Warning bells immediately went off. When he spoke like that, things got bloody.
“Your father was like a brother to me—even to Kyn at one time. I would never truly stand behind Kolis after that. I did everything I could to run interference and protect what your father planned. You have to know that deep down—”
That was all he got to say before Ash’s fist slammed into the Primal’s jaw. My eyes went wide as Attes staggered back.
“Uh,” I murmured as Elias shifted nervously by the doorway.
I wasn’t sure what propelled the god’s anxiety more: the two Primals or Nektas’s entire head right behind him. Smoke wafted from the draken’s nostrils as he blew out a breath.
“Fuck.” Attes spat blood. “Okay. I deserved that.”
Tendrils of eather-laced shadows gathered at Ash’s feet as he grabbed hold of Attes’s breastplate, dragging the Primal to him. They were nearly eye to eye, and I thought I should intervene, but Attes was right. He had deserved that, but…
“Attes can be trusted,” I said.
“He had better hope so,” Ash said, and I heard the smile in his voice. It wasn’t a friendly one. “You and I?” There wasn’t even an inch of space between their faces. “We’re going to have a little chat.”
Holding Ash’s glare, Attes nodded. “Yeah, we will, but not here. If Kyn arrives, he’ll—”
“I know what he’ll do,” Ash snarled, and my knees locked. “So you know what I’m going to do.”
“I do.” Attes’s voice had roughened, and his gaze darted to where I stood.
My knees unlocked, and I started toward them. “We should—” A wave of hot dizziness hit me, immediately causing a fine sheen of sweat to break out across my forehead. The entire chamber seemed to tilt, and I squeezed my eyes shut as my stomach churned.
“Dear Fates,” Attes rasped.
Ash was at my side in a heartbeat, one hand on my shoulder to steady me. “Sera?” His cool palm cupped my cheek. “Talk to me.”
I clamped my jaw shut, fighting the rise of nausea as I focused on the relief his cold touch brought forth.
“Is it your breathing?” Ash’s voice dropped to a whisper, and he stepped into me.
Gods, the fact that he’d even thought of that and made sure only I could hear him… I inhaled through my nose as the nausea receded. “No, I…I was just dizzy.” I opened my eyes to see his concerned stare latched on to me. “I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not.” Attes’s voice was closer.
Ash’s head snapped to him. “Do you want to get punched again?”
“Not particularly,” the Primal responded, his skin blanching. “You saw what I did.”
“What did you see?” I demanded, glancing between them. Neither answered. “What?”
“You appeared as if you were shifting,” Elias answered as the distant, angry roar of a draken sounded.
“Shifting?” I said while Nektas pulled his head from the breezeway, scanning the sky. “Into what? Someone wearing more clothing?”
A dimple appeared as Attes cracked a grin. It was probably a good thing Ash hadn’t seen that.
“We could see the embers.” Ash tucked a strand of my hair back. “In your flesh. But only for a few seconds.”
“Oh,” I whispered, thinking of the tiny dots of silvery light I’d seen in my skin.
“You… You looked beautiful,” Ash said, a flicker of awe crossing his features before concern settled in his gaze. “We need to leave.”
Wordlessly, I nodded as I glanced over at Attes. The concern was evident on his face, too, but I knew it wasn’t reserved only for me. I swallowed, searching for Sotoria’s presence. I… I felt her where the embers had been, quiet but aware.
“But we also need time,” Ash went on. “As much time as possible with Kolis out of commission.”
Elias jerked his chin at Kolis. “I can get him out of here. Hide him and make his recovery a bit more…taxing.” A brutal smile appeared, and I had a feeling a taxing recovery involved growing back limbs. “His loyalists will be concerned only with finding him. That will give you some time.”
“Not a lot,” Attes warned.
My heart turned over heavily as I thought about everything I wanted to do in this not-a-lot-of time. All I wanted to experience. A knot lodged in my throat. This was yet another thing I couldn’t think about.
“Is that what you want done?” Elias asked.
Silence greeted him as I waited for Ash or Attes to answer, but they were looking at me. So was Elias.
My brows flew up. “You’re asking me?” I squeaked hoarsely.
A faint smile tugged at Ash’s lips. “You are the Primal of Life he swore his allegiance to,” he reminded me. As if I’d forgotten.
“I’m your Consort,” I reminded him.
“Actually,” Attes began, then stopped himself. “Never mind.”
I sort of wanted to know what he’d been about to say, but we needed to leave. “I have no idea what we should do with him.”
“You know my answer,” Ash said. “But you were right to stop me—as much as I wish you were not.”
“You and me both.” I ran a hand over my arm, ignoring the stickiness of the blood there. “Could we take him with us until we can figure out what to do with him?”
“That would be ideal.” Attes had moved closer to Kolis and knelt. He cursed. “But I’m not sure that would be wise.”
Ash’s attention shifted to the other Primal. “What is happening.”
“The bone shard didn’t go nearly deep enough to stay in on its own. You can’t even get it that deep,” he explained, rising. “His body will start pushing it out soon.” He turned to us. “He’ll awaken.”
“And there’s nothing else we can do to keep him down?” I asked.
“Not unless we get our hands on a bone blade,” Attes said.
I tried to keep the frustration down. “You can’t take your brother’s?”
Attes shot me a bland look. “I don’t think he’ll give his up without a major fight.”
“One you perhaps don’t want to start,” Ash bit out.
Attes’s stare flicked to Ash. “You would be correct. I want to avoid that for as long as possible.” His jaw flexed. “Because I know it will end with either my death or his.”
My stomach twisted. No part of me would mourn Kyn’s death, but his passing, without another to rise to take his place, would cause more upheaval. I looked at Kolis.
And Attes shouldn’t be the one to kill his brother if it came down to that.
“So, that leaves us with what again?” I asked.
Ash kept his arm around me as he turned to Elias. “You really think you can get him out of here?”
Elias nodded.
“That will give us some time,” Ash said. “Do it.”
“But can you do it safely?” I tacked on. “Like without getting killed?”
“My safety is of no concern to you, Your—”
“Don’t call me that,” I cut in. “And your safety is a concern, or I wouldn’t have asked that.”