“It’s kind of hard not to when you’re projecting.”

I sighed. “I really need to work on that shield.”

“It won’t help if you’re projecting,” he reminded me and lifted his hand. The bowl of fruit slid smoothly across the table, coming to a stop at his fingertips.

I narrowed my eyes. “Show-off.”

He grinned. “I could taste your nervousness and unease when you were talking about the gods coming to Lethe. It was thick and tart, and then it changed to something…sweet.” His brows knitted as he studied the fruit in the bowl. He nudged several pieces aside before picking up a glistening, vivid red strawberry. “Like this but dipped in chocolate.”

Warmth lit up my chest as I twisted toward him, drawing one leg up. “Is that what love tastes like to you?”

His eyes returned to mine as he offered me the strawberry. “Was that what you were feeling?”

I took the fruit. “Yes.”

“Then that is what it tastes like to me.” He picked up another berry without looking at it and popped it into his mouth. A tiny drop of juice clung to his lip, drawing far too much of my attention. “Decadent and lush.”

Muscles low in my stomach curled, and I had to force myself to look away before I did something rather inappropriate. Like climb all over him midsentence.

“You know,” he said, “if there was a way to prevent the others from realizing you Ascended and give you more time to adapt, I would do it.”

“I know.” I took a small bite of the fruit, which was difficult to swallow. The rise in anxiety was so not me having faith in myself. “I’m just being ridiculous.”

“No, you’re not.” He set the bowl aside as I finished off the berry. “You weren’t prepared for this, Sera. And even if you had been raised from birth to expect such, you’ve gone through a lot in a very short period of time.”

Not wanting to think about the a lot I’d gone through, I nodded and wiped stickiness from my fingers.

“But you won’t be facing any gods or Primals alone,” he stated softly. “I will be right beside you, as will those who serve the Shadowlands.”

I glanced at him, finding another sugar-dusted strawberry between his fingers. I took the tasty fruit and bit into it.

One of those rare, wide smiles appeared, exposing the straight line of his teeth. As I stared at him, I was mesmerized by how it softened the harsh beauty of his features. There was also a naturalness to this kind of smile, like his lips were always meant to be curved in such a way. And I thought that if he had lived a different life, that smile would be the first thing seen by many.

Wondering how I got so damn lucky, I pressed my forehead to his. “I love you,” I whispered. “I love you so very much.”

Ash clasped the back of my head, his fingers curling around the strands of my hair. His lips found mine, and the kiss conveyed those three words with just as much power as if they had been spoken.

“Finish eating,” he said against my lips, and I felt his mouth curve into a smile. “Please.”

My lips twitched as I picked up my fork. In the silence, my mind went back to what we had been talking about before all of that. I pushed another chunk of chicken around my plate, wondering how long the realm would remain quiet. My intuition told me nothing, and without eyes in Dalos, we had no way of knowing.

I suddenly thought about Elias, one of Kolis’s close guards who had been spying for Attes. “Do you think Attes has any other spies in Dalos?”

“I’m sure he does.” Ash speared a sliver of meat. “He came by when you were in stasis, but I didn’t speak with him. Nektas did.”

“Did Nektas say if Attes knew whether Kolis was still in stasis or not?”

“The only thing the Primal mentioned was that Kolis had not been seen in Dalos.”

That could mean anything.

“But I’m sure he’ll be back.” Ash paused. “Unfortunately.”

Ignoring that last part, I hoped Attes returned soon. I wanted to make sure he had the Star diamond somewhere where Kolis nor anyone else could get their hands on it—

I nearly dropped my fork. “That golden, mask-wearing motherfucker.”

“What?” coughed Ash, swallowing.

“Callum.” I pitched forward, rattling the table. “The blond-haired Revenant who is always with Kolis.”

Ash reached for his glass. “What about him?”

“You know how Kolis favors Callum?” When he nodded, I continued. “I couldn’t figure it out at first—why Callum was the only one who was allowed to be alone with me or how he clearly had more leeway with Kolis than anyone else. There were times he would actually disagree with Kolis.”

Ash halted. “If you’re about to tell me that Callum is Kolis’s child…”

“Uh, no.” My lip curled when I thought about how Kolis hadn’t been with anyone since he’d held Sotoria captive. It wasn’t his celibacy that disgusted me. It was the reason behind it. “Callum never believed I was Sotoria. He was adamant that I wasn’t, even after Kolis summoned a goddess from the Thyia Plains,” I said, referencing the Primal Goddess of Rebirth’s Court. “He wanted her to confirm whether what I claimed about being Sotoria was true. She can read memories like Taric could. Her name is Ione. Do you know her?”

The skin between his brows creased. “I know of her. She often accompanies Keella. I didn’t know she had the ability to scour the mind.” His jaw clenched. “Did she look into yours?”

“She did, but she made it as painless as possible,” I quickly told him. “And she lied for me, Ash. She saw the truth and lied.” Worry for the goddess surfaced. “Kolis has to know that now. I hope she’s okay.”

“If she lied to Kolis, she knew what she was doing, and she will likely be smart enough to make herself scarce,” Ash stated. “Callum didn’t believe you were Sotoria, even after that?”

“No, and the reason he didn’t is the same as why he’s so close to Kolis,” I told him. “Callum is Sotoria’s brother.”

Ash choked on his water. “You have got to be joking.”

“I wish I were.” Gods, did I ever. “If you thought things were messed up before? Wait until you hear this.”

“Great,” Ash muttered.

“The day Kolis saw Sotoria on the cliffs and scared her? She was picking flowers for her sister, Anthea. Callum was supposed to be with her but was messing around with someone instead. He felt responsible for her death.” I held up a hand. “Look, I don’t like Callum at all, but he wasn’t responsible for his sister’s death. Kolis was.”

“Agreed.”

“So, Kolis, being possibly the least self-aware being in all the realms, went to Sotoria’s parents to let them know that he’d petitioned Eythos to restore Sotoria’s life.” I watched as Ash captured my hand and brought it to his lips. He pressed a kiss to my palm, then lowered it to my lap as I told him how Callum had asked to be taken to Sotoria so he could apologize, and how that had ended for him when Kolis explained that he couldn’t. “Callum slit his own throat.”

“Fuck.” He exhaled roughly.

“Yeah, and Kolis…” I shook my head. “Gods, I could hear the anguish in his voice when he spoke of holding Sotoria as she died and then did the same with her brother.”

“You sound bothered by that.”

“I was. I am,” I admitted. “What happened to Sotoria and Callum is a tragedy. And back then, Kolis wasn’t who we know today. I’m not saying he was good then,” I tacked on. “Clearly, he had obsessive tendencies and really poor peopling skills.” My cheeks puffed with the breath I blew out. “But I don’t think he was pure evil.”

Ash said nothing to that.

It was understandable. Ash would never see Kolis as anything but who he knew. “Kolis couldn’t allow Callum to die, and he knew Eythos wouldn’t intervene. So, he did what was forbidden.”

Ash inhaled sharply. “He gave life?”

“He used his blood to Ascend Callum, but he’s not a demis,” I said, speaking of the Ascended mortals who don’t carry enough eather in their blood—not like the third sons and daughters. “And he’s not one of the Ascended. He’s not even like the other Revenants. He’s who he was before his death. But the other Revenants? They have no desires—not for blood, food, sleep, or companionship. They are driven only by the need to serve their creator. Kolis. And that is all.”