 by Jennifer L. Armentrout.jpg)
Total pages in book: 222
Estimated words: 213974 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1070(@200wpm)___ 856(@250wpm)___ 713(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 213974 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1070(@200wpm)___ 856(@250wpm)___ 713(@300wpm)
After a startling betrayal ends with both Sera and the dangerously seductive ruler of the Shadowlands she has fallen madly in love with being held captive by the false King of the Gods, there is only one thing that can free Nyktos and prevent the forces of the Shadowlands from invading Dalos and igniting a War of Primals.
Convincing Kolis won’t be easy, though – not even with a lifetime of training. While his most favored Revenant is insistent that she is nothing more than a lie, Kolis’s erratic nature and twisted sense of honor leave her shaken to the core, and nothing could’ve prepared her for the cruelty of his Court or the shocking truths revealed. The revelations not only upend what she has understood about her duty and the very creation of the realms but also draw into question exactly what the true threat is. However, surviving Kolis is only one part of the battle. The Ascension is upon her, and Sera is out of time.
But Nyktos will do anything to keep Sera alive and give her the life she deserves. He’ll even risk the utter destruction of the realms, and that’s exactly what will happen if he doesn’t Ascend as the Primal of Life. Yet despite his desperate determination, their destinies may be out of their hands.
But there is that foreseen unexpected thread—the unpredictable, unknown, and unwritten. The only thing more powerful than the Fates…
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Map
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Pronunciation Guide
Characters
Aios – AYY-ohs
Andreia – ahn-DRAY-ah
Attes – AT-tayz
Aurelia – au-REL-ee-ah
Baines – baynz
Bele – bell
Daniil – da-NEEL
Diaval – dee-AH-vuhl
Dorcan – dohr-kan
Dyses – DEYE-seez
Ector – EHK-tohr
Ehthawn – EE-thawn
Elias – el-IGH-us
Embris – EM-bris
Erlina – Er-LEE-nah
Ernald – ER-nald
Eythos – EE-thos
Ezmeria – ez-MARE-ee-ah
Gemma – jeh-muh
Halayna – hah-LAY-nah
Hanan – HAY-nan
Iason – IGH-son
Ione – EYE-on
Jadis – JAY-dis
Kayleigh Balfour – KAY-lee BAL-fohr
Keella – KEE-lah
King Saegar – king SAY-gar
Kolis – KOH-lis
Kyn – kin
Lailah – LAY-lah
Lathan – LEY-THahN
Loimus – loy-moos
Madis – mad-is
Mahiil – ma-HEEL
Maia – MY-ah
Marisol Faber – MARE-i-sohl FAY-berr
Mycella – MY-sell-AH
Naberius – nah-BEHR-ee-us
Nektas – NEK-tas
Nyktos – NIK-toes
Odetta – oh-DET-ah
Orphine – OR-feen
Peinea – pain-ee-yah
Penellaphe – pen-NELL-uh-fee
Phanos – FAN-ohs
Polemus – pol-he-mus
Queen Calliphe – queen KAL-ih-fee
Reaver – REE-ver
Rhahar – RUH-har
Rhain – rain
Saion – SIGH-on
Sera – SEE-rah
Seraphena Mierel – SEE-rah-fee-nah MEER-ehl
Sotoria – soh-TOR-ee-ah
Taric – tay-rik
Tavius – TAY-vee-us
Thad – thad
Theon – thEE-awn
Veses – VES-eez
Places
Callasta Isles – kah-LAA-stah eyelz
Cauldra Manor – kall-drah [manor]
Cor Palace – kohr pal-is
Dalos – day-lohs
Elysium Peaks – ihl-LEES-ee-uhm peeks
House of Haides – howz of HAY-deez
Hygeia – high-JEE-uh
Iliseeum – AH-lee-see-um
Kithreia – kith-REE-ah
Lasania – lah-SAHN-ee-uh
Lotho – LOH-thoh
Massene – mah-SEE-nuh
Pillars of Asphodel – [pillars of] AS-foe-del
Skotos Mountains – SKOH-tohs MOWNT-ehnz
Sirta – SIR-ta
The Carcers – [the] KAR-serz
Thyia Plains – THIGH-ah playnz
Triton Isles – TRY-ton IGH-elz
Vathi – VAY-thee
Vita – VEE-tah
Terms
Arae – air-ree
benada – ben-NAH-dah
ceeren – SEE-rehn
chora – KOHR-ah
Cimmerian – sim-MARE-ee-in
dakkai – DAY-kigh
demis – dem-EEZ
eather – ee-thohr
graeca – gray-kah
Gyrm - germ
imprimen – IM-prim-ehn
kardia – KAR-dee-ah
kiyou wolf/wolves – kee-yoo [wolf/wolves]
meeyah Liessa – MEE-yah LEE-sah
nota – NOH-tah
notam – NOH-tam
sekya – sek-yah
so’lis – SOH-lis
sparanea – SPARE-ah-nay-ah
CHAPTER ONE
The throbbing pain in my throat was fading, and I no longer felt the flames of red-hot agony burning through my body.
Despite the warmth and humidity of Dalos, the City of the Gods, I was now cold—colder than I’d ever been. I thought maybe I was fading because my vision was flickering in and out. I tried to focus on the open doors of the circular chamber I’d awakened in after the Shadowlands siege—in a cage and chained.
I had thought I’d seen a large wolf standing there. A wolf more silver than white.
A wolf I’d known in my heart and soul was him: the Asher, the One who is Blessed, the Guardian of Souls, and the Primal God of Common Men and Endings. The ruler of the Shadowlands.
My husband.
Nyktos.
Ash.
He’d never confirmed that he could shift forms, but I knew it was my Primal of Death. And when I saw the wolf, I’d thought he’d come for me. That I would see him, touch him one last time, have the chance to tell him once more that I loved him. That I’d get to say goodbye on my terms.
But I didn’t see him in the doorway now.
He wasn’t there.
What if he’d never been there?
The arms around me tightened, making my sluggish heart race. Kolis, the false King of Gods, still held me, likely reeling from the realization of who was in his embrace—who he’d fed on.
“Is it truly you?” Kolis’s voice was no louder than a sigh. Tears dampened my cheeks. Were they mine? His? “My love?”
I shuddered. Gods, Ash had been wrong when he said I may feel fear but am never afraid. Because the sound of Kolis simply speaking brought an avalanche of terror. It didn’t matter that it was only Sotoria’s soul inside me. That I wasn’t her, and she wasn’t me. He terrified both of us.
Two leather-clad legs suddenly appeared in my line of vision. My gaze lifted, moving over the shadowstone daggers strapped to his hips. Light brownish-blond hair brushed the collar of a black tunic. The Primal of War and Accord had been facing the doors. The traitorous bastard who’d brought me to Kolis must have seen Ash if he’d been there. Right? In his wolf form, he was massive—larger than any wolf I’d ever seen.
Unless he’d never been there in the first place, and I’d hallucinated him.
My chest hollowed, and…oh, gods, the swell of sorrow was an unbearable pressure, threatening to crush me.
“Your Majesty.” Attes twisted sharply toward us. “She’s not well,” he said. “She’s close to death. You have to be able to feel that.”
“You need to take those embers before she passes,” another voice urged, one that carried a soft lilt. The Revenant, Callum. One of Kolis’s works in progress. “Take them—”
“The embers are the least of your concerns,” Attes interrupted, speaking directly to Kolis. “She is about to die.”
There was no response from the false King. He just…gods, he just held me, his large body trembling. Was he in shock? If so, that made me want to laugh. Which meant I, too, was likely in shock.
“If she dies with the embers, they die, too—along with everything you’ve been working toward,” Callum insisted, drawing my attention to him. He was blurry at first but then came into focus. The Revenant was golden all over: his hair, his skin, and the elaborately painted mask shaped like wings that swept down from his forehead to his jaw on either side. “Take them, my King. Take them and Ascend as the Primal of Life and—”