I frowned. “No, I haven’t.”

“He believes you’re Sotoria.”

How did he…?

“You need to tell him that you will die without me,” Ash said. “You are his weakness. He will do anything to keep Sotoria alive—to keep you alive. Even release you to me to prevent that.”

“What?” I laughed. “Kolis will think it’s a trap. He won’t believe that. I wouldn’t believe it.”

“But he will believe the Fates,” Ash insisted. “He knows they cannot lie.”

I wasn’t so sure about them not being able to lie. They had a knack for stretching the truth.

“Listen to me, Sera. I cannot summon the Arae. Neither can Kolis.” Ash lowered his head so our eyes met. “Only the Primal of Life can. And for all—”

“For all intents and purposes, that is me,” I finished for him. “Ash…”

“He’s going to release me, Sera. Once that happens, summon the Fates.” His features had sharpened, becoming more hollow. Shadows blossomed under his eyes, and those murmurs…

They were voices that didn’t come from my lake but elsewhere.

I would wake soon. I wasn’t ready. I wanted to stay here.

“Do you understand?” Ash implored. “Promise me you will do this. That you will tell Kolis the truth and then summon the Fates. All you have to do is call for them. They will answer.”

“I…I promise.” Confusion rose as I clasped his wrists. “But how will I know you’ve been released? Kolis could lie to me. He—”

“You will know. Trust me. He’ll make a grand show of it,” Ash said with a faint grimace.

“What I’m about to say next doesn’t change what I told you before.” The eather swirled in his eyes. “You’re brave, strong, and resilient. You don’t need anyone to fight your battles. You never have. You don’t now.”

My chest rose and fell rapidly as I listened to him.

“But I will fight for you. I will free you. And if that takes me laying waste to everything and everyone in Dalos, then so be it,” he swore as my heart stuttered. “Nothing will stop me.”

If he did that, there would be a war. “Ash—”

His mouth closed over mine in a hard, fierce kiss that was its own kind of oath. I felt it all the way to my bones.

“I’m nothing without you, liessa,” he whispered as he started to slip away, and the embers hummed in my chest. “And there will be nothing without you.”

I awoke with a start, and much like I had the last time I’d dreamt of Ash, I couldn’t believe the interaction wasn’t real.

The feel of him. His voice. Eyes remaining closed, I dragged in a deep breath. I could still smell my lake and him, citrus and fresh—

“Who were you dreaming of?”

Sucking in a gasp at the sound of Kolis’s voice, I jerked upright and nearly knocked into him.

Kolis knelt by the divan.

Heart pounding, I pressed my hand to my chest. Good gods, had he been watching while I’d dreamt of being in Ash’s arms? Anger and disbelief crashed together, forming a combustible mix. “You were watching me sleep? Again?”

His brow furrowed. “I can see the knowledge of me watching you still bothers you.”

“No shit,” I snapped.

His lips thinned as traces of gold swirled across his cheeks. “Do you want to know what is more troubling? How disturbing yet fascinating it is to watch someone find pleasure as they sleep.”

Find pleasure? A chill of revulsion went through me, curling my upper lip as anger boiled. “What are you even talking about?”

“You were smiling,” he said. “I saw your breath catch.”

Dear gods, exactly how long had he been watching me?

“So don’t lie to me.”

Either this man had absolutely no idea what one looked like when they experienced pleasure, or he was out of his mind. “I didn’t—”

Kolis snapped forward, slamming his palms down on the divan. He leaned in and inhaled deeply. I tensed.

The false King drew back with a frown. “Mountain air and citrus.”

My heart may have stopped as I stared at him. Did he scent Ash on me? Because that’s how Ash smelled to me. Like fresh air and citrus. But that was impossible, wasn’t it? Thoughts collided with one another like ships tossed about at sea. How could I smell like Ash? The dream… I couldn’t smell like him because I’d only dreamt of him.

“I will ask you one more time,” Kolis said, snapping me from my thoughts. “Who were you dreaming of?”

Oh, a huge, irresponsible, and petty part of me wanted to scream Ash’s name in Kolis’s face. However, I knew better. “I don’t know.” I tensed as the gold flecks faded from his eyes but still pulsed under his flesh. “I don’t remember my dreams. I don’t even know what I was dreaming about.”

Kolis fell silent while I hoped my years of lying were paying off.

Finally, the traces of eather slowed in his flesh and then disappeared. He rocked back and stood. “I’ve…upset you.”

I said nothing as I gripped the edge of the divan. His gaze flickered to my throat where the puncture wounds were a faded pink.

“That is not what I intended to do. I just…” Trailing off, he closed his eyes. “We’ve made a promise to one another. A vow to start anew.”

I didn’t quite recall stating it like that.

“We will start fresh,” Kolis said, opening his eyes. “We will.”

His words made me think of what I’d dreamt. I will fight for you. I will free you. But that wasn’t all I’d dreamt Ash saying. There was something about the embers and telling Kolis the truth.

“How can I make this happen?”

I frowned, refocusing on him. “Make what happen?”

His head tilted. “Make it easier for us to start anew.”

Had he not asked me a similar question before, and had I not told him I needed time? Though it wasn’t like I believed he would actually give me that. “I… I’m not sure—”

“Anything. There is no limit to what I will do for you.”

Nausea churned in my stomach.

“Would you like a new gown? A necklace made of rubies instead of silver? I could have dazzling rings fashioned from any jewel you want,” he offered. “Is there something else you desire? I can have books brought in from any kingdom. Would you like a pet? I can—”

“I would like to leave here,” I blurted, my mind fully waking up.

His eyes narrowed.

“You asked,” I said, struggling to keep the frustration from my voice. Getting out of the damn cage and seeing exactly where I was in the City of the Gods would be excellent. “I would like to see something other than this space.”

Kolis’s expression smoothed. “I assumed—never mind.” He cleared his throat and then gave me an uneven smile. “You would like to spend time with me.”

That wasn’t at all what I was suggesting. Like, not even remotely.

“I would like that, too.” He stepped back. “I will have breakfast sent in and give you time to ready yourself.”

As Kolis started to turn, what I had dreamt of Ash saying, or at least what I’d thought was a dream, came back to me. “Kolis?”

He’d made it just outside the cage before stopping. “Yes, so’lis?”

“I do have something I need to ask.”

He nodded for me to continue.

“What…what are you going to do about the embers inside me?” I pushed to my feet, curling my arms over my chest. “Kyn…he spoke to you the other day about the embers—”

“You don’t need to worry about that.”

“But I do.” I stepped forward, swallowing. “When you two spoke of them, you also talked about maintaining the balance. It didn’t sound like whatever was being done now would work forever.”

“It won’t.” His jaw tightened. “I will need to take the embers once you’ve begun your Ascension, but not a moment before then.” He inhaled, his chin lifting. “Then, I will Ascend you.”

My heart thudded heavily. He…he didn’t know I was already well on my way to Ascending, nor was he aware that he couldn’t just take the embers and then Ascend me. I wouldn’t survive. I wouldn’t even make it if I listened to my dream and told him that only Ash could Ascend me. But…