Total pages in book: 247
Estimated words: 231436 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1157(@200wpm)___ 926(@250wpm)___ 771(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 231436 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1157(@200wpm)___ 926(@250wpm)___ 771(@300wpm)
He tells her that if he leaves her in the mortal realm, she’ll become a target, even if she escapes punishment for killing the new King. So, he claims her. He tells her she no longer has a choice and apologizes, promising that her family will be safe.
They leave the castle, and she asks Ash why he didn’t tell her who he was. He asks her if she would have still been interested in him if she’d known he was the Primal of Death. She has no real answer for that.
When they reach her lake, Sera discovers why she’s felt so at home there all these years—it was a way for her to get to him. They pass through to Iliseeum, and Sera is stunned to find that one of the hills she sees is actually a dragon. Well…a draken. She meets Nektas and Ash tells her to pet him. She hesitates, afraid to be swallowed whole, but does it anyway. Three other draken emerge.
Sera sees the palace and assumes that Ash impaled those she sees hanging on the wall. It makes her wary. Rhain approaches, and they meet. Ash confesses that he’d hoped there would be some time before the others realized he’d arrived with a guest. He tells her that very few know about her but asks if he can introduce her as his Consort. She agrees.
After she meets Aios, the goddess takes her to her room and has food and bath water prepared for her. Ash arrives sometime later when Sera’s in the tub and tells her that Tavius was sent to the Abyss. He offers to help her wash her hair, and she accepts. As he goes about the task, they talk, and Ash asks about her training. She lies and inquires why he never returned. He tells her that the Priests never resummoned him. He admits what he felt from her that day he came and explains why he did what he did, stunning Sera with the knowledge that he can feel and taste emotions.
Sera asks Ash why he made the deal and is told the answer is complicated. He says he’ll tell her when she’s dressed. The sexual tension ramps up between them again, and Ash tells her he knows she enjoys and wants his touch, which has nothing to do with the deal. Both of them are very interested in certain aspects of their union. He pleasures her again with his hand and admits to thinking about their time at the lake every time he takes care of himself.
He applies healing ointment to her back and reminds her that he’s the same person he was before, despite her knowing that he’s the Primal of Death. He then goes on to say that she knows more about him than most.
More than most? She knows him completely. They are heartmates, after all.
Sera wonders about the deal with King Roderick and learns that Ash didn’t make it; his father did. He goes on to explain that the deal transferred to him when his father died, along with all the power and responsibilities of the Primal of Death. Sera suddenly realizes that what he said when he brought her to Iliseeum, about her choice ending, pertains to him, as well. He didn’t choose any of this either.
She learns more about his parents. He also reveals that he’s had others watching her. When talk turns to Madis, Cressa, and Taric, Ash tells her that he doesn’t think the murders are connected to her, though he says he waited so long to come to her again out of fear of exposing her.
Sera realizes that everything she believed about the Primal of Death is wrong. He’s a good man, but it doesn’t matter because she has a duty. She returns to the subject of Lathan—the friend he had watching her that he was forced to kill—and asks why Ash had him watching over her. He explains that his enemies will now become hers. As the reality of her situation sinks in, she laments the unfairness of it and considers everything that will happen after she kills him.
Aios arrives and fills Sera in on several things she’s been wondering about. The goddess tells her how she came to be in the Shadowlands and how she and the others feel safe in Nyktos’s Court. After she leaves, Sera finds that Ector is guarding her room and realizes she isn’t allowed to leave. The god tells her that he’s there for her safety. When she calls Nyktos Ash, it stuns Ector, and he tells her that he doubts even the Primal of Death knows what to do with her.
Not many would. Sera is truly unique and wonderful.
Davina takes over maid duties and calls Sera meyaah Liessa. Sera learns that it means: my Queen. The draken tells her about the dangers surrounding the House of Haides.