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)
She asks him how Ash is, and he tells her he’s not conscious, then explains how he’s being kept in the Carcers, saying the prison is terrible. He establishes that he can’t help. When she tells him he’s only saying that because he’s worried about himself, he corrects her and says he’s more concerned about what Kolis will do to her or Nyktos. He adds that he’s loyal only to the true Primal of Life, and that’s her now.
He points out the scar on his face and tells her that Kolis gave it to him. He also reveals that Kolis took and killed Attes’s children, saying he’s never really stood with the false Primal of Life.
He explains how things are different now because of her but not because of the embers. It’s because of the one who can kill Kolis. Sotoria. He outright asks her if she’s Sotoria but then says himself that she’s not, adding that if she were, she’d look just like her, and she wouldn’t have spoken through Sera earlier.
Sera asks about the differences between rebirth and being reborn, and Attes explains. Then he wonders why the Arae told Kolis how to take the embers.
He insinuates that Sotoria’s soul is trapped within Sera, and it bothers her. She asks if anyone knows what will happen to Sotoria if Sera dies, and Attes tells her no.
Their discussion ends with him asserting that she’s not the weapon Eythos thought he created.
When she insists she can still fulfill her duty, he says she might be right, but she can’t kill Kolis.
She hopes he’s wrong.
Sera tells Attes that she stabbed Kolis, and it shocks him. He says the false King must be weaker than he thought.
Attes mentions Sotoria’s soul being lost again, and it angers Sera. She snaps that she knows Sotoria’s soul is the most important thing, and he tells her that she matters, too.
Sera mentions having a plan, and Attes is shocked—she hasn’t been there long. As she thinks about it, she asks what will happen if she manages to free Ash. He won’t return to the Shadowlands quietly. Attes tells her he will if he’s smart. He then explains how word of what he’s done will have spread, and he’s powerful, the second Primal most wouldn’t want to piss off. Sera assumes Attes is the third, and he calls her clever.
She tells him he’s incredibly stab-worthy, and he says he’s heard that before. Assuming her role as the Primal of Life, she orders Attes to back Nyktos, and Attes swears—an unbreakable bond. Then he bows and pledges his sword and his life—even though he doesn’t actually have a sword at present.
Sera asks about Sotoria again, and Attes says he’s been searching for a way to safeguard her soul. When Sera asks if Sotoria’s name means something like Kolis and so’lis do, he tells her it means “my pretty poppy.”
She asks Attes to get her a weapon made from the bones of the Ancients, and he tells her all the reasons it’s a bad idea. She capitulates. He then asks Sera if she can feel Sotoria. When she says she can, he says he hopes she hears what he’s about to say and says he will save her this time. Then, he leaves.
With nothing else to do, Sera trains, wondering what exactly she was trained for and if Holland knew all along that she wasn’t a weapon.
She remembers the wolf she saw while gathering rocks as a child and gives in to her feelings of missing Ash like a limb. She thinks about making Ash swear to live before she dies and getting him to see that he’s not to blame.
Sera wakes later, but she really doesn’t. She’s at her lake, and the colors of the landscape remind her of the Shadowlands.
Ash arrives.
He asks her to look at him. She does, and each of them thinks they’re the one dreaming. In reality, it’s a shared dream. Not caring what it is, they give in to their desire to touch each other and have sex. She tells him that she loves him, and he calls her beautiful.
Suddenly, he sees her bruises and gets upset. Sera starts to wake, telling him she can no longer feel him. Then, she’s back in the cell, but can still feel where they touched and what they did.
The Chosen come to take care of their chores, and Sera behaves. Callum stares, and she asks him if he wants something, then tells him she doesn’t think he’s right in the head—what with dying all the time and all.
She asks him about the Chosen she saw during her escape attempt. Before he can answer, Kolis enters the room and asks what they are discussing. Callum explains that they were talking about Antonis—the one who turned Craven.
Kolis tells her they’re an unfortunate side effect of creating the Ascended. When Sera points out the differences between Eythos Ascending the Chosen and what Kolis does, it angers him. He tells Callum to leave and then asks if she’s been resting. She reminds herself to stick to the plan and plays nice.