Born of Blood and Ash

“Neither do I. Eythos never said, but I do know that is why he put her soul in your bloodline,” she said. “Eythos was trying to circumvent the prophecy, Sera. He hoped she would be reborn with the embers of life in her—allowing her to stop Kolis and make way for Nyktos to rise as the true Primal of Death. It would have also prevented her from rising as the Primal of Life and Death since he believed the prophecy referenced his son and Sotoria coming together in love.”

A deep frown pulled at my lips at the idea of Sotoria being the one meant for Ash, even though that would’ve still technically been me. I rubbed my temples, thinking this was going to give me a headache.

“That is why he asked for the firstborn daughter of the Mierel bloodline,” she continued. “And if he was right, then in his mind, there would be no threat of Sotoria rising as the Primal of Blood and Bone. To do so, it would’ve required her to kill Nyktos—something she would not do if she loved him.”

“Okay,” I said, following what she was saying. “But that didn’t work. I’m not Sotoria, and her soul is in The Star.”

“Correct. His plan worked, except for that.” She looked at the pastel-colored clouds. “And his plan should’ve worked completely. My involvement ensured that. But something went impossibly wrong, and for that to have happened, there can only be one reason.”

“The Fates got involved.” My brows knitted. “They prevented Sotoria from being reborn in my bloodline. Why would they do that, though? They ca

“You must remember that prophecies are the dreams of the Ancients.” Her eyes searched mine. “And you also know what that means.”

I did. Dreamt by the Ancients meant dreamt by the Fates, and Keella was old enough to know exactly who the Fates were. I didn’t speak any of that aloud, opting for a nod as the safest choice.

“And that means most of those Fates expect all that is said in the prophecy to happen,” she said softly. “I don’t know why they would want that, but their involvement ensured it is still possible.”

My heart started pounding. “I don’t understand how it can be possible. If Sotoria were reborn, she would be as she was before. A mortal.”

“Unless the Fates intervene once more,” she said. “It’s imperative you follow through with what you plan regarding Sotoria. She needs to be freed as soon as it is safe to do so.”

“Well, it’s a good thing we already pla

“Correct.”

Something big still didn’t make sense, and that came back to her. Sotoria. “Why Sotoria? Why would the Ancients dream of a mortal becoming such a powerful being? It’s not because of what Kolis did to her. That dream happened long before that.”

“That, I don’t know,” she said. “And if Eythos knew, he never said.”

Closing my eyes again, I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. I needed to release Sotoria’s soul the moment Kolis was entombed and not a second after. If not?

Opening my eyes, I looked at her. “Do you believe the future is already written? That the threads that last ca

“I do not know,” she said after a moment. “I hope to know the answer once I reach Arcadia.”

Gods, I hoped so. Because if I failed now, and the threads of Fate kept stretching and expanding, Kolis wouldn’t be the only problem Ash and I would one day face.

Lost in our thoughts, the Primal and I sat there briefly until Keella patted my arm. “It’s time.”

And it was.

Ash and Ione joined us while Nektas quietly crossed the veranda to walk the manicured lawn. I forced a smile when Ash sent me a curious look. As Ione moved to a divan across from Keella’s, I pushed all I had learned to the farthest corners of my mind while Ione knelt, swearing her allegiance to us. Because as long as we didn’t fail, I would not have to burden Ash with this.

I drank from Ione’s wrist and took what I knew, building a wall of shadowstone and Ancient bone in my mind to place it behind. As my fangs pierced my skin and Ash let out a low growl at the sight, I built a shield. As Ione drank from me, I made myself forget what I had learned until I needed to remember it. And while I knelt at Keella’s side and drank from the wound she had created herself, I prayed to the Fates—to the Ancients—that I would never have to remember.

When I felt Keella’s last sluggish heartbeat, I lifted my head. Her breathing was shallow as she stared at the sky of her Court. Not once since we’d begun had she taken her gaze from it.

I still held on to her hand as I felt the warmth leave her. “Thank you,” I said. I wasn’t sure if I was thanking her for this sacrifice or for what she’d warned me about. Maybe both.

Ash knelt beside me, folding his arm around my waist. He placed his hand over mine and Keella’s. “May the next journey bring you peace.”

Tears blurred my vision as Keella’s eyes fluttered and then closed. Her chest rose once more and did not fall, and then my chest flared with heat. I released the breath I held as a draken let out a mournful call in the distance.

“She looks so peaceful,” I whispered. There was a smile on her lips and a tranquil ease to her features.

“She was ready,” he said, catching a tear with the swipe of his thumb over my cheek.

I nodded, wanting that to make me feel better, but it really didn’t. Letting go of her hand, I started to rise when it happened.

It started with one below her left eye. Then, two more on her chin. Ten along her throat. A dozen appeared on her forearm. They were like freckled stars, starting out as tiny pinpricks of light until eather seeped from her pores. The shimmery, silvery-white wave of light swept over her entire body, pulsing with a blinding intensity that forced both Ash and me to stand and move back.

Strands of eather unfurled, weaving delicate ribbons that stretched with an ethereal glow. I turned to where Ione sat, tears glimmering on her cheeks as she rose and stepped forward. Tendrils of eather illuminated the space between Keella and Ione as I stepped back into Ash’s arms. I rested my cheek against his chest as the Primal energy threaded itself with Ione, and I felt the oath Ione had made lodge itself deeply within my chest.

In a loud clap of energy released, the radiant glow where Keella lay was gone.

And so was the Primal.