Born of Blood and Ash

“He’s been…in a mood.” Callum tracked Ash as the Primal resumed his prowling. “I bet you can guess why.”

Attes had said that Kolis hadn’t shown up at Court, most likely holing up in the Sanctuary alone. But…

“It seems rather strange that you’d take a vacation while Kolis is about to lose his authority,” I pointed out.

“Seems rather strange to me that…” Callum drew in a ragged breath. “That you think Kolis will lose anything.”

Ash stepped on Callum’s broken hand.

The Revenant howled, kicking his head back. “Fuck.”

“He is going to lose everything,” I said.

Breathing heavily, Callum turned his head toward me. “I want…my sister’s soul.”

“Why?” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Attes move toward the cell. “So she can be reborn and terrorized by Kolis? Held captive?” My anger rose. “Stripped of all choice and free will? Assaulted? That’s what you want? Fuck you.”

His nostrils flared as he looked away.

I had to rein in my anger. We were ru

“That is a very interesting question,” Attes noted.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Callum answered.

“Bullshit,” I spat. “You told my mother that a Primal can be killed by someone they love. Something no mortal knew until you opened your mouth.”

Callum’s eyes closed. “I didn’t say shit.”

Spi

“Clearly, you’re worried about Kolis finding out what you did. He’s not your problem right now, though. We are. So, do you want to rethink that answer?” I suggested.

The Revenant’s flesh was pasty and damp with sweat. “There’s…nothing to rethink.”

Callum’s other thigh snapped, followed by his right hand and left arm. By the time Rhain warned us about the time, every bone in his limbs had been shattered.

And still, the bastard kept up with the lie.

The realization that I wasn’t going to get an answer from him drove me to my feet. Rhain had started to pace nervously in the hall.

“Sera,” Ash warned softly.

“I know.” Anger rippled through me as I once more knelt by Callum’s head. “You still conscious?”

“How can I not be?” Each breath was ragged. “When…someone keeps breaking my bones.”

I gripped his chin, forcing his head toward me. Two watery blue eyes locked on mine. “I want you to listen to me, Callum. If you go near my family again, for any reason, I will kill you. Eirini be damned. Do you understand me?”

“Yes,” he gritted out between clenched teeth.

“Thank you.” I released his jaw and unsheathed the Ancient-bone dagger.

And drove it through the center of his forehead.

He didn’t say a word or even have a chance to blink. He died for the…who knew what time today, his eyes open wide.

Wrenching the dagger free, I cleaned the blade on an unstained section of his tunic. “I hope he wakes up with a headache. Otherwise, this was a giant waste of time.”

“You think he was telling the truth about his reason for being in Lasania?” Ash asked as he released Callum’s limp body from the chains.

“Who knows?” I muttered, sheathing the dagger.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he was telling the truth,” Attes said, entering the cell. “He’s not openly disrespected in Dalos, but none of the gods who frequent the Court like him. They don’t like anyone they view as being favored by Kolis.”

“Poor him.” I turned to Attes. “Can you take him?”

Attes nodded. “I’ll drop him off somewhere.” He flashed a grin. “Somewhere really inconvenient.”

“As long as it doesn’t interfere with the eirini,” Ash said, “you can drop him off in the Lassa Sea.”

“Actually…” Attes’s smile grew as he picked up the Revenant’s lifeless body and tossed it over his shoulder. “That sounds like a good idea.”

I woke with a jolt, essence thrumming through my body, along with an overpowering sense of something off in the air.

Something wrong.

Something u

I opened my eyes. The cool weight of Ash’s arm remained around my waist, and his chest rose against my back as my vision adjusted to the darkness of the chamber. I lay there in silence, waiting for the sensation to subside. It didn’t.

Did I have a nightmare? I had no recollection of such, but it wouldn’t be entirely surprising if I had.

Sca

The arm around my waist curled. “Liessa?” Ash’s voice was gruff with sleep. “Is it a nightmare?”

I was so fixed on the sensation, I didn’t have much of a reaction to his assumption. “No.” I peered at the heavy curtains blocking the balcony door. “Do you feel it?”

In an instant, Ash was sitting upright. When he spoke again, all traces of sleep were gone. “Feel what?”

“I’m not sure, but it feels like there’s something in the air that shouldn’t be—something that shouldn’t be here.” Confused, I shoved tangled strands back from my face. “You don’t feel anything?”

“I don’t feel anything.” Ash’s chest brushed my arm.

Confused, I searched the silence and stillness of the chamber. What was I feeling?

Ash leaned in, dropping a kiss on my shoulder. “Do you still—?” He stiffened against me, going so quiet that unease blossomed.

I twisted toward him, my stomach dipping when I saw streaks of eather lighting up his eyes in the darkness.

“Shit,” he growled, tossing the blanket aside. He swung his legs off the bed and was on his feet in a heartbeat.

“What is it?”

“I feel it now.” Moving to the wardrobe, he pulled on a pair of breeches. Two of the wall sconces flickered to life, casting a soft glow into the chamber. His skin had thi

My hands fisted in the blanket. “Is it Kolis?”

“No,” he snarled, shadows swirling across the hard line of his jaw. “It’s the Abyss.”