She pressed her lips together. “I know, but…Kyn saw me when he entered the courtyard. He came right for me. And, Fates, I still don’t understand why. He knows I’m not a fighter—that I was no threat to him—but he grabbed me and dragged me toward the pikes where the dakkais were feeding on some of the restrained who were still alive.” She sucked in a sharp breath. Closing her eyes, she shook her head. I waited in silence until she could speak again, knowing she was seeing in her mind what I was. The lives lost on those pikes, their bodies brutalized in unimaginable ways. Except she’d been there when it happened. “In all the years I’ve lived, I’ve never witnessed anything like that. Not even in Dalos. Not even from Kolis.”

There was a good chance I stopped breathing. I was betting that Kyn had gone for her because of her time spent held against her will by Kolis. And I also wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Kolis had offered Aios to Kyn at some point.

Her fingers twisted the chain at her throat. “Ector saw it happening and tried to stop Kyn, even though he knew he shouldn’t. Ector got Kyn good, though. Nearly took his arm off.” She hastily wiped her palm over her cheek. “Ector’s death was quick. At least, there was that.”

Hearing that did bring me some peace, but it didn’t dampen my building fury.

Aios cleared her throat. “Kyn may have been following orders to attack the Shadowlands, but he enjoyed it. He likes the pain and fear he inflicts.”

Anger rushed to the surface, and I was suddenly standing before I even realized it. The corners of my vision turned a silvery white. “Tell me I can’t go to Vathi and rip out Kyn’s innards.”

“You probably shouldn’t do that.”

Energy throbbed through me, charging the air. My skin heated. The chandelier began to swing as eather crackled along my skin. “Probably?” That one word dropped from my lips like a clap of thunder, causing Aios to jolt.

“Okay.” She drew out the word. “You definitely shouldn’t.”

“I shouldn’t,” I hissed. My hands closed into fists as I closed my eyes, counting just as I had in the gilded cage while I sat in that bath. Just as I had when I drove the Ancient bone into Kolis. And as I counted, I willed the essence to calm. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. I opened my eyes. The chandelier no longer swayed. “It would be very un-Primal of Life-like behavior if I did.”

“Uh-huh.” Aios watched me sit back down. “By the way, your eyes sort of changed color there for a few moments.”

“Really?”

She nodded. “The green turned gold. Your eyes were gold and silver.”

I opened my mouth, but all I could say was, “Oh.”

“They’re back to green and silver now.” Aios paused. “Your voice also did something different. You spoke out loud, but it was a breathy, hot sound. I know that sounds weird, but that’s how it felt. And I also—”

“There’s more?”

She nodded tentatively. “I heard your voice inside my head.”

My chest clenched. “I don’t know how or why that happened.”

“I think you might’ve been going full Primal of Life.”

“Did I physically change in appearance?” I asked, thinking about how Ash looked when he did. Then I thought about Kolis in his full Primal form. “Please, tell me I didn’t turn into a skeleton.”

“What?” Her brows snapped together. “No, your appearance didn’t really change.”

“Oh, thank the gods—wait.” I twisted toward her. “What do you mean by really change?”

“Your skin sort of took on a golden hue,” she said. “It was actually very pretty.”

I stared at her.

“Truly.” Aios smiled so widely it looked painful. “But that was all.”

That was all? I almost laughed as I sat back, now wondering what I would look like when I did go full Primal. I’d only seen Ash and Kolis do that.

Giving a shake of my head, I looked at Aios. “I hope I didn’t scare you.”

“You didn’t,” she quickly assured.

“Okay. Good.” I placed my hands on my legs. “I hate that you had to experience any of what you did, that pain and fear were your last thoughts. That it could’ve been the last thing Ector or any of the others felt. I’m sorry.”

“I know,” she whispered.

“And I will make sure Kyn pays for what he did,” I promised. “No matter what happens from here with Kolis, Kyn will be punished.” Energy hummed through me as I held her gaze, and as I spoke, the words became an oath inked into my very bones. “That, I swear to you, Aios.”

Eather pulsed in her eyes, and they widened. She stiffened. “Sera, you made an oath—”

“I know.” I exhaled, lifting my chin. “And I also know that an oath made by a Primal cannot be broken. He will pay, Aios.”

A fierceness I’d never seen before settled into her features. The corners of her lips tightened, and her eyes, normally so full of warmth, filled with the icy flames of vengeance. “I accept your oath.”

I smiled. I probably shouldn’t have, but I did. “Good.”

Aios sat back, running her fingers over the necklace. She cleared her throat, then went on like my first act as Queen wasn’t to make an oath to take out another Primal. “Do you think that a natural death versus one that isn’t makes a difference? When it comes to mortals, at least?”

“I…I don’t know.” No feelings or certain knowledge came, but it made me wonder if it did matter. Was there another way to restore the balance? I blew out a breath. “Even if it did, I feel like I’d probably be traveling down the same path Eythos did.”

“True.” Her lashes lowered, then swept up. “Attes told us about Sotoria and how her soul was in you but you weren’t her,” she shared. “You were right when you insisted that you weren’t the same person.”

I shifted, so damn uncomfortable whenever I thought about Sotoria’s soul now stuck in a damn diamond. At least I knew Attes would keep her safe.

“Anyway, you’re fine, right?” she asked. “The only thing that has changed is your eyes?”

“I was tired upon waking. Slept a lot like Bele did,” I shared. “But I feel as I did before.”

Something else popped into my head then, bringing a smile to my lips. “So.” I drew out the word. “Bele?”

Her forehead creased. “Yes?”

“And you? Together?”

A pretty pink flush stained her cheeks. “We are.”

The curve of my lips spread as I pictured them. There likely couldn’t be a more beautiful couple. “Is it new, or…?”

“Yes, and no.” Her blush deepened as she laughed. “We’ve been friends for many years, and we were together once before, about—oh, let’s see…” The groove between her brows deepened. “Eighteen years ago? Almost nineteen.”

I choked on my breath. “I’m sorry. You two were together almost two decades ago?”

“Yes.” A small grin appeared. “Why do you look so confounded?”

“Because you speak of two decades like it’s two months,” I sputtered.

“Compared to the span of a mortal life, it feels like an equivalent comparison.” The glow of eather pulsed behind her pupils. “Eventually, two decades will feel like two months to you, too.”

Once more, my heart leapt. “I can’t even imagine that,” I admitted. “Feeling that way. Looking as I do today, two decades or centuries from now. Like…my mind cannot process that.”

“It will likely take nearly that length of time for you to do so.”

“Probably.” A breeze drifted into the chamber, stirring the curtains. “By the way, have you heard from Maia?” I asked. The Primal Goddess of Love, Beauty, and Fertility would’ve felt Aios’s Ascension. “Or do you have any idea how she’s handling this?”

“I haven’t heard anything, and she hasn’t summoned me,” she answered. “But we’ve always been on good terms.”

“So, you don’t expect her to handle this like Hanan did?” Fearing that Bele would challenge his position after she Ascended, the former Primal God of the Hunt and Divine Justice had put a bounty out on her head.

Aios laughed softly. “No. While Maia may enjoy witnessing conflict and drama from time to time, she does so from afar. She doesn’t like to be involved in it herself.” She brushed a lock of thick, red hair back. “Maia also knows that I have no interest in ruling Kithreia. She won’t be threatened by me.”