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)
She feels like he’s saying more.
Nyktos suggests they try to remove the embers from her and she’s stunned. She didn’t think that was even possible. Nektas tells her the embers aren’t fully hers until she Ascends, so they should be able to remove them. Nyktos’s blood would ensure she’d survive the Ascension then, though she learns she might Ascend into an actual god.
After they discuss when to go to the Pools of Divanash, talk turns to other things, and Sera learns how Nektas’s mate Halayna died, and that he was the first draken and the one who helped Eythos create the mortals.
They talk more about removing the embers, and she finds out that only the usual suspects in the Shadowlands know of the plan—and they only know she has one ember. They also support it, even the bit about Ascending her. Only Nektas knows about Sotoria’s soul, though, and it needs to stay that way. It would be too risky for the others to know.
Sera asks Nyktos if he will continue the Rite after becoming the Primal of Life and then learns why it was started in the first place. She explains what life is like for a Chosen in the mortal realm and finds out the mortals started that, not the gods. Sera wonders if all the missing Chosen have been turned into Craven like the seamstress—though she knows about the Revenants, too. She then asks what will happen to Kolis and the Rot if they succeed in removing the embers. They tell her they may never be able to kill the false Primal of Life because of the necessary balance, but they can weaken him enough to entomb him. She tries to tell them there is a way to kill him and it’s right in front of them—her—but Nyktos refuses to hear it.
The sound of chaos outside interrupts them, and Sera finds out about the Cimmerian and how they fight. She decides to push her luck and goes outside to join the battle. She kills a Cimmerian primed to attack Rhain and is reminded that she can be killed; the enemy doesn’t know what’s inside her.
During the fight, Sera gets injured on the left side of her waist, and Nyktos comes to her. They flirt a bit, even as fighters die around them. Her gift flares to life at the deaths, and Nektas growls at her in warning, telling her to control herself.
Once the fight is over, Rhain reluctantly thanks her for her aid and verbally roasts her a bit. He casually mentions that Nyktos has endured and sacrificed things for her, which piques her interest. Ector tries to cover and quickly chimes in that Rhain is merely being dramatic.
Nyktos reappears, and Sera yells at him, telling him that she won’t be ordered around as if she has no control over her life anymore, especially when she can help—no matter the risks. Then she reminds him that she’s never really been allowed to value her life or think for herself.
He asks her what kind of life she’s lived, and she won’t answer. And he won’t tell her what he’s sacrificed when she asks.
Sera wonders if Taric could taste the embers in her blood when he drank from her. Nyktos tells her that no one else will feed from her—he won’t allow it—but…yes, the god would have tasted the embers. He then goes on to tell her that her blood tastes like a summer storm and the sun. Like heat, power, and life. Soft and airy like sponge cake.
The Primal is a poet. Seriously.
Nyktos explains about shadowstepping, and Sera asks if she’ll be able to do it once she Ascends. He tells her that she will, reconfirming his faith in their plan. They also talk about Tavius, and he calls her brave and strong.
It chokes her up.
He says she needs to rest—she’s going through the Culling and got cut with shadowstone. Then he adds that he wonders how else the embers are protecting her since a mortal or godling would have died. Not even his blood in her would have been enough.
Later, back in her room, she notices that her wound looks several days old instead of hours. Which makes her wonder just how strong her embers are. Settling in, she thinks about Ash as she masturbates, somehow knowing he’s in the room watching her, even if she can’t see him. She does see dark tendrils and intuitively knows it’s him. She can feel his touch. She climaxes and calls to him as she does but gets no answer. Just as she dozes off, she swears she feels the bed shift as if someone lowered themselves to the mattress.
The next day, Nektas asks her what she thinks of the plan to remove the embers, and she says she’s tentatively hopeful. As they talk about their journey to the Vale, she finds out that it isn’t dangerous, but the road to get there is.