A light in the flame

“You’re not the one drawing them here.” I spoke up, and the hair swung around Bele’s chin as she jerked her head toward me. Several pairs of eather-filled eyes landed on me. Nyktos had shared with them what I knew, but like Nektas, I hadn’t said much during the meeting. I cleared my throat. “It’s what I did. You shouldn’t feel responsible for any of this.”

Her brow pinched. “And you should?”

“Obviously. I’m the one who did it.”

“What you did saved my life—and thank you for that,” she said, two pink splotches appearing on her cheeks. “I don’t know if I said that yet.”

I nodded, feeling my face warm, as well.

“I don’t get how that god could be looking for you,” Ector said from my other side. “Neither Hanan nor Kolis knows what you look like. None of the Primals have been here to see you.”

“Except for Veses,” Rhain said.

I immediately scowled. I’d only seen the Primal of Rites and Prosperity once, and she’d been overly touchy with Nyktos. So much so that I’d assumed they had some sort of relationship. But there had been…no one else before me. “Veses didn’t see me when she was here.” I looked at Nyktos. “Right?”

A muscle flexed in Nyktos’s jaw as he stared at Rhain. He nodded.

“People have seen her—at Court, when it was held here,” Theon pointed out. “And on the Rise the night the dakkais attacked. She’s a new face. Doesn’t take a leap of logic to put two and two together and end up with the Consort. It could’ve been Hanan, and he’d given orders to find both Bele and her.”

Nyktos’s eyes flashed to him. “Our people would never betray her identity to another Court.”

“How can you be sure?” My foot stopped its tapping. I wasn’t even sure what I was doing here. None of what would be discussed or possibly revealed would matter.

“Because I am.”

I waited for him to elaborate. He didn’t. “Need I remind you of Hamid?” The godling had lived in Lethe and had befriended the young Chosen that still resided in one of the chambers above. He had been the one to report Gemma missing, and by all accounts, was known to be generous and kind. He was also known to carry a deep-rooted hatred of Kolis because he’d killed his mother—a goddess—and destroyed her soul. He, like many others, was so afraid of the false Primal of Life that when Gemma had told him I had to be the one Kolis had been searching for, he’d seen me for what I already knew to be true. That I was a threat to the sanctuary the Shadowlands offered. I didn’t fault her for what Hamid had attempted afterward. Part of me couldn’t really even blame him.

I probably would’ve done the same.

Except I would’ve been successful, where he had failed.

“Not like I’ve forgotten that.” Nyktos’s fingers stilled. “But that was different.”

“Not to be argumentative,” I said, and his eyes narrowed, “but exactly how is that different?”

“Because Hamid thought he was protecting the Shadowlands,” Rhain answered, his stare far colder than it had been when I’d first arrived. Except for Aios, none had been extremely friendly before, but Rhain had been warmer than he was now.

Lailah nodded. “And what was done here tonight threatened the safety of the Shadowlands. Those who seek shelter here wouldn’t jeopardize that.”

“It’s possible that a god from another Court was here the night the dakkais attacked,” Nektas added. “Saw you at the right moment and gave a good enough description to allow someone to grab you.”

“Or let me die,” I said. “That god wasn’t there on orders that required me to survive the attack.”

Nyktos slowly turned his head to me. “Come again?”

“He saw an entombed god creeping up on me and did nothing to stop it.” I frowned. “I thought I told you that.”

He lowered his hand to the table. “You didn’t.”

“Oh.” I sat back, twisting my hair. “So, yeah, I don’t think they wanted me alive. Maybe just out of the picture, which kind of makes me think it wasn’t Kolis, if what Penellaphe said about the embers of life is true.” And considering that I carry Sotoria’s soul, but I didn’t tack that on. As far as I knew, those in the room only knew that I carried an ember of life.

“Well, whoever was behind it almost got what they wanted…” Bele trailed off as the air in the war room chilled.

A tangible tension flooded the space. Swords and daggers rattled on the wall. My eyes lifted to the ceiling as the overhead lights flickered.

“Ash.” Nektas called his name softly.

Slowly, I looked at Nyktos. Shadows had appeared under Nyktos’s skin. The air crackled. “Almost,” I reiterated quietly.

Whirling silver eyes met mine. The essence slowed, and the charge of energy gradually faded from the room. His gaze dropped to where my fingers rested on his arm.

I was touching him.

In front of others.

I hadn’t even realized I’d done it. Feeling my cheeks warm, I jerked my hand away. I didn’t think Nyktos appreciated it. Touching in those rare, intimate moments after he’d given me his blood didn’t equate to him wanting my touch whenever. I stared at the scarred table, breathing through the sting of…disappointment. But in what? Him? Me? I glanced up, and Rhain’s icy stare met mine.

Clasping my hands together in my lap so I kept them to myself, I cleared my throat again. “Anyway, I just don’t think it makes sense that it was Hanan. Wouldn’t he want me alive? Wouldn’t any of the Primals who figure my arrival and Bele’s Ascension are related want me alive so they could hand me over to Kolis?”

“A Primal had to be behind this,” Nektas said. “No other could command a draken to attack. The question is which one? Who would know or suspect enough about you to be willing to anger both Nyktos and Kolis by allowing you to die?”

Nobody had an answer to Nektas’s question, likely because no one knew which Primal would be willing to anger both the Primal of Death and potentially the false Primal of Life.

To be honest, I wasn’t worried about that as much as I was the risk to all the others if this mystery Primal launched another attack. Or if Kolis grew tired of just being curious over the embers and decided to summon Nyktos to find out what happened. My stomach pitched as my skin chilled.

“You were injured?” Aios asked as she walked with me to my chambers.

I glanced at the goddess. The shadows smudging the skin under Aios’s citrine eyes worried me. The hollows of her heart-shaped face were deeper than before, and her concern was clear in the press of her full lips.

“Not much.”

“That wasn’t the impression I got from Bele.” Aios tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “She said you were bitten.”

“Barely,” I lied, not even sure why I didn’t want to share what Nyktos had done for me. Maybe because a part of me couldn’t believe it. “Are you staying here tonight—or what’s left of tonight?”

Aios nodded. “I’ve been staying close because of Gemma.”

Gods, the Chosen must’ve been terrified during the attack. “Can I see her?”

Aios looked away. “Maybe later.”

Tension settled into my shoulders as I trailed my fingers along the cool, smooth stone of the railing. There could be a ton of reasons why I couldn’t see Gemma now, starting with the fact that she was probably asleep. But my mind immediately went to the worst one. What if Aios didn’t want me around the once-Chosen?

Aios had acknowledged that I hadn’t wanted to harm Nyktos, but acknowledgment didn’t equate to forgiveness. She’d been forthcoming with information when I first arrived, when most—including Nyktos—hadn’t. Aios had been kind and welcoming, but I had disappointed her. I’d heard that in her voice and seen it in her expression. In the brief times we’d been together since she’d learned the truth, Aios hadn’t been as friendly as before, and that stung. Because I liked her.