My stomach hollowed as my eyes flew open. I gripped his shoulders, wanting him to feed—to bite me. But I…I locked up. Confusion whirled through me as my heart started pounding sickeningly fast.

His fangs scraped my skin, and dual bursts of lust and unease—unease and fear—darted through me. For a moment, I wasn’t there. I was in the cage, held too tightly. The reaction didn’t make sense. I was with Ash. I was safe with him. Always.

“Sera?” Fingers touched my cheek. I opened my eyes, breathing fast. Ash had stilled against me. “Are you all right?”

Swallowing, I nodded as I locked eyes with him. With Ash. No one else. “Yes.”

“Liessa…” He started to pull away, lifting his hips from mine.

A tiny burst of panic went through me as I curled my legs around him. “I’m okay. I promise.” And I was. Mostly. It had just been a weird moment. One I needed to get over. Would get over. Reaching up, I gripped the nape of his neck. “You need to feed.”

His head dipped, and I tensed, but he didn’t go for my throat. He kissed me, slow and long.

When he raised his head, I was panting. “Feed,” I repeated, lifting my hips against his.

Ash groaned. “I don’t need to.”

“I took a lot of blood—”

“And I will be fine. My body will replenish it,” he assured me. “I don’t need to feed.”

I wasn’t sure if I believed that as his mouth returned to mine, but it was okay. It was only a weird moment. I’d been fine when he bit me in the lake. I would be fine again.

Ash didn’t move inside me, though. He remained still, his hard length piercing, his eyes watchful. “Sera—”

Tightening my legs around him, I made as if to roll him. He resisted for an instant but then let me shift him onto his back. I rocked, seating myself on him.

“Fates,” he bit out, clasping my hips.

Planting my hands on his shoulders, I rode him, moving up and down his length. My pace picked up as I focused on him—only him—wanting every inch of him inside me. The feel of him almost made me dizzy.

His arm came around me as he drew me down. Our breaths mingled as our mouths opened. His eyes never left mine as he held me in place, grinding against me. We both came hard and fast, either one after the other or at the same time, I couldn’t be sure. Then I collapsed against his chest.

Still trembling from the aftershocks, we ended up back as we had been before, on our sides with his fingers in my hair and our legs tangled.

“Fates, if we’re not careful, we’re going to end up exhausting you back into stasis,” he murmured.

I giggled. “Is that even possible?”

“At the rate we’re going? Yes.” He was silent for a few moments. “Are you all right?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“You sure?” Ash asked, letting go of my hair to tip my chin up. Our eyes met. His were a warm dove gray. “I wasn’t gentle before or even now,” he added. “At all.”

“I know.” I rose slightly. “You didn’t hurt me then or now, and I loved both times—or all three times. Four?”

“Five,” he corrected.

“So, you’re counting those…” My skin flushed. “Those things you did with the tendrils of eather?”

“Those things you really enjoyed.”

Feeling my breath catch, I nodded. “You seemed to enjoy it yourself.”

“Enjoy it?” He dipped his head to mine. “You were drenched, liessa,” he said, his voice turning to silk. “It’s quite possible I enjoyed it more than you.”

A wanton shiver rolled through me. “Good.”

He chuckled deeply. Unfortunately, the sound faded much too quickly. “But your body has been through a lot. So has your mind.”

I snorted. “I think my mind is somewhat calm for once.”

“I’m relieved to hear that.” He drew a finger down the center of my chin. “But something happened with us earlier.”

Falling quiet, I debated whether to pretend I had no idea what he was talking about, which seemed very…un-queenly.

“You locked up,” he continued quietly, almost carefully. “And I could taste your sudden unease.”

“You really need to stop reading my emotions.” I leaned back, returning my cheek to his arm.

Ash’s touch followed, his fingers picking up another strand of hair. “If it makes you feel any better, it was harder than usual.”

My eyes narrowed. “So, I wasn’t projecting? You went searching?”

The hair slid between his fingers. “When you locked up, I was afraid I had hurt you.”

The evident concern in his voice extinguished any irritation. “You weren’t hurting me. At all.”

He dragged the curl over my upper arm. “Then what was it?”

I gave a one-shouldered shrug. “I don’t know. I think maybe it’s what you said. My body—my head—has been through a lot. So, it was just a weird moment.” And that was all I would allow it to be. “But all the other moments? They were amazing. Beautiful.” I leaned over and kissed him. “I think I can still taste myself on your lips.”

A sexy rumble vibrated in his chest. “Do not mention that.” Twin silver pools locked onto me, and my body immediately reacted, curling and tensing in a delicious, heated way. “Because it makes me want to taste you again, and I have something I need to say—actually, I have several things I need to say.”

“Okay,” I murmured as the image of him with his head nestled between my thighs took up residency in my mind.

Ash bowed his back so our eyes met. “That also means you need to stop thinking about it.”

“I’m not.”

“Your arousal is so strong I can taste it.” Ash nipped my lips, making my breath catch. A brief grin appeared as I pouted at him. “If you keep it up, I’m going to get myself deep inside you yet again.”

Shockingly, tiny knots of coiled lust formed in my belly. “Was that supposed to convince me to stop thinking about exactly that? Because if so, you failed.”

He chuckled, guiding my head back to his arm. “For some unknown reason, I’m not disappointed to learn that.”

Unknown? I snorted.

“But we need to behave,” he advised. “I know there is a lot we should be talking about—a lot we need to do.”

There was.

Tension crept into my muscles. The moment I remembered who I was until this very second felt like a dream. One where the world didn’t exist outside of this chamber. A fantasy I had never even dared to allow myself.

But the world did exist.

“We need to talk about Kolis.” My stomach soured, but he wasn’t the only thing we needed to discuss. There was so much more.

“We do,” Ash said. “But he’s not a problem.”

I tipped my head back so I could see his face. “How is he not a problem? He is the problem.”

“Right now, he’s not a problem,” Ash clarified. “Kolis was already weakened before your Ascension. You rising as the true Primal of Life not only has him holed up in Dalos nursing his wounds, but every god and Primal in Iliseeum felt your Ascension.”

My stomach took a sharp tumble. “Why does that last part sound like bad news?”

“It is neither good nor bad.” He traced small circles on my arm. “I’m sure most of the Primals are in shock and don’t know what to make of your Ascension, even those loyal to Kolis.”

My mind immediately jumped to the worst-case scenario per usual. “And what if they’re unhappy about my Ascension once they’ve wrapped their heads around everything?”

“Then we will deal with that.” His fingers continued making designs. “Together.”

I didn’t need any special, ancient knowledge to know that dealing with unhappy Primals would be violent and bloody. I could feel my chest tightening—a telltale sign of my old friend: anxiety. The corners of my lips turned down. I’d survived the impossible, Ascending into the true Primal of Life, and I still had crushing anxiety?

Seemed rather unfair.

“The other Primals’ shock and the blow dealt to Kolis has bought us some time,” Ash assured me, obviously picking up on my anxiousness. “Not a lot, but enough that they can all wait right now. Sooner rather than later, Nektas…” He paused, his brow creasing. “I have a vague recollection of him being at the door.”