My brows snapped together.

“Come,” he said again, as if I were a slow-moving hound. “They await us.”

They.

Those who stood not long ago and watched me be crowned as the Consort of the Shadowlands and marry Ash, would now watch whatever it was Kolis demanded of me.

The last time I’d stood before those behind the doors, I’d been dressed in silver lace and glimmered like the distant stars winking to life above.

Now, I was adorned in gold, and I would have to…

I needed to behave as if I at least tolerated Kolis. Wanted to be here. My mouth dried. I didn’t care what they thought of me, but I did care what this would mean for Ash and whatever support he’d attempt to gain from them.

An anxious restlessness surged within me, twining with tendrils of sorrow. It was a potent mix, a swirling maelstrom of emotions belonging to both Sotoria and me. I felt the essence swelling inside me and knew that if I just let go, it would burst forth, casting the devastation I felt inside me onto all those beyond the doors.

Gods, a small part of me wanted to let it happen. Wanted all of them to know what I felt like inside. To experience the yawning hopelessness and bitter desperation. All the suffocating fear and soul-shattering shame. I wanted them to suffer as Ash was—as so many countless others had. I wanted to take all the pain and make them drown in it.

My body tingled.

And, gods, the inherent knowledge that came from the embers knew if I just let go, what I wanted would become reality. I could do it. I could drive Kolis to the ground. The potential left me breathless—

Jerking, I blinked rapidly. What was I thinking? My heart pounded as I fisted my hands. Good gods, I was experiencing delusions of grandeur. The embers may be powerful, but not enough to take on who knew how many gods and Primals and Kolis.

The embers throbbed as I drew in a long, deep breath. I cleared my mind just as I would when my mother sent me on her errands. I had a job to do. The opinions the Primals would surely have about me didn’t matter. Only securing Ash’s freedom did. I would get through this and then ask Kolis about Ash. I quickly pulled some unbound curls forward, shielding the healing bite and providing some coverage for what the gown didn’t hide. When I followed Kolis, my steps were steady despite not feeling the floor beneath my feet.

Conversation quieted under the open ceiling of the grand hall. As the humming in the embers slowly faded, my gaze flickered across the sweeping marble and gold pillars lining the massive circular Council Hall that had to be at least half the size of the one in Lethe.

The pillars bore faint cracks.

Torches had been lit on every other one, casting a fiery glow into the recesses beyond them, where the fading sunlight couldn’t penetrate. Numerous long, ivory-draped couches and chairs were scattered, no longer occupied. Dozens stood at the foot of the dais, their bowed heads a blur as I tracked the gold veining in the marble floor to the other side of the Hall—

To where an enormous draken lay, its wide jaw and flat, broad nose resting on the floor. Several horns sprouted from its head, curving back. They had to be the length of one of my legs, if not longer. The draken’s scales were the color of shadowstone, and each one appeared as if it had been dipped in crimson. Wings were tucked close to its sides, and a long, spiked tail twitched as a guard cautiously stepped over it.

The draken was…it was napping.

Nektas was the largest draken, but this one had to be a close second or equal.

Who was that?

Kolis approached the edge of the dais. I stopped at the throne, drawing my gaze from the draken to what I stood beside. The thing was bigger than the one in Cor Palace, somehow more golden yet not as gaudy as the one in the atrium. Diamonds glittered in the twilight, sparkling on the arms and the back shaped into many things.

The backrest of the throne was a large sun full of tiny diamonds, its rays ending in points that became symbols. At the center was a large crescent moon. To the right of the moon was a helmet, a trident, a scalloped shell, and from the last ray, a set of antlers carved from the gold. To the moon’s left, the rays ended in a cluster of many branches and leaves, a serpent-wrapped branch, another helmet, and, finally, a small jade tree.

Those symbols were nearly identical to the crowns I’d seen on the Primals. The jade tree must represent the Callasta Isles—Veses’ Court.

The embers vibrated gently in the center of my chest as I looked at the throne. Instinctually, I knew it represented unity among the Courts of Primals and gods. I also knew it was the throne Eythos had ruled from.

I looked down. There were deep grooves in the gold tiles and even places where chunks of the floor had broken off.

A shudder rolled through me. I stood where another throne had been. Likely where Ash’s mother, Mycella, had sat beside her husband.

Now, there was nothing there but destruction and…me.

“Rise,” Kolis ordered as I remained where I was, having no idea what I was supposed to do.

Those below rose, and as I scanned the crowd of several dozen faces, one heated silver glare snagged mine.

Kyn.

Our stares locked as I thought about my dream, how Ash had spoken as if Kyn had seen him while imprisoned. Of course, my mind would make up something like that. I didn’t want Ash to know that I’d promised Kolis anything in exchange for Rhain’s release because he would think the absolute worst.

Did Kyn know that Kolis’s gift was no longer on the table? I hoped he did, and it pissed him off.

I also hoped his dick shriveled up and fell off.

With that in mind, I smiled tightly at the Primal. He stepped forward as if he knew I was picturing his cock being torn apart by oversized barrats and planned to do something about it.

A hand clasped his shoulder, drawing his attention and mine to a figure in black beside him. My gaze flicked to his side.

Attes.

The Primal didn’t look at me as he spoke quietly to his brother.

Kolis turned then, going to the massive, golden throne I stood by. I didn’t know what to make of Attes’s presence, but I trusted him. At least, I thought I did.

Looking away from the brothers, my gaze then collided with another’s. I felt the air leave my lungs in an unsteady rush.

Keella, the Primal of Rebirth, stood with her hands clasped at the waist of her ivory gown. There was nothing but sadness in her stare.

Blinking, I quickly looked away as my heart thumped heavily. Did Keella realize that what she had helped Eythos do hadn’t gone as planned? That Sotoria’s soul was trapped inside me? Attes could’ve told her, or possibly Ione, who’d seen the truth in my memories.

My gaze skipped over faces of gods I didn’t recognize and those who stood along the walls. I saw Phanos toward the back, the glow of the sconces gleaming off the smooth, umber skin of his skull. Neither he nor the other three Primals wore their crowns, and I didn’t see any from other Courts.

Embris, the Primal God of Wisdom, Loyalty, and Duty, was not present. Nor was the Primal goddess Maia, or that bitch Veses, the Primal Goddess of Rites and Prosperity. Hopefully, that meant she was still locked beneath the House of Haides.

And starving.

Callum ascended the dais, and for a moment, I was distracted by his presence—and one screaming thought. This motherfucker was Sotoria’s brother. Then I saw what he carried. A large, golden floor pillow, which he placed at Kolis’s feet.

I couldn’t be expected to sit there.

The Revenant’s eyes lifted to mine as he straightened, his hair shielding a smug smile.

Son of a bitch.

“Come, my dear,” Kolis called, motioning to the pillow. “Sit.”

A hot, prickly sensation crawled up the back of my neck. Feeling the others’ stares, I conjured up the sound of Ash’s voice as I moved to the pillow. Breathe. That was all I had to do as I lowered myself to the golden cushion, trying to figure out the best way to sit as the slits in the gown left little option. Breathe. Chest constricting, I sat with my knees to the side, all too aware of the exposed length of my leg and lower hip. Breathe.