Exhaling for the count of five, I looked past the ruins. “I hate waiting.”

“Never would’ve guessed that,” Ash remarked, his gaze piercing the horizon.

Time stretched thin and taut as we waited for the serpent to lift his head from his lair. I wasn’t sure how long we’d been here, but I knew it had to be past the time when Kolis agreed to meet.

Eather pulsed. “What if I was wrong?” I whispered in a voice barely louder than the rattle of leaves.

“You’re not.” Ash’s thumb swept over my marriage imprint. “You know that. He’s just trying to assert control.” His silvery gaze met mine. “But he has no control. Not over us. Not over what will happen.”

I nodded, forcing myself to inhale again. “I know. I’m sorry. I’m just—”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” he interrupted, squeezing my hand as he lowered his head to kiss me. “Being anxious is normal.”

My lips tingled when he returned his attention to the sea. I found myself staring at the ruins once more. The Temple was on the brink of collapse, sustained only by deeply rooted desperation and deception but very close to completely collapsing under one strong wind. It sort of mirrored Kolis’s reign, didn’t it? And Ash and me? We were the storm that would topple the false King’s dominion.

Tension charged the atmosphere as I cast my gaze to the horizon, where the seas disappeared into the sky.

“There they are,” murmured Ash.

My eyes narrowed as white-tipped waves formed and were replaced by quick bursts of color—vivid blues, glittering pinks, and intense greens. Line after line formed, their fins silently slicing through the water. They were fast, giving only seconds-long glimpses of their muscular arms and sleek bodies undulating in the water as sunlight filtered through the waves and glinted off shadowstone swords secured firmly to their backs. As they drew closer, I could make out cloth the color of the sea, partially covering their chests and tails.

Well, at least our forces would not have to fight against nude regiments. That seemed like it would be rather distracting.

A sudden pulse of thought, urgent and clear, reached me. Meyaah Liessa, Nektas called. We have spotted Phanos’s fleet.

My free hand fisted. “Phanos’s ships have been seen.”

Ash’s lip peeled back in a quiet snarl as he released my hand and stepped forward. Anger and bitter disappointment rose, stoking the eather. The corners of my vision turned white as I stepped up on the rock beside Ash.

I’d known that Kolis would not honor his word and come alone. We hadn’t. And I’d also known Phanos would show. None of that was surprising. Still, I couldn’t get past the fact that he stood with Kolis. That his fear of the Primal god was that great. Or maybe it wasn’t fear. Perhaps Saion and Rhahar were correct, and Phanos simply preferred that things not change. Static danced over my skin. It didn’t matter either way.

Ash turned, placing his hand on my cheek. Where I stood on the rock, put us at eye level. “Phanos made his choice,” he said, the timbre of his steady voice contrasting with the storm brewing within my very being. “And he will die today for it.”

He would.

Concentrating, I followed Nektas’s imprint. The moment they near the bay, let me know.

Will do.

Ash’s fingers found mine once more. Our hands clasped, entwined like the roots of the ancient trees surrounding us. I looked at him. His gaze met mine. There was so much love and strength there that I felt the eather rippling inside me. But there was also a pinch of concern to the line of his mouth as his other hand clasped the back of my head.

“There are no more lines to be crossed, liessa. If you need to use the essence, do not hold back,” he said, drawing his thumb over my pulse. “Unleash everything you have in you to protect yourself and our children. That will not make you the kind of monster you fear.” His eyes searched mine. “It will only make you a mother defending our babes’ lives, and that is all that matters. Understood?”

Drawing in a staggered breath, I nodded. “I will not hold back.”

“And you will not let any of it leave a mark,” he commanded, eyes lighting with eather.

“I won’t,” I swore.

“That’s my girl.”

Ash’s lips crashed into mine. The kiss was deep and fierce, an urgent clash of tongues and fangs that sent a jolt of raw energy coursing through him to me. It was a proclamation that became a promise as he spoke. “The next time we kiss, it will be over Kolis’s body.”

A savage smile spread across my lips. “I can’t wait.”

Letting go of my neck, he held on to my hand until I jumped from the rock. Ash and I stood vigilant, like a pair of sentinels.

“The ceeren have slowed,” Ash noted.

Every muscle in my body tensed. Time seemed to slow to an infinite crawl, and then I heard Nektas’s voice once more. Phanos’s ships are nearing the bay. There was a pause. Ehthawn can see soldiers on the gangways. Some are beginning to lower boats.

My hands fisted as I repeated the update to Ash.

“I know we want Kolis out in the open before striking, but we can’t let those ships get close,” Ash reminded me. “They get on shore, we’ll be swamped.”

Holding his gaze, I nodded. Concentrating on Nektas’s imprint, I exhaled slowly. Burn the ships coming toward the bay. All of them.

There was silence once more as I turned my gaze back to the sky. Theon had been right. From where we stood, we couldn’t see the bay or where Ehthawn and Crolee were hidden in the eastern mountain coastline. I didn’t even see or hear them take flight, but I didn’t take my eyes off the sky over the bay. The clouds were scattered and wispy but still provided some level of coverage. I held my breath and counted to five.

Suddenly, the two dark shapes belonging to Ehthawn and his cousin appeared above the clouds. In the next heartbeat, they broke free, diving toward the bay. Twin streams of flames erupted from them. I sucked in a short breath as the entire landscape suddenly lit up with the silvery glow of draken fire.

We couldn’t see the ships, but we heard the exact moment the fire struck them. It was a boom of splintering wood and a rage of crackling embers that muffled shouts of pain. The feeling of death followed and kept coming, pressing down on my chest as Crolee and Ehthawn flew over each other, raining down fiery destruction as they continued farther out.

A piercing whistle came from the sea by the bluffs, jerking our attention from the silvery glow. The ceeren were moving once more, racing toward the shore.

“Fire!” Theon called from below.

The sharp whistle of arrows taking to the air quickly answered. I wanted to look away but forced myself to watch as the projectiles plummeted at neck-breaking speed. Lean bodies suddenly jerked while others swam past. Fins disappeared under water rapidly turning a reddish hue.

Another volley of arrows was released as the sea churned with raw, primal ferocity when the ceeren breached the surf. They didn’t even miss a step. Saltwater coursed off their lithe forms, and they shed their iridescent scales in a shimmery wave of eather as they withdrew their swords. Within a few heartbeats, the shore was filled with ceeren. Our soldiers rushed from the caves. Swords met as arrows ripped through the sky above them, aiming for those in the water.

My nails dug into my palms when I saw one of ours fall. Eather pressed against my skin as I caught sight of Theon driving his blade through a ceeren’s chest. I stepped toward the bluff’s edge—

Clashing of swords from the eastern forests rang out, whipping our heads around. Branches rattled and snapped as bursts of eather lit up the shadows.

The echo of death was continuous now.

Our first line in the forest fell with shocking swiftness, causing my heart to stutter. Essence poured into my veins.