Total pages in book: 247
Estimated words: 231436 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1157(@200wpm)___ 926(@250wpm)___ 771(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 231436 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1157(@200wpm)___ 926(@250wpm)___ 771(@300wpm)
During the meeting with Delfai, Sera learns about the Star diamond and realizes that Holland lied about not knowing how Kolis took the embers. She remarks that a Fate giving The Star to Kolis should be considered interference. She’s told that Kolis still has The Star, but it isn’t needed to take the embers out of her. Her process is a bit different.
Delfai refers to her as a vessel and it makes Ash furious, stunning Sera. She then learns that taking the embers from her will have little effect on the realms, making her feel both relief and dread. Until she discovers how it’s done and what it means: she’ll die.
She can’t hold back a sardonic laugh, given she had assumed she would die all along. Delfai tells her there are only three options. Either Nyktos becomes the true Primal of Life and restores balance to the realms. Someone else takes the embers on. Or Sera completes her Ascension, and…Sera snaps at him not to finish that sentence, knowing exactly what it means.
Ash can’t hold back his anger and moves to attack Delfai. Sera pleads with him not to kill the God of Divination because it isn’t his fault. And Ash doesn’t deserve another mark for another death. Delfai is shocked when Ash calms since he foresaw his end. Then he spouts some nonsense about a silver beast, the brightest moon, and two becoming one.
Oddly, Sera feels a little freer at knowing the end is truly coming for her. She tells Ash he has to do it; that he needs to take the embers and kill her. Suddenly, she realizes that he knew how to remove them from her the entire time and could have done it already but didn’t want to because he knew he’d have to end her life. She reminds him that getting the embers out of her will kill her no matter what and then confesses that she doesn’t want to die. She says she wants to live but needs a future where Kolis is defeated, and the Rot is no more. She needs the realms to be safe. That’s all that matters. Ash argues that she matters. Not the realms. Her.
She tells him he did nothing wrong and apologizes for everything. She says there was never any guarantee he would have loved her, even with his kardia. He insists he would have, that nothing would have stopped him, and that he could have saved her. Once the words are out, he lets the despondency take him.
She instructs him to kiss her, and he lets out a soul-torn groan.
They have sex, and he confesses that he wishes he’d never had his kardia removed, saying he never wanted to know love before her. She sees his eyes turn red, full of Primal tears of grief, and it breaks her heart. Still, she has to accept what needs to happen. She asks Ash to take her to her lake when the time comes, and he promises he will.
That lake is such a catalyst for change in Sera and Ash’s love story.
As they shadowstep back into Iliseeum, they find the Shadowlands under attack. Saion comes to tell them what’s going on and explains how bad it is and who is involved. When Sera goes to look at what Saion is hesitating to say, he tries to stop her. She shakes off his hold and sees, then wishes she could stop Ash from seeing what she just did—so many of his people dead.
Sera has Saion help her get Aios down from where she’s been hung on a spike. He hesitates, but she demands it as his Consort. When they finally get her down, Saion warns her what using her power will mean for the dakkais. She says, “Fuck the dakkais,” and Saion tells her he likes her. She returns the sentiment.
After helping Aios, she goes to save Ector, but Saion stops her, physically holding her back this time. He reiterates that using the eather will draw in more dakkais and she’ll be swamped and killed. The dakkais attack anyway, and all that’s left of the god is a mess. Seeing Ector like that tears something open within Sera. She screams in rage and unleashes a pulse of power that vaporizes the dakkais. Her nose bleeds, and she feels bone-deep exhaustion. She can’t even feel Rhain’s touch when he catches her, and she tries to stop herself from losing consciousness.
Sera sees Ash drawing the dakkais to him with Primal mist and feels tendrils of it on her skin. Suddenly, she hears his voice in her head telling her to run. Instead, she runs toward him, and the shadows swallow her.
If you could see me, you wouldn’t see a shocked face at Sera not following orders. She’ll likely never change. And, honestly, I hope she doesn’t.