Born of Blood and Ash

“Kolis is too strong. He will fight back,” Phanos stated, and I glanced at Rhahar and Saion. Neither looked happy as the Primal continued. “And he’ll fight dirty.” His gaze flicked to me. “You already know that.” He exhaled heavily and lifted his chin. “I’m sorry, but I ca

Bitter disappointment swelled, its weight nearly crushing. We were offering him a chance to rule equally and live without fear. How could he reject that? But I already knew the answer. Fear. All the Primals who remained, and even the two who had left, had borne the brunt of Kolis’s anger in the past.

“Then you will stand with Kolis?” Ash demanded, his voice a cold shadow that slipped over the floor and walls.

“I’d rather not stand with him either,” he replied.

I frowned. “But you won’t have a choice.”

“Not unless he forces my hand. Until then, I will remain on my island and stay uninvolved,” he confirmed, and Saion smirked. The Primal didn’t miss that. “You don’t like my answer?”

“I’m not surprised by your answer,” Saion corrected. “You see, this is not your problem until it becomes your problem. You believe that staying uninvolved absolves you of responsibility for what will happen, but the thing is, Your Highness, doing nothing is doing something.”

Phanos’s jaw hardened as he stared at the god who’d once served him. A moment passed. “Then so be it.” His silvery gaze fixed on Ash and me. “I’m hoping I have a choice and will be allowed to leave, unlike having no choice in coming here.”

I looked at Ash, and he nodded. “You may leave,” I said. “No one will stop you.”

He hesitated, then nodded. “I wish you all the best.”

I pushed down the disappointment. “Phanos?”

The mist rising from his legs slowed. “Yes?”

“You asked me to remember what you did for me when the time came,” I said. “I will.”