Kolis had made sure of it.

Ash clasped the draken’s shoulder. “The oath I made to you before has not changed. Kolis will pay for what he has done to you and yours.”

Nektas’s nostrils flared on a deep inhale. “I know.”

“Good.” As Ash lowered his arm, the golden swirl of the marriage imprint along the top of his left hand glimmered. “I know the others want more than a brief update from me and wish to see Sera.”

“They need to see her,” Nektas responded, crossing his arms. “For themselves.”

Ash understood that. The others needed to see that Sera was who they knew, confirm she hadn’t lost her sense of self during the Ascension, and that she was exactly what they all felt.

The true Primal of Life.

But they would have to wait.

“I haven’t gotten a chance to really talk with her,” Ash began.

“Never would’ve guessed that,” Nektas replied dryly.

A faint smirk appeared but then quickly disappeared from Ash’s lips. “I need to talk with Sera before I’ll be okay with the idea of anyone getting in front of her,” he said. “I need to make sure she’s okay.”

Nektas nodded. “She’s been through a lot.”

“She has.” He knew that, even though Sera hadn’t shared much about her imprisonment.

But Ash knew.

Even if Kolis and Kyn hadn’t run their mouths, Ash would never forget how desperate she was to know if he still looked at her the same way. And he knew why she would ask that, despite her claim that nothing had really happened to her. He knew exactly what could be done to someone to make them fear something like that. After all, he had firsthand experience in that fucked-up arena as both a witness and an unwilling participant.

A knot of sorrow and rage lodged in his throat, but he didn’t let it choke him. If he did, it would choke her, too. “She’ll need some time to get her bearings,” he said. “I need you to make that happen.”

“I can do that,” Nektas assured without hesitation. “I’ll make sure the others give you some space for the rest of the evening and night. I’ll keep patrolling, just in case any idiots decide today is a good day to die.”

A savage smile hit Ash’s lips. He liked the sound of that last part. “May need more than a night.”

“We’ll cross that bridge if we get to it.”

“I’ll burn it if we get to it,” Ash warned.

One side of the draken’s lips curled, his attention shifting to the doors. “I doubt she’ll even allow that bridge to be built.”

Ash snorted. Nektas was probably spot-on with that assessment. “You’re…” He trailed off as the sudden, tart taste of unease filled the back of his throat, an emotion he knew wasn’t his. His spine went rigid. “I need to get back to her.”

Nektas nodded. “She dreams.” His gaze returned to Ash. “And they’re full of unrest.”

Surprise pierced the heaviness in Ash’s chest. “You bonded with her already?”

“We bonded to her the moment she was born.” Nektas’s eyes shone a brilliant, luminous blue. “We just didn’t know.”

How could any of them have known? Only a few had known that his father, Eythos, had placed the last of his embers of life—and Ash’s—in a mortal bloodline. And those in the know hadn’t been any of them. Nor could they have expected a mortal to survive an Ascension and become a Primal. This was new territory for all of them.

Ash started to turn, then stopped. There was something else he needed to say. “Thank you.”

Nektas’s head tilted. “What for?”

A wry smile curled Ash’s lips, and he clasped the nape of the draken’s neck. “For your aid and loyalty all these years.”

Nektas returned the gesture, and the weight of the draken’s hand was grounding. “Our loyalty to you was forged in the sacrifices you made and from your strength of will, Ash. Our bond to you was earned and is no less powerful than a notam.”

Ash lifted his chin in acknowledgment. “And Sera?”

A hint of approval filled Nektas’s stare as he smiled. “She has earned it despite not having to.” He squeezed Ash’s shoulder and then dropped his hand. “Take care of her.”

“Always,” Ash swore, and it really was an oath—one he would spend an eternity fulfilling.

Leaving Nektas in the hall, Ash returned to Sera, slipping silently into the bedchamber. His gaze immediately found her, and it was as if time stopped.

She lay on her back, her silvery blond curls half-spread across the pillow and over one bare shoulder. He approached the bed, his eyes tracking those tresses down to where the rosy tip of her breast peeked through the strands, and then to the blanket he’d pulled over her before leaving the chamber.

The sight of her caused his gut to clench with need, but he checked his desire—something he probably should’ve done the moment she’d awakened. But damn it, he’d lost control. He didn’t regret what they’d shared in the last handful of hours, and he knew she didn’t either, but he also knew better.

As Nektas said, Sera’s mind and body had been through a lot, and the evidence of one of those things was etched into her face now.

Her brows, a shade somewhere between dark blond and brown, were furrowed, creating a small crease between them. The freckles on her face—all thirty-six—stood out starkly against her paler-than-normal skin. Dark lashes spasmed against her cheeks.

She was dreaming. And it was full of unrest and unease.

Tension coursed through Ash as he pulled the blanket back and slid into bed beside her. Staring down at her, the sharp taste of lemon increased.

He wanted to know what she dreamed about, yet a weak part of him didn’t.

Because he wasn’t sure what he would do if he learned. Still, if he had to guess, it would probably be akin to what the vision—the one he had interpreted so fucking badly—had warned him about all those years ago. That he would set the realms on fire in his rage, leaving nothing but death and destruction behind.

And when he thought about Kolis, that was the kind of rage Ash felt. One reckless and wild enough that he would gladly see the realms crumble to dust if it meant he could witness Kolis’s death. Because he didn’t care how many souls his actions sent through the Pillars of Asphodel. He truly didn’t. As long as Sera never had to worry about that bastard again.

However, his rage would inevitably harm Sera. Life could not exist without death. And vice versa. His rage would be the ruin of realms. Of them.

So, he needed to chill the fuck out.

Ash watched her, knowing she would likely punch him if she knew. His lips curled into a faint, brief grin. She seemed to have settled a bit, but he could still feel her unease. Hoping what plagued her would pass, he was reluctant to wake her. Sera had fallen asleep shortly after they’d made love, and she needed the rest. But after a few minutes of him keeping guard, her brows snapped together once more. Her hand twitched, and then her fingers curled into the blanket until her knuckles bleached white. Another emotion reached him.

Bitter and suffocating.

Fear.

Then she made a sound he’d rarely heard her make.

Sera whimpered.

Then screamed a word.

Just one.

No.

Ash’s entire being split wide open.

Yeah, fuck. Lying there and doing nothing, even if it was just a nightmare, turned his insides to an icy mixture of anger and sorrow. A tremor ran through his arm as he lifted his hand.

Get your shit together, he instructed himself. She didn’t need his anger right now. He closed his eyes and cleared his mind. What she needed was everything he’d denied himself after dealing with Kolis’s punishments and that Primal bitch Veses’ demands. Sera needed comfort and stability. Support. The tremor ceased. His chest loosened.

He checked his deadly anger. Lightly touching her face, his jaw hardened as she trembled in her sleep, a charge of energy passed through her to him, stroking the Primal essence.