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 orders her to have some fruity water, and Sera asks where Nyktos is. Kolis wants to know why. She tells him it’s merely a curiosity, then asks about the army. He tells her they haven’t left the borders of Dalos and explains they’re in the Bonelands to the south along the coast beyond the Carcers. He tells her it’s full of forgotten Temples and bones of dragons.
Sera asks him why he hasn’t forced them out since he wants to be all-powerful, and his answer makes her realize that he needs things to rule over. He says the mortals have become complacent, and says he plans to take a more active role.
She asks if her abduction will heighten tensions, and he says his taking her will only be a problem if the other Primals think that she’s worth going to war over. He says a little more, and she realizes he basically admitted that, in his current state, he thinks he’d be defeated if things escalated.
He asks again why she inquired about Nyktos, and she gives him the same answer. He tells her that she never screamed in terror for him, then warns her not to say anything unwise. She admits that she’s fond of Ash, tempering what she really wants to say, then tells Kolis that he scared her.
He tells her it wasn’t his intention, and she goes on to explain her fondness for Ash. Kolis shatters the glass he holds. She tries to calm him by saying that Nyktos only wanted the embers, not her, and tells Kolis Ash didn’t know what Eythos did. He tells her not to lie, and she says she’s not.
Kolis then asks her if she’s fucked Nyktos, and Sera carefully answers that they’re attracted to each other. Kolis tells her that someone wouldn’t kill another for a person they don’t love, and she says people kill for any and all and no reason. He argues that Primals don’t and then says that every life he’s ever taken has been for love. Sera tells him that she’s sorry love has only ever inspired death for him.
She reveals that Ash removed his kardia, and Kolis tells her Nyktos is currently in stasis. She confirms that he’s gone to ground, and Kolis acknowledges. She asks why it didn’t happen sooner, and he explains that the chamber is made of shadowstone, which is dragon fire and anything dead. Not much can penetrate it, and the earth isn’t one of the few. He explains how shadowstone absorbs eather like it does light.
As they talk more, Sera insists she’s telling the truth about Ash and his kardia, and Kolis says he can believe it. It sounds like something his nephew would do. He would think it would stop Kolis from striking out at someone Nyktos loves. He admits that Nyktos fears becoming him and says he made sure he felt that way.
Sera’s embers flare, and Kolis tells her to calm herself. She starts glowing. Once he orders her to sit and calls her good like a pet dakkai, he tells her he doesn’t believe what she said earlier about her feelings for Nyktos. He says the marriage imprint proves there’s love and mulls over what to do. She says it just appeared and then explains the difference between loving someone and being in love with them. After, she shuts it all down again and becomes the empty vessel she needs to be.
Kolis says he’s in love with Sotoria, and Sera asks him how he can know. Then tells him to prove it by releasing Nyktos. He grumbles that her demand proves she loves his nephew. She doesn’t deny it—she already told him she loved Ash—but says it would show her that he’s willing to do anything for her. He lists what he’s already done, and she tells him that it’s the bare minimum required to show love, adding that releasing Nyktos would matter because he doesn’t want to do it but knows it would please her.
When he asks her why, she tells him and adds that Kolis has only endangered her. He asks why she would be interested in falling in love, and she says it’s because she’s never known it. She reasons that commonality could bring them closer, and he asks if she thinks he’s a fool. Her reply is that love makes you idiotic. He counters that she tried to kill him, but she says she also stabbed Nyktos.
Kolis asks her what will change if he releases Nyktos, and she tells him she won’t fight him. He thinks that means she’ll submit… Kolis tells her that if she’s lying about Sotoria, he will take her soul in both life and death.
Later, Callum reads a book as Sera nibbles on her meal. She asks him if Revenants eat, and he tells her they don’t need food or blood—they need nothing. She assumes it’s because they’re dead, and he tells her that assumption is rude but won’t correct her with the real reason.