“Come.” Ash nudged me forward, and I took a tiny step when two people drifted out from the room and walked under the arch.

What I saw stopped me from moving another step and had me really considering if I had, perhaps, unintentionally smoked the White Horse.

A tall male and female stood before me, dressed in the same clothing style as Ash, except their silver-brocaded tunics were long-sleeved. The male wore his hair in neat, braided rows along his scalp, and the female’s was braided straight back and cascaded beyond her shoulders. They were of the same height and shared the same rich black complexion and wide-set, golden eyes. Their features were nearly identical. The male’s brow was broader, and the cheekbones on the female were more angular, but it was clear they were twins. I’d never seen twins before—not even fraternal twins—but it wasn’t them I stared at.

There was…a purplish-black, winged creature about the height of a medium-sized dog beside them, flapping its leathery wings as it nudged the female’s hand with its head.

They stopped when they saw me.

I knew my mouth was hanging open. I couldn’t close it because there was a tiny draken standing between them.

“Hello.” The female drew the word out as her widened eyes flicked to Ash. “Your Highness?”

Ash’s hand remained on my lower back. “Theon. Lailah. This is Sera. She is a guest.”

“I sort of figured she was a guest,” Theon remarked. “Or at least I hoped you didn’t decide to start following the family tradition of kidnapping mortal girls.”

Wait. What?

Ash’s jaw hardened. “Unlike some, nothing about that is appealing to me.”

“Is she a special friend?” Lailah asked.

“Actually, yes. She is…” He seemed to take a deep breath and prepare himself. “She is to be my Consort.”

The two stared at us.

Several long moments stretched while the small draken’s head swung side to side.

“I have a question,” Lailah announced as she scratched the draken under the chin. The creature let out a trilling purr. “Well, I have several questions, starting with why does your Consort look like she was thrown from the mortal realm into ours?”

Did I look that unkempt? I glanced down at myself. The hem of my cloak ended at my calves, exposing blood-stained feet. Through the halves of the cloak, the night rail hung limply. I didn’t even want to know what my hair looked like or what might cover my face.

“I didn’t throw her into this realm,” Ash grumbled. “There was an incident before we arrived here.”

“What kind of incident?” Rhain asked from where he leaned against one of the pillars.

“One that is no longer an issue.”

Interest sparked in Lailah’s eyes. “Do tell.”

“Maybe later,” Ash answered.

Her brother now raised a hand. “I have questions, too.”

“And I don’t care,” Ash replied. Rhain coughed under his breath. “Do you two have nothing to do? If not, I am sure there is plenty you could be doing.”

“Actually, we were about to take little Reaver-Butt here out for some airtime.” Lailah grinned as the draken let out a squawk of agreement.

“The draken’s name is Reaver-Butt?” I blurted.

Lailah laughed softly as she sent me a quick smile. “His name is Reaver,” she said, and he hopped on his hind legs. “But I like to add the butt part. He seems to enjoy it, too.”

“Oh,” I whispered, fingers itching to reach out and pet the small draken. At this size, it was nowhere near as frightening as Nektas.

“Then why don’t you two get on with that?” Ash suggested.

Grinning, Theon bowed his head. “As you wish.” His sister joined him, strolling forward. As he neared me, the god bowed once more and spoke, lowering his voice. “Blink twice if you have been kidnapped.”

Lailah grinned and sent Ash a long, sideways look. “Or just blink.”

I almost blinked because it was clear they were teasing Ash—a Primal who had gods strung up on the walls outside his palace.

“Go,” Ash ordered, and I turned as they moved on, my attention focused on the small draken teetering on Lailah’s shoulder.

“That’s a baby draken,” I said.

Ash looked down at me. “Draken don’t hatch the size of Nektas, and Reaver would be highly annoyed if he heard you refer to him as a baby.”

“I would hope not, considering that would be one hell of a large egg,” I retorted. “I just…” I trailed off, shaking my head and folding my arms over my waist. I felt like my head was going to explode.

“Seeing any draken, large or small, must be a shock,” Rhain commented, and I peeked over at him. His golden-red hair was a flame against the darkness of the pillar. “I imagine it will continue to be a shock for some time.”

I nodded tentatively. “I think it will be.”

The god smiled faintly.

Ash shifted so he halfway blocked Rhain. “Why are you still here?” he demanded of the god.

“I figured since Saion wasn’t here, I would undertake the honor of annoying you,” he replied, his tone flat.

The Primal let out a low rumble of warning. My breath caught. Rhain had to know about the gods on the Rise, as did the twins. Would any of them really want to annoy Ash?

“I actually have a valid reason for hanging around. I need to talk with you.” Rhain pushed off the pillar as I peeked around Ash. His face was set in taut, drawn lines. “It’s important.”

And, obviously, it was also something he didn’t want to speak about in front of me.

Which was annoying.

Ash nodded and looked down at me, about to speak, but he narrowed his eyes. He moved quickly, folding his hand over my biceps. I jerked at the contact. He turned my arm slightly. “What caused this bruise? I meant to ask about it earlier.”

“What?”

“This bruise. It’s an older one,” he stated, and I looked at my arm. Tavius. Gods. I’d forgotten about him and the bowl of dates. “How did this happen?”

“I walked into something.” I tugged on my hand.

“You don’t strike me as the type to walk into things.”

“How would you know?” I demanded, pulling on my arm again.

Ash lowered his chin. “Because you’ve appeared very sure-footed and precise in your movements.”

“That doesn’t mean I don’t have moments of clumsiness.”

“Really?” He held on for a moment longer but then let go.

I folded my arm back to my waist. “Really.”

“This is entertaining,” Rhain commented.

Ignoring the god, Ash’s piercing stare remained fixed on me. “You must have walked into it pretty hard to create that bruise.”

“Must have,” I muttered, nervously taking in the large entryway. There were no statues, no banners or paintings. The walls were as bare as the floor, cold and desolate.

And this was to be my…home? For how long?

As long as it took.

A bone-deep weariness settled into me, and I became aware of the ache in my temples, which seemed to match the steady throbbing in my shoulders and back. I had no idea if my legs had felt this weak for a while, or if that was something new. It took everything in me to remain standing.

“Hey.” Ash’s fingers pressed under my chin, startling me.

“What?”

“I asked if you were hungry.” His gaze searched mine intently. “You must not have heard me.”

Was I hungry? I wasn’t sure. I shook my head.

His regard was so singularly focused on me that I wondered if he could see beyond the surface. “How is your back feeling?”

“Okay.”

He continued staring and then nodded as he hooked a finger around a wayward curl that had fallen forward before carefully tucking it back. The tender act reminded me of the lake, and I didn’t understand how his touch could be so gentle when he impaled gods on the Rise.

Ash tilted his head back and then turned to the archway. “Aios?”

I turned as a woman stepped out from beyond the archway. I blinked, yet again feeling as if I were hallucinating. She was…good gods, she was beautiful. Her face was heart-shaped, eyes a bright citrine with thick lashes, plump lips, and high and full cheeks. She crossed into the entryway, smoothing several strands of vibrant red hair back behind an ear before clasping her hands over the midsection of a long-sleeved, gray gown cinched at the waist with a silver chain.