Using the essence of others—their life force—to keep me alive didn’t seem all that impossible because I felt fine. Better than, actually—well, except for the ache in my face and throat. Other than that, there was no headache or weakness. I didn’t have that bone-deep exhaustion that had plagued me before.
But if I stayed alive, that meant the embers— “No.” I shut down that line of thought before it could grow. I wouldn’t even consider the idea of sacrificing lives to save others. There had—
A strange noise startled me, causing my head to jerk up. A resounding whoosh from outside echoed into the silent chamber. The sunlight in one window suddenly disappeared.
The comb slipped from my fingers as a…a hawk flew in through one of the windows near the ceiling—an enormous silver hawk with a wingspan the width of my arms.
I figured I had to be hallucinating as I watched the bird dive right for the cage. It angled its body sideways at the very last moment, gliding between the bars. My lips parted as it circled above and then swooped down, its dark talons latching on to the top of a bedpost.
Keen, sharp eyes a vivid, intense shade of blue locked onto mine—eyes full of wisps of silvery eather. Tucking its wings close to its body, the hawk pushed off the bedpost—
And shifted. All at once, I felt the warm pulse of awareness in my chest as a burst of thousands of tiny, silvery stars swallowed the bird’s body. I recognized the feeling as the dazzling explosion of light lengthened and took the shape of a man—a Primal.
I shot to my feet, my hand going to my thigh out of reflex but coming up empty as the spectacle of lights faded. A broad chest with golden-bronze flesh replaced feathers. My gaze shot up as brownish-blond hair settled against a cut jaw and a…scarred left cheek.
The Primal God of War and Accord stood before me.
CHAPTER TEN
A surge of pure, red-hot anger coursed through me as Attes took a step toward me. “Seraphena—”
I reacted without hesitation, and this time, I wasn’t slow or weak. Swinging at him with every ounce of strength I had in me, I caught him in the jaw with my fist.
Pain erupted across my knuckles as Attes grunted, his head snapping back. I cursed, shaking my throbbing hand.
“Fuck,” Attes bit out, pressing his hand to his jaw as he lowered his chin. His chest rose with a deep breath. “I suppose I deserved that, but godsdamn, you can hit.”
“You deserve worse than that.” I started toward him.
“I’m sure I do.” Attes held up a hand, sidestepping me. “But you make a move against me one more time, and you will bring out my most basic Primal nature,” he warned, his eyes blazing with fiery eather. “And you do not want that.”
I wasn’t so sure.
The embers throbbed fiercely in my chest, pressing against my skin. They wanted out—wanted at him. Or, more likely, they were simply responding to what I wanted.
However, some level of common sense prevailed. I knew I wouldn’t win a fight against the Primal of fucking War and Accord.
I forced myself to back down. “You betrayed us.”
“You already said that.” Watching me warily, he lowered his arm. “But you’re wrong.”
“I don’t think so,” I spat.
His eyes narrowed. “What I did was save lives, you little hellion.”
“Save lives?” I let out a scathing laugh as I stepped back even farther in an attempt to cling to my rapidly waning common sense. “Exactly how did you accomplish that by launching an attack on the Shadowlands alongside your brother?”
“I launched no attack against the Shadowlands. If I had, they would be nothing but ruins.” Eather crackled in his eyes. “And my brother had no choice. When Kolis had you kill Thad, it forced Kyn’s hand. Just as Kolis planned.”
My stomach twisted with nausea as I thought about the young draken Kolis had forced me to slaughter as punishment for Ash not seeking his permission before announcing that he was taking me as his Consort. “I brought Thad back.”
“I remember. But Kyn didn’t know that. He still doesn’t, for obvious reasons,” he reminded me. “Kyn was supposed to capture you, but not before he leveled the Shadowlands, leaving only the road to the Abyss and the Vale remaining. When I took you, I stopped that from happening.”
I inhaled sharply, thinking about the people in the city of Lethe, both mortal and god. I felt a little dizzy. “Was that what Kolis ordered?”
“In a roundabout way. He told Kyn to make a statement.” Attes’s shoulders tensed. “You don’t tell a Primal of War or Vengeance that and not expect utter devastation.”
I swallowed down the knot of fear building in my throat.
“The attack ended as soon as I took you,” Attes said. “I swear.”
“You give your word?” I sneered, heart thumping. “As if that means anything.”
He sighed. “You don’t trust me.”
“No shit,” I snapped.
Attes studied me for a few tense moments. When next he spoke, his voice was lower, calmer. “Kolis has known about you for a very long time.”
“I know.” My hands curled into fists. Fury surged at the painful reminder that Kolis had been aware of me since the night I was born, and had only been waiting for the embers to mature and me to use them. And everything Ash sacrificed? The deal he’d made with that bitch Veses, allowing her to feed from him to ensure my existence was kept secret? It had been for nothing.
The embers in my chest throbbed, responding even more now. Static raced down my arms, startling me. Lifting them, I saw that the fine hairs there had risen.
Attes’s stare sharpened on me, almost as if he sensed the energy ramping up inside me. Maybe he did. Either way, I needed to calm myself. That was easier said than done, though, when I normally existed in one of two states: restless or ready to murder someone. Most of the time, there was no in-between.
And I really wanted to murder Veses.
Badly.
However, I was in a fucking cage, talking to Attes, and Veses was hopefully still imprisoned in the House of Haides, so that wouldn’t happen.
“Then you know there was no stopping what happened,” Attes said. “Kolis would’ve taken you one way or another. The only thing that could’ve been prevented was the unnecessary mass loss of innocents.”
“Am I supposed to thank you for that?” I nearly shrieked.
“I don’t need your thanks but would appreciate it if you kept your voice down,” he ordered. “There are guards outside this chamber. And while shadowstone is thick, it’s not completely soundproof.”
“What will happen if they discover you in here?” I asked, giving him a cursory glance. “Naked?”
“Does my nudity bother you?” The fucker grinned until a godsdamn dimple appeared in his cheek.
Fuck common sense.
Bending, I picked up the comb I’d dropped and threw it right at his face. “No,” I growled as his hand snapped out, catching the comb an inch from his nose. “But I bet it will bother Kolis.”
The grin disappeared as he tossed the comb onto the bed. “Yeah, it would.” His gaze dipped to my mouth and jaw. “But you would likely pay a far steeper price for it than I.”