A light in the flame

“Sera?” Ash touched my chin, tipping my head back.

I closed my eyes because even though I was less afraid, I still didn’t feel very brave. “I just…I want you to know that I want this,” I told him in a strangled whisper. “I mean, when I told you before that I wanted to be your Consort, that still holds true. I want this, Ash.”

Silence.

Cracking open one eye and then the other, I saw that Ash stared down at me with eyes full of whipping, luminous strains of eather. He looked shocked. Dazed.

“I thought I would let you know.” My face warmed as my brain seemed to cringe, but some of the pressure had left my chest. There was still a series of wiggles in my stomach, but I felt a little better as I stepped back. His fingers fell from my chin as my hand slipped free of his. I glanced at the opening. The music had stopped at some point. “Should we do this?”

Ash blinked, clearing his throat. “Yeah. Yes. We should,” he said, sounding shaken.

Saion came forward then, and I hoped that no one else had heard my rather awkward declaration. Aios watched us with a perplexed expression, and I suddenly wished I’d asked who she loved. I started to, but Ash’s hand found mine again, and then we were walking toward the entrance.

“Thirty-six,” he murmured, stopping at the mouth of the City Hall.

My brows pinched. “What?”

“Thirty-six freckles,” he told me, staring ahead. “I counted them again. It’s become a habit. And I may have lied about not knowing how many were along your back. I do. Twelve.”

My chest swelled, and the embers…they buzzed. There had been a feeling of rightness before, but this…this was different. A smile spread across my lips as I looked up at him. The rightness felt as if it were inked onto my skin, filling my veins, and carving itself into my bone and muscle. And it felt good. Not confusing. Still scary as hell, but good.

Drawing in a shallow breath, I turned my attention to the Hall, finding a draken perched on the columns. There were…dozens of them, but I didn’t think I saw Nektas among them. Iron-gray ba

“Bow,” Rhain’s voice boomed from the end of the aisle, startling me. The dais was so far away, I could barely make out his form, but his words carried. “Bow for the Asher, the One who is Blessed.”

The slide of slippers and boots over stone echoed, somehow drowning out the sudden pounding of my heart. Ash squeezed my hand, and I felt that. I felt him. Only him.

“The Guardian of Souls,” Rhain continued, and I swore the stars above pulsed. “And the Primal God of Common Men and Endings, the ruler of the Shadowlands. The Primal of Death.”

Chapter 41

I didn’t realize we’d started walking until I became aware of the utter silence and the weight of thousands of stares. The breath I took was weak. The embers in my chest vibrated as my gaze bounced off shields held by the soldiers lining the aisle, the splashes of color from the vivid gowns and tunics, and the blurred faces. No one spoke as we walked forward, but they watched. All of them. Behind us. Ahead of us. I felt their gazes on the strands of my hair, on the cut of the glittering, lacy gown, and on my face.

Never had so many people looked directly upon me. My gaze swung to the dais at the end of the seemingly never-ending aisle. The back of my neck tingled. My chest started to ache—

“Breathe,” Ash murmured, his hand tightening around mine.

My racing heart slowed a little at the sound of his voice, and all I could manage from that point on was focusing on taking slow, measured breaths. I didn’t realize we’d reached the dais until Ash stopped, giving me enough time to lift the hem of my gown so I didn’t trip and land on my face. I knew I recognized the features of those who stood by the dais, but for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out who stood there.

I gripped the gown tightly, the diamonds digging into my palm as we ascended the rounded shadowstone steps, and the thrones came into view. They were situated before the ba

And a crown sat upon it.

My lips parted. The crown was…I’d never seen anything like it. Spires carved from shadowstone formed a halo of glittering crescent moons. Delicate chains of black stone hung between the peaks, dripping clusters of diamonds along tiers of chains, which also co

I was supposed to wear that? On my head?

Ash led me across the dais, passing the podium and stopping so we stood between the thrones, exactly where the shadowstone wings touched between them. Ash angled his body toward mine and stopped so the podium and thrones were directly behind us. “Look at me,” he said under his breath, and I did just that. “It’s only us.”

Throat dry, I held his gaze as if it were a lifeline in the silence of the coliseum. Wisps of eather swirled slowly through his irises as he smoothed his thumb over the top of my hand. Movement caught my attention out of the corner of my eye, but I didn’t look away. It was Rhain, lifting the crown from the podium. Ash swept his thumb once more and then let go to take the crown, but his gaze never left mine as he…

Ash lowered himself to one knee, bowing to me.

A rush of shocked murmurs went through the crowd situated in the tiered levels of the City Hall as I stared down at him in confusion. He hadn’t mentioned that any sort of kneeling was supposed to occur. Based on the response from those watching, I didn’t get the impression that this was normal. I also didn’t understand why he, a Primal, was the one bowing.

“Now that’s a man who knows his place.” A smooth voice I recognized cracked the stu

I wasn’t at all surprised to see Attes, dressed in black. Upon his head rested a helm of reddish-black stone. I hadn’t expected Kyn to show after what had happened in Dalos, but he was there, too, kneeling beside Attes.

The Primal God of Accord and War winked as a dimple appeared in his right cheek.

I quickly returned my gaze to Ash.

A half-grin had appeared on his lips. “You will need to bend a little for this to work,” he instructed quietly. “Keep your neck and head straight.”

Blinking rapidly, I bent at the waist. Ash once more held my gaze as he lifted the crown of moons and placed it atop my head. The chains of diamonds kissed my forehead and brow as he ran his fingers along the bottom of the halo, shifting the crown ever so slightly back so the tiny teeth along the bottom caught on my hair. I didn’t feel the weight, only because I was sure my entire body had gone numb.

Then Ash took my hand, and I straightened as he rose, his gaze flickering over my face and where the diamond chains rested against my forehead. “Exquisite,” he murmured before turning so each of us stood before a throne and faced the crowd.

The crowd quieted.

“Rise,” Ash’s voice was deeper, louder. A powerful thunder. “Rise for the One who is born of Blood and Ash, the Light and the Fire, and the Brightest Moon,” he said, and my eyes cut to him as my breath caught.

My title.

I had forgotten about that amidst everything.