I was trapped.

“Kolis.” Aydun’s voice suddenly thundered, snapping me into the present. “That is enough.”

Breathing heavily, I stepped back as I stared up at Kolis. We were in Cor Palace. The gold behind him was from the throne and all the other tacky décor. There were no bars. He was standing in front of me, and…

I glanced down. Was the floor trembling? My gaze flew around the atrium. The thick swaths of material covering the windows were swaying. A fine layer of dust drifted down from the ceiling as stone cracked like thunder somewhere in the chamber.

“Do I scare you, Seraphena?”

My head whipped back to Kolis as eather pulsed through me.

The skin under his eyes thickened, and the gleam of dull bone faded. “Clearly, I do.”

“That is not her.” Aydun faced me. “You need to calm yourself before Nyktos breaks with convention and shows himself.”

It took a moment for the Ancient’s advice to sink in. It wasn’t me causing the palace to tremble.

It was Ash.

He was picking up on my emotions, even though I knew he was nowhere near us. I didn’t feel his presence.

If Ash showed, he would bear some twisted consequence. My gaze swiveled back to Kolis. He smirked as he eyed me. That was exactly what he wanted.

Hands clenching, I focused on my breathing, taking slow and even breaths.

“And you.” The Ancient turned to Kolis. “Using the essence against her in such a manner is unbecoming of one who calls himself King.”

“I didn’t harm her.” Kolis tipped his flaxen head back as the swirling red shadows disappeared from his flesh. He began walking backward toward the dais. “Unbecoming or not, I violated no rules.”

“Wait.” I stiffened. “What are you—?”

“The true Primal of Death can root out one’s trauma and what they fear, sending them back to that moment,” Aydun answered before the vadentia could. What he spoke of was similar to what an oneirou could do—if an oneirou only manipulated negative emotions and created nightmares. “It’s the syhkik—the unique ability associated with a Primal. And this one is reserved for those sentenced to the Abyss.”

My lips parted on a quick inhale as I looked back at Kolis. He crossed the dais. He had…

He hadn’t been able to do that before. The nape of my neck tingled as Kolis sat on his throne. When Kolis stole the embers, he’d upset the balance. And when the embers he’d stolen faded, even Kolis had weakened. But my Ascension had restored the embers of life and the balance.

And it would—or already was—restore the Primals’ strength, including Kolis’s, even though only a few embers of death remained in him after he made the transfer. The remaining embers were in Ash.

And all that meant was that Kolis would become even more powerful.

That should be the biggest concern. It was, but the fact that he had used that ability on me took center stage. Fury rose, erasing what filaments of fear and panic remained.

“What did you ask me?” I said. “Just a moment ago.”

Kolis shifted, widening his sprawl on the throne. “I asked if I scared you.”

Holding on to that rage, I smiled. “You fucking disgust me.”

The flesh along his jaw and cheek thinned. Swirling cords of crimson reappeared, churning.

I wasn’t done. “Just like you always disgusted Sotoria.”

The waves of red shadows in his flesh stilled. Several seconds ticked by as the false King’s gaze held mine, and the crimson faded from his flesh. “I would suggest that you use this time wisely, Seraphena.”

Then, without another word, Kolis vanished from the throne.

The Ancient was quiet as we left the atrium and entered the empty hallway. I felt like I had just finished running up and down several flights of stairs—my knees were that weak as we reached the archway.

“Seraphena.”

I should’ve kept walking as my name echoed down the hall.

I didn’t.

“You should’ve accepted what Kolis offered,” Callum said. “It was more than gracious of him.”

A dry, cutting laugh parted my lips. Yes, Kolis was the epitome of generosity.

“If you are as wise as you think you are, you will accept it.”

That wasn’t going to happen, and Callum could likely tell that.

There was a moment of silence. “My sister does not belong to you.”

“She doesn’t belong to Kolis, either.” My control fell to the wayside as the little monstrous part of me seized control. Reaching behind me, I grasped the grip of the dagger and spun. The blade left my hand with shocking speed. “You sick fuck.”

The dagger pierced Callum in the center of the forehead, throwing him back. He hit the floor, dead for the second time today.

“Was that necessary?” the Ancient asked.

“Always.”

Aydun took my hand instead of responding. Swirling mist suddenly surrounded us as he shadowstepped to the canopy of golden trees.

“Gods,” I hissed, my head feeling like it was spinning. “Didn’t I tell you that I would appreciate a heads-up next time?”

“I forgot,” he replied. “Do you want to know how I think the meeting went?”

Exhaling roughly, I turned to him. A beam of sunlight sliced across his face. “Not particularly.”

He looked unimpressed with my answer. “I believe it went as expected.”

“What part went as expected? Him offering a deal? Me having to come up with one on the spot when I should’ve been warned of such before we got here?” I asked, my frustration nearly boiling over. “Or him exploiting what he did to—” I cut myself off and looked away, pressing my lips together.

“I was not certain that he would attempt to make a deal,” Aydun stated. “But even if I was, advising you of the possibility would’ve been unfair.”

I had to take an entire step back before I did something regretful. “You know what’s unfair? Whatever the fuck your idea of balance and fairness is. Because to everyone but the Ancients, it really feels like none of that applies to Kolis.”

“That is not the case.”

“That’s bullshit.”

“Is it?” His unflinching stare held mine. “Does Kolis strike you as someone who is happy with their lot in life? Fulfilled?”

I opened my mouth but then closed it. The only time I could remotely say that I thought Kolis appeared even somewhat happy was when he believed I was Sotoria.

“Kolis was not always like he is now,” Aydun continued after a moment, a far-off look settling across his features. “He was not without his flaws, but he was once fair and gentle. Kolis was feared, while his brother was welcomed. Dreaded, while Eythos was celebrated. Isolated and lonely, when his twin was surrounded by many. And while the other Primals could enter the mortal realm and spend time among them to retain some semblance of humanity, he could only do so for short periods and without interaction to avoid spreading death. He is the true Primal of Death, and mortals have never been able to come to terms with the knowledge that everything that begins must end. A millennium of that changed him. While many others are unable to see that, you have been able to.”

My gaze cut back to him. Exactly how much were the Ancients able to see? Know?

“And that is no excuse for what he has done to others and you,” he said, and I sucked in a reedy breath. “But he has not gone unpunished, Seraphena. Anything he has ever wanted or needed has been kept from him or eventually taken away.”

“Maybe that is true,” I started.

“It is,” he cut in. “We cannot lie.”

“Okay. So, that is true. He’s been punished, but none of that has deterred him.”

Aydun’s gaze lowered. “I cannot argue against that.”

It took me several moments to respond, and I only did so because I wanted to return to Ash. “How long do we have to answer whether or not we accept the deal?”