But Ash had been feeding.

Blood dripped over the defined lines of his chest, drenching his throat and smearing his wide mouth.

A guard raced out from one of the halls, charging the Primal, the gold of his armor glinting in the fading sunlight.

Ash caught his arm before the sword blow could land. “Where is she?”

“Fuck you,” the guard snarled, but he quaked as he did so, his body revealing his fear.

“Wrong answer.” Ash snapped his arm in two.

The god howled as the sword clanged off the floor. Ash was as fast as the crack of a whip, tearing into the god’s throat. He drank deeply and fast before lifting his head.

I supposed that was…fast food?

Two guards spilled into the hall. Someone threw a shadowstone short sword.

Ash twisted, using the guard he held as a shield. The god’s body jerked as he took the blade in the back.

Flipping the god around, Ash tore the sword free, letting the body fall to the floor. A bolt of eather streaked through the hall as another guard rushed him. I saw a flash of pale blue eyes. A Revenant. Ash shadowstepped to his right, avoiding the blast of energy. He threw the sword, striking the god in the head as silvery streaks of eather fizzled out. Spinning, Ash caught the Revenant by the throat, tearing the dagger from its hand. “Where is she?”

The Revenant grunted something I couldn’t make out. Whatever it was, Ash wasn’t impressed.

He slammed the dagger into the Revenant’s chest, then tore out his throat, ripping the spine out through the gaping hole. He tossed the still-twitching body aside.

“Where is she?” he repeated over and over, leaving a trail of armored bodies in his wake, some that would wake up, others that wouldn’t. He passed quiet alcoves, their golden, gauzy curtains rippling gently.

Several guards appeared. Shadows rose from the floor, swirling around Ash’s leather-clad legs. “Where is she?”

“Back in the north wing, beyond his chambers,” a god answered, dropping his sword. “You follow this hall. You’ll enter His Majesty’s personal chambers. That is where she is kept.” He lifted his hands as he took a step back. “We didn’t—”

“I don’t care.” Ash turned his head toward him. That was it. Just a look, and the god halted. His back bowed, his body going rigid. He rose into the air, and his mouth stretched open as cracks appeared in his flesh. Eather poured from the suspended god as Ash shifted his attention to those ahead. The god shattered into shimmery dust.

Several other gods began backing away.

“Run,” Ash spoke, his voice calling the shadows from the walls and the alcoves. “But you won’t get far.”

The gods spun and ran.

Whatever circumstances had led to them siding with Kolis or any remorse these gods felt wouldn’t save them. As Ash had warned, they didn’t make it far.

The whirling midnight mist whipped out, racing across the floor. All around, gods rose to the ceiling, their arms outstretched, and heads thrown back. Armor exploded from their chests and calves. From the center of their midsections, a silver glow pulsed as they hung in the air like paper lanterns. Then they fell like stars.

A swarm of dakkais erupted from a corridor and entered the hall, their gaping mouths full of blade-sharp teeth. Either drawn by the eather or sent due to Ash’s presence, they shoved into one another, growling and snapping at the air as they raced toward Ash.

There wasn’t even time to feel concern because Ash was very, very well-fed at the moment.

Tendrils of shadowy eather lifted once more, streaking out from Ash and slamming into the dakkais, piercing their bodies. Sharp yelps ended suddenly, one after another, until there was nothing before Ash.

Startling sharp pain flared once more, shaking my concentration. It severed the connection, and I suddenly no longer felt as if I were floating.

I pitched forward onto my palms as I heaved, dragging up nothing but air and the faint taste of something metallic. Through the tangled strands of my hair, I stared at my hands—my left one looked as if the pores had filled with faint silver light. Nausea rose, and I gagged, my stomach clenching. Though my eyes were closed, the chamber felt as if it were spinning.

I didn’t feel right. My head. My body. I felt too loose, yet too tight. There was a strange hollowness in my chest, one that felt final. My arms and legs trembled from the effort it took to keep myself upright. Sweat dampened my skin as if I had a rising and breaking fever.

The embers suddenly hummed in my chest as my right hand warmed. Blinking stinging tears from my eyes, I looked down. The swirl across the top of my hand shimmered brightly.

He was almost here.

My arms gave out. Suddenly, my cheek was plastered against the cool shadowstone tile, and gods, it felt good against my hot skin. My eyes drifted shut as I thought I heard shouts, but I couldn’t be sure. My heartbeat was in my ears. A loud crash came from somewhere, the sound of doors slamming into walls and shattering. Charged air stirred around me, then blissfully cold fingers touched my cheeks. I was lifted and brought against something cool and solid. Safe. The scent of citrus and fresh air enveloped me, and a breathy sigh left me.

“Liessa,” Ash spoke, his rough voice a balm. “I’ve got you. Everything will be all right now. I’ve got you.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

I’ve got you.

Three short, simple words, yet they shook me to my core.

“Open your eyes, liessa.” Ash pulled me tighter to his chest as he rocked back.

Fighting the bone-deep exhaustion, I opened my eyes. Everything was blurry at first, but my vision soon cleared. Crimson stained the lower half of his face, but the blood did nothing to mar the striking lines and angles of his features. The harsh shadows under his eyes weren’t so unforgiving, having faded between the time I’d lost my connection through the essence and now.

“There you are.” Ash smiled, but it was tight and strained as he brushed strands of my hair back from my face. I saw his lips move before I heard him speak. It was as if my mind was on some kind of delay. “Talk to me.”

I swallowed, wincing at the dull ache in my throat. I struggled to concentrate on him. “You—”

A roll of rumbling thunder came from outside—somewhere close. I stiffened. The sky beyond the narrow windows flashed an intense silver. That wasn’t thunder and lightning.

“It’s okay,” Ash assured me as distant shouts turned to quickly silenced screams. “It’s Nektas. He felt it the moment I got free.”

Nektas was here? Who was he burning—?

A high-pitched yelp came, causing me to flinch. The entire sanctuary shook as something large landed nearby.

I now knew what Nektas was burning.

Other draken.

“You’re safe.” Ash caught my wide stare. “Talk to me, liessa. Please.”

 “You found me.”

“Always.” Eather-laced eyes swept over my features before they slammed shut. His chest rose, and then he looked at me again. “I will always find you, Sera.”

Tears immediately rushed my eyes, stinging them. Drawing in a breath filled with his scent, I lifted a tingling arm and grasped the back of his neck, catching strands of hair between my fingers.

“But I didn’t find you.” Ash dragged his thumb over the curve of my jaw. “You found me. My beautiful, strong Consort. You ended this nightmare.”

I had, hadn’t I?

But didn’t that sound too good to be true? That I’d stopped Kolis before he…destroyed me in ways I wasn’t sure I would recover from? That I finally understood the full extent of how powerful the embers were and freed Ash from his prison?

My breath hitched.

I could see and feel him, but everything felt surreal—from the moment I’d touched The Star until this very second. It didn’t feel real.