Blood poured from his mouth as he dropped to his knees and fell forward.

“He shut the fuck up.” Ash kicked the Primal onto his back. “Finally.”

“Does the wound still burn?” Ash asked, he and Attes carefully lifting a section of bone chain.

“Barely,” I admitted, eyeing the back of Ash’s shredded tunic. The jagged tears Naberius had delivered had stopped bleeding by the time we arrived in Oak Ambler.

“Get ready,” Attes said with a hiss of pain. He looked as ragged as we did. His clothing was torn and bloodied, and it looked like a dakkai or draken had gotten ahold of his arm. The deep gouge in his flesh had closed but was still a bright pink. “He’s starting to twitch.”

My gaze went back to Kolis. Attes had stripped his chest bare. The trapped arm jerked.

Ash dropped his side of the chains over a very sensitive part of Kolis, drawing a snort from me. Both of them stepped back. Faint smoke had begun rising from the chains resting against flesh. Attes handed Ash a sharpened bone with one end wrapped in a thick cloth.

Really should’ve considered wearing gloves.

Kolis came awake all at once. The name he bellowed rattled over the cavernous walls. Sotoria.

Gods.

I unsheathed the bone dagger from my thigh.

His wild gaze darted around, landing on Ash and then me, his chest rising fast beneath the chains. “What in the…?” His head fell back against the slab of mineral and stone. A look of relief skittered across his face. “Sotoria wasn’t… It wasn’t real.”

He smiled.

The fucker smiled, and it was real, transforming his too-perfect features beneath the streaked wings painted on his face.

Gods.

I snapped forward, dragging the bone over Kolis’s left wrist as Ash sliced into his right. Blue-tinted blood spilled over his flesh, spreading down his wide-stretched arms. The relief quickly vanished when Kolis’s surroundings finally sank in.

He cursed, hurling various insults in both the mortal tongue and the ancient Primal language. We ignored him, slashing the arteries running up both legs. Blood was quickly pooling on the floor under him—

“I will fuck your corpses,” Kolis raged.

The blood wasn’t draining from Kolis quickly enough, in my opinion.

Ash raised a brow and moved away, reaching for the bone chains. “I’m not sure what is more perverse,” Ash remarked, moving toward the bone chains. “The necrophilia or the incest.”

“Do we have to pick one?” I asked.

Ash laughed.

“You aren’t doing shit,” I said to Kolis, kneeling over him. He glared at Ash as if he could will him into nonexistence. “You will be right here. If you do wake up at some point, I imagine you will fall into madness before you lose consciousness again.”

“Fall into madness.” Attes huffed. “I think that’s already water under the bridge.”

I smiled. “Years will pass. Centuries. You will be forgotten.” I leaned to the side so my face was in front of his. He still stared at Ash. “And Sotoria?”

His eyes finally shot to mine, burning with unholy hatred.

“She will be free of you,” I said. “She will never have to fear you again.”

“So’lis will be reborn,” he seethed, blood and spit trailing down his chin. The sheen of red bone beneath his flesh was visible. “Mark my words. The Fates will decree it. They will reset the balance, and nothing—absolutely nothing—in this realm or beyond will stop me from having her. I will rise again as the Bringer of Death and Destruction.”

I stilled.

Ash yanked the bone chains tighter, pinning Kolis onto his back. “If that day comes, we’ll be waiting.”

I shook my head, rising so I stood over his legs.

Kolis snarled, his fangs snapping at the air, his gaze dropping to the bone dagger and then lifting to mine. “Do it. I dare you, Seraphena.”

I laughed, and high above us, thunder rolled. “You don’t have to dare me.”

Attes tossed another section of chain over Kolis’s groin, drawing out a hiss of pain. “My bad,” he said. “They slipped.”

Kicking his head back against the stone, Kolis laughed. “I’m going to beat those babes from your stomach and dine on—”

Ash moved fast. He slammed his fist through Kolis’s throat, tearing tendons and shattering bones in one wet, crunchy-sounding punch. “As my wife just said, you aren’t doing shit.”

Eather flared weakly around Kolis’s form as his mouth moved wordlessly.

“What?” I leaned over, curving a hand around my ear. “I can’t hear you.”

His eyes turned, becoming black pools. My body immediately went cold, and the nape of my neck tingled. The nothingness of his eyes swirled around a pinprick of red. Blood not yet spilled. And in that burning crimson, I saw…

Sucking in a breath, I jerked back. Ash’s gaze flew to mine as he shook the gore from his hand. “Liessa?”

I blinked, my heart pounding. “It’s okay.” I swallowed hard, glancing at the second dagger Ash had gifted me that I clutched tightly, and then I looked over my shoulder to where Attes stood, his hand tight around the shaft of a bone spear. “You partial to that spear?”

Attes’s head cocked, his eyebrows furrowing. “Not exactly.”

“Good, because I’m going to need this dagger,” I said, turning back to Kolis. “I’m not going to waste it on you. It’s too pretty.” I held it between us, wanting him to see it—wanting him to remember it. “Besides, if you do come back? And she is reborn?”

Kolis went still.

“I will place this dagger in her hand myself,” I whispered. “And it will be she who drives it through your heart.”

Leaning back, I held his gaze as I sheathed the dagger. Without taking my eyes from Kolis, I extended my hand.

Attes walked the spear to me. I took it and rose, adjusting my grip on the leather band down the center. My muscles trembled with the need to drive it through Kolis’s heart and into the blood-soaked stone below him, but…

I raised my eyes to where Ash stood on Kolis’s other side.

But the pain Kolis had caused me was nothing compared to what he had done to Ash.

Taking a deep, cleansing breath, I handed the spear to Ash.

His gaze dropped to the weapon and then returned to mine. “You sure?”

I nodded.

He froze for a moment, his chest still, and then he reached across Kolis’s prone body and clasped the nape of my neck. His fingers curled into the braid there to guide my mouth to his. The kiss was fierce and hard, an expression of both savage gratitude and a promise that he would show me just how thankful he was later as he took the weapon from me.

He slowly lifted his mouth and pressed his forehead to mine. “I love you, liessa.”

“I love you,” I whispered.

His hand slipped from my braid, and I stepped back. I could feel Kolis’s unwavering stare on me now, full of hatred. I didn’t look at him. He wasn’t worth it. When Ash turned back to Kolis, he didn’t speak. Again, he wasn’t worth it. Ash folded his left hand under his right and lifted the spear. A heartbeat passed. That was all.

Ash sank to one knee and plunged the spear into Kolis’s chest. Ribs cracked and gave way. I exhaled roughly as the spear struck true. Kolis jerked, his fingers clawing into the stone beneath him.

I looked at Kolis’s face, and hairs rose all over my body. Our eyes met. His mouth stretched wide in a silent roar. A bright, ruby glow rippled over his body, sparking and sputtering against the floor and then quickly retracting. His skin thinned and vanished, revealing the churning, crimson-streaked black vines etched into the bones beneath.

The air stilled.

The realm went silent.

Kolis’s…presence eased away from me.

“Here we go,” Attes murmured.

Ash’s head bowed as the spear hit stone and then sank into it. The impact was a shockwave, shaking the floor and rattling the damp-looking walls. A stale-lilac-smelling wind blew the wisps of hair back from my face. Dust and dirt fell from the ceiling, and red-and-black eather erupted from where the spear had been plunged deep into Kolis’s chest. Streams of essence snaked out, filling the air with a thousand screams. The twisted mass of energy streaked to the north and south, then to the east and west, slamming into the walls and crawling up them. I tensed, realizing his energy was…was seeking a way out. If that happened, the city would be leveled.

The eather rolled over the ceiling, and cracks appeared in the walls, the floor, and above us. The screams continued as the celastite in the walls held firm, serving two purposes: to keep the essence of the realms out and the Primal essence inside.

Eather pulsed, washing the space in a crimson glow. My boots sent loosened dirt and small stones scattering when I stepped back, watching the light fade into the fissures that had formed shapes. Circles with a vertical line through them.

The symbol of Death.

Nearly the same as the Mierel Crest.

Ash rose as the last of the eather seeped into the walls. He turned to me, but my gaze returned to Kolis.

The true Primal of Death was nothing but bone and empty flesh, already turning gray.

Ash returned to my side, taking my hand as I breathed in, and it felt like the first real breath I’d ever taken.

CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE

We walked from the underground chamber onto one of the many cliffs overlooking the Stroud Sea, the salty breeze washing over us. Bright sunlight reflected off the white-tipped waves crashing against the rocky shore below.

Behind us, the earth shuddered. Stone tumbled, and dirt fell in sheets as Attes collapsed the tunnel that led to Kolis’s tomb.

It was done.

As Ash’s arm draped over my shoulders, I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, leaning into Ash. I was so damn tired, exhausted to the bone, but my lips split into a wide smile.

Kolis was entombed, and he would remain that way forevermore.

We’d won.

“It’s over,” Ash said, tipping his chin to the sky.

My smile froze and then faded. I should be celebrating. I wanted to continue smiling. We’d won. I should be cheering. It was over.

For now.

But Kolis’s promise haunted every step I took as I left the tunnel. So did the damn prophecy.

Keella’s warning whispered through my thoughts, the image of the air warping around Callum’s remains forming in my mind. I’d forgotten about that as the old Temple was destroyed. And something about that caused a great sense of unease to rise.

Ash’s arm tightened around me. “Let’s go home,” he said, brushing his lips over my temple. “I want you checked before we take care of Sotoria.”

That wasn’t the only thing we needed to do. I had to make sure the bone army returned to their slumber. We needed to check on the state of things in the Bonelands. Help our wounded. Count our dead. But…

A chill crawled across my neck and then slithered down my spine. Tiny hairs all over my body began to rise when I looked up at Ash.

His hand slid over my upper back, and he turned to me. “Sera?” Concern darkened his eyes. “What is it?”

I wasn’t sure, but the unease intensified, causing my pulse to speed up.

Ash turned me so I was facing him. He clasped my cheeks. “Sera?”

“What’s going on?” Attes asked, joining us at the cliff’s edge, the blood spotting his face turning pink in the sunlight.

“I don’t know.” Ash’s gaze searched mine. “Talk to us, liessa.”

My heart pounded. “We need to take care of Sotoria now.”

Ash’s jaw immediately hardened. “I think that can wait until Kye—”

“It really can’t.” I swallowed. “We need to do it now.”

His eyes narrowed. “Is your vadentia telling you something?”

“I don’t know, but remember what Keella said about the prophecy?” I reminded him, and Ash swore. He knew how important it was to free Sotoria before the Fates did something idiotic, but he was battling with his need to make sure the babes and I were okay. I twisted toward Attes. “I need you to take us to The Star.”

Attes frowned. “I can do that, but I’d prefer if we backed up a second first because you are acting—”

“No,” I interrupted. “We need to go there,” I insisted. “Now.”

Attes led us through the maze of halls forged from shadowstone deep beneath his palace in Essaly. His armor had vanished, and he’d dropped his swords upon entering. We were all tired, and the wound in my shoulder had faded to a dull ache, but our steps were fast.

Flames ignited from the torches lining the hall as we passed, casting an amber glow that beat back the darkness.

I walked beside Ash, my hand held tightly in his while he continuously smoothed his thumb over the top of it. The whole time, I kept telling myself we still had a chance to truly stop the prophecy from coming true. We’d entombed Kolis. All we needed to do now was release Sotoria. If so, Kolis would remain where we’d put him, the Ancients would stay in the ground, and Sotoria would be given a choice—something she hadn’t had in far too many years.

Then everything would be perfect. We could relax. Iliseeum would change. So would the mortal realm. Ash and I could have the future he’d spoken of the night in the throne room.

Attes stopped before a door carved from a smooth, glossy shadowstone slab. He placed his hand on the surface, and the door swung open in a silent glide across the floor. Candles along the walls lit the small, circular chamber, casting a soft, flickering glow over jeweled chests of various sizes.

Attes entered first, but he’d only taken two steps before jerking to a stop. The sudden rush of eather inside him charged the air. “No.”

Upon hearing that single word, my skin flashed hot and then cold. And I knew. I fucking knew.

“What?” Ash asked.

“The Star…” Attes staggered past the chests toward a pedestal surrounded by thick candles raised in iron candelabras.

A pedestal as bare as the one in the House of Haides.

“It’s gone.” He threw out an arm in an angry sweep, sending several chests slamming against the walls. “It was here this morning. I check it every day, in the morning and at night. This is impossible.”

Ash’s hand slipped free of mine as he scanned the chamber. “I doubt this is something you would’ve misplaced. So, who else knows about this room?”

“No one,” Attes gritted out, thrusting his hand through his hair. He tugged at the strands. “Absolutely fucking no one. That is why I kept it here.”

“That’s not true,” I said, and they both turned to me. “The Fates know. They see all. It wouldn’t matter where you hid The Star. They would always be able to find it.”

Attes’s eyes widened. “Sure, but why would they take it?”

“Remember what Holland said about some of the Fates wanting to wake the Ancients in a way they believed could be controlled?” I said. “They would need her soul to do that.”

Ash’s gaze swung back to mine, and he cursed.

“Why would they need her soul for that?” Attes demanded, chest rising and falling rapidly as his eather began churning along the flesh of his throat. He stepped toward me, his tone hardening. “What do you know that you haven’t told me?”

Ash was immediately in front of me. “Speak to my wife in that tone again, and you will find yourself unable to speak another word.”

“It’s okay.” I touched Ash’s back. “He’s not angry with me.”

“I don’t give a fuck who he’s angry at,” Ash growled, glaring at Attes. “You’re telling me that you knew just about every damn thing my father was planning, but you didn’t know the actual reason he put Sotoria’s soul into her bloodline?”

Attes’s gaze was locked on the Primal before him. “He put her soul there so she could stop Kolis once and for all.”

“It was never just about him,” I said. “It’s the prophecy. Eythos was trying to circumvent it, hoping Sotoria would be reborn now and marry his son long before the time period Penellaphe saw in her vision.”

“Yeah, I’m really confused since that is what Eythos planned.” Attes took a step back, drawing in a deep breath. “Didn’t work out that way.”

“No shit,” Ash bit out.

Attes ignored him. “You know what? It doesn’t matter.” Jaw flexing, he looked between us. “We need to get that diamond back.”

“And I have a good idea who has it.” Fury rose swiftly in me, and I latched onto it. Essence throbbed heavily in me. “I want a Fate here right now,” I demanded, the power in my voice causing the chests to tremble and the candles to flicker as my will filled the chamber. “I don’t care which of you answers, but you’d better answer right now.”

Shockingly, they answered at once. The air around us filled with energy, causing the flames on the candles to shoot toward the ceiling. Before the empty pedestal, the air distorted.

Just as I had seen it do in the old Temple.

A tear in the realm appeared, and none other than the nipple-pierced Aydun stepped out, his swirling eyes landing directly on me. “You’re summons was grossly impolite. You’re lucky it was I—”

“I don’t give a fuck about how impolite it was,” I hissed, and Ash shifted so he stood in front of me once more. I sidestepped him. “Give me The Star. Now.”

Aydun’s brows rose, and the colors of his eyes stilled, the stars brightening until they cast a silvery glow over his cheeks. “I see that you’re in a highly emotional state. Therefore, I will forgive your impudence this time.”

I opened my mouth.

“Do you have The Star?” Ash jumped in before I could say something way ruder.

The Ancient glanced at Ash. “Do I have The Star? As in, is it in my possession?”

A low growl rumbled from my chest.

Brown hair fell against his sculpted cheek when Aydun turned his head toward me. “I see you’re going to be the reckless one this time,” he noted. “Your anger is misplaced, Seraphena. It was not I who took The Star.”

My hands fisted at my sides. “I don’t care which of you took it. I want it back.”

“It’s too late for that.”

I inhaled sharply. “No, it is not.”

Aydun held my stare. “Yes, it is, and you know it. A part of you has always known that,” he said, and my heart skipped. His voice lowered. “Fate always finds a way, Seraphena.”

A harsh, biting laugh escaped me. “Yeah, because fate keeps fucking things up.”

Aydun arched a brow.

“Okay. I’m missing some vital information,” Attes began. “And honestly, I don’t give a fuck at this point. Eythos had his plans. They didn’t turn out exactly as he’d planned, but Kolis was entombed. He has been dealt with. Sotoria is Sotoria. Sera is Sera. That is old news, and all I want is for Sotoria to be free.” His voice cracked a little on the last word. “For her to either choose peace or live a normal life.” He moved toward the Ancient. “And don’t you dare fucking deny her that.”

“A normal life?” Aydun repeated. “Sotoria has never lived a normal life.”

“Yeah, thanks to Kolis,” I snapped. “And you all messing with her life.”

“You misunderstand, Seraphena.” He eyed me curiously. “Have you never wondered why Sotoria?”

“Of course, I’ve wondered that,” I said, struggling to keep the essence down.

“There was a reason Kolis was so drawn to her. Her bloodline is old and managed to carry just enough essence no matter how many generations passed.” Aydun gave Attes a tight smile. “It’s the same reason you found yourself drawn to her.”

“What the fuck?” rasped Attes.

“Sotoria is a direct descendant of the first mortal created by the blood of Eythos and the first draken,” Aydun said. “And I don’t mean in the way all mortals are descended from the first. Eythos created more than one mortal.”

“Obviously,” Ash drawled.

“He created several, but she descended from the first, who also happened to give birth to the first mortal children—a son, a daughter, and then a second.”

I tensed.

“Sotoria descends directly from that second daughter, born in a shroud. Chosen even before Kolis first saw her picking flowers for her sister’s wedding, just like every single second daughter of her bloodline afterward.” Aydun cocked his head. “Until you.”

My mouth dropped open, and Ash’s head jerked toward me. “You cannot be saying what I think you are.”

“That you and Sotoria are of the same bloodline? Yes. That is what I’m saying. Sotoria was never randomly reborn into anyone. She was always reborn in the Mierel bloodline,” he told us as if it was something we should’ve always known.

And granted, now hearing it, it was something we should’ve figured out, especially after Keella told me that Eythos answering Roderick Mierel’s summons was no random opportunity.

“And that is where your father”—he paused to look at Ash—“made his mistake.”

“He asked for the first daughter,” Ash murmured, his arms unfolding and falling to his sides.

“Eythos was brilliant. He knew what Sotoria descended from. He’d figured out what she would one day become, but for some absolutely mind-numbing reason, he and Keella believed that having her soul reborn in a first daughter was the key to everything.” Aydun rolled his eyes, and, oh boy, that was a weird sight to witness, given those kaleidoscope eyes. “That was why she was not reborn. To be honest, I’m surprised Eythos didn’t damn the realms with that one act of stupidity. You were a first daughter, never meant to carry much essence in you, let alone embers of life. You should’ve died.”

A growl ripped out of Ash’s throat. “What did you just say?”

“It was no threat,” Aydun replied calmly. “Just a statement of fact. First sons and daughters are never meant to be, well, of much importance in the grand scheme of things. Which is why it always amuses me that mortals place so much emphasis on firstborns.” He shrugged. “But somehow, your tenacious little self survived, and here we are.”

The three of us stared at him, and for some idiotic reason, I blurted out the very next thing that entered my mind. “I’m actually related to that fucker Callum?”

Aydun frowned. “Distantly related, but yes.”

My upper lip curled. “Ew.”

“As disturbing as that realization may be,” Ash said after a moment, pulling his gaze from me to focus on the Fate, “and as interesting as this little history lesson has been, it doesn’t change why we summoned you. We want The Star.”

“Thank you for finding my history lesson interesting,” Aydun replied. “But as I said, it is too late.”

“No, it’s not,” I snarled. “All you have to do is go and get it from wherever one of your fellow assholes stashed it.”

Aydun blinked at me. “Look, you succeeded in preventing a full-scale war between the Primals. Barely,” he tacked on. “Many gods and Primals were lost, but a true war would’ve lasted years, if not decades or longer. So, congratulations.”

Attes snorted at that.

“You managed to stop the Ancients from being too disturbed,” Aydun went on. “But Eythos failed to stop the prophecy, as did you.”

“She did not fail shit,” Ash warned.

“Okay. Both of you failed, then. Does sharing the responsibility make it easier to swallow?” Aydun challenged. “You could’ve released Sotoria the moment her soul was placed in The Star. You didn’t.”

“It was too risky,” I argued.

“True. Kolis would’ve felt her. He’s had enough of her blood that every time she is reborn, he senses her,” he said, and disgust swept through me. “And now that he’s also had your blood, he would’ve definitely felt her because a tiny part of you has mingled with her and vice versa.”

I stepped back and then snapped forward when Ash moved toward the Ancient. I grabbed his arm, holding him back.

Aydun sighed. “Why are you mad at me for once again stating a simple fact?”

“It doesn’t matter.” I wrapped my arms around Ash’s. “What does is that you also know it was too risky to release Sotoria until Kolis was entombed. He would’ve burned through the realms to get to her and then disappeared into some hole with her.”

“Yes, he would have,” Aydun stated, glancing at one of the nearby chests. “What’s in these?”

“That’s not important,” Attes bit out. “We didn’t know that him having her blood from her prior lives was something he could’ve picked up on.” His gaze found mine. “That means if we had released Sotoria now and she chose to live a mortal life, Kolis would’ve felt her, even while entombed. It may have taken him a while to get his ass free, but he would have had one big motivation to do so.”

Meaning he wouldn’t have remained entombed for thousands of years. Not even hundreds. Or decades. “Gods.”

Attes dragged a hand over his face. “So, what does this mean?”

The Fate nudged a chest with his foot. “It’s pretty obvious if you would all give yourself five seconds to think about it.”

I opened my mouth, but Ash spoke. “She will be reborn from the Mierel bloodline.”

“She will be reborn as the second daughter of the Mierel bloodline,” Aydun corrected. “Whenever that happens.”

Ash looked down at me. So did Attes. My entire body was tingling, and not necessarily in a good way. I placed a hand on my stomach. Attes’s gaze followed my motion with a frown.

“Don’t worry.” Aydun tipped the chest, and something metal clanged around inside it. “You do not carry daughters.”

Ash’s head snapped to the Fate.

“Male twins tend to run in your bloodline,” he remarked. “Hopefully, they will turn out better than their predecessors and current company.”

I gaped at him.

“Sotoria’s soul is beyond your reach now. You all need to accept that. Now, we are left with only one way to prevent her from being reborn from the giver of blood and the bringer of bone, the Primal of Blood and Ash.”

Muscles up and down Ash’s arm tensed. “If you’re about to suggest what I think you are—”

“You will do what?” Aydun challenged, finally ceasing messing with the chests. “Attack me? Curse at me? Go ahead. It won’t change what will come. It won’t change that you will both continue to risk the safety of the realms out of selfishness to bring two babes into the realm that will eventually have babes of their own until one of them is the cause of millions of deaths—”

Ash broke my hold, lurching at the Ancient. My shout was lost in a rush of air that pushed Ash back to where I stood.

“For the third time, your anger is misplaced.” Aydun’s chin lowered as he fully faced us. “She will be reborn of your bloodline—the giver of blood and the bringer of bone—and she will carry within her the embers of life and death. Touched by life and death.”