Page 200 of Born of Blood and Ash

“That was the case. Souls would get stuck waiting outsidethe Pillars if Nyktos was…unavailable.” He shifted,widening his stance. “Sometimes, for a few days. The longest was a couple ofweeks.”

If Ash couldn’t write the names for days or weeks, it wasbecause of Kolis. My gaze landed on the couch. Or possibly even Veses. The anger that always occupied my thoughts of herwas stronger now that I’d seen her in Dalos. Knewwhat she went through.

Reaver’s head lifted, his alert gaze swinging toward me. Thenotam. It wasn’t just my anxiety he could feel. Instinct told me itwas any extreme emotion. I checked on Jadis, but she was still humming,thankfully oblivious to what I felt.

I breathed deeply through my nose and then exhaled slowly,tamping down the anger the best I could. “Did he come up with some sort ofbypass?”

“He did a few years ago so the souls wouldn’t have to dwellin a state of purgatory.” Rhahar leaned against thedoorframe. “When Nyktos is…unable to write the names,I do it for him.”

Surprise flickered through me as I curled my arm back,cupping the back of Reaver’s neck. “How is that…?” I trailed off as the answerto my question rapidly formed. “Because he took your soul when Phanos wanted to punish you and your cousin, and then…he didrelease it back to you.”

Rhahar’s eyes widened. “How didyou know that?”

“Foresight.” I tapped my finger off my temple. “Or somethinglike that. Supposedly, Eythos had something similar.”

“I’d heard that he had keen foresight. Something close toprecognition.” Rhahar swallowed. “If you could figureit out, why did you ask?”

“This intuition thing is really hit or miss,” I said. “Andby that, I mean it’s mostly a miss.”

His lips pinched, and then he blinked several times. “Yes,he did release Saion’s and my soul back to us.”

“Knew it,” I murmured. “Because your soul was held by him,it allows you to know the names of the deceased.”

“Yes, but that’s not the only reason. I had to take hisblood, and it only works when I’m holding the Book of the Dead. Rhain can alsodo it.” He idly scratched his chin. “Just in case something should happen whilewe’re both out of pocket.”

“That was very smart of him,” I said.

Rhahar’s chin lifted. “Nyktos is one of the smartest beings I know.”

I smiled, affected by Rhahar’sloyalty and moved by his willingness to share this information with me. Ithadn’t always been this way. “Thank you.”

“No need to thank me,” he said, inclining his head. “Isthere anything else you need?”

“No, but this was…nice.” Warmth crept into my cheeks. “Imean, talking with you. About Ash and stuff,” I stammered as Reaver slowlyturned his head toward me once more. My neck continued to heat. “I know wereally haven’t had the time in the past, and, well…things are different now.”

“It has been nice.” A moment passed. “And things aredifferent now.”

“Because I’m the true Primal of Life and the Queen,” Isurmised.

“The foresight thing truly is more of a miss than a hit.” Afaint smile appeared on his handsome face. “It has little to do with that.”

“Really?” I drawled.

He nodded. “You risked your life for Nyktosand the Shadowlands.” Stepping farther into the office, he lowered his voice.“And for Rhain.”

My stomach hollowed, and the heat drained from my skin.

“I…I don’t know how you convinced Kolis to release himalive, and Rhain has never gone into a lot of detail…” he said, pressing hisright palm to his chest as he glanced at the younglings. “But I know it musthave come at some cost to you. You had no reason to do it—not for him. Not evenfor the Shadowlands when Kyn attacked.”

“That’s not true,” I whispered.

“But it is.” Eather pulsed in his eyes. “We never gave you areason to, yet you continued giving us ones.” His shoulders squared. “That iswhy things are different now.”

I opened my mouth but didn’t know what to say. I always sortof wanted to crawl into myself when confronted with these types of situations,where someone said something nice and there were no expectations. No stringsattached. But even more so with this. And it had little to do with Nektas being correct when he said I was terrible ataccepting praise of any kind.

Luckily, the sound of approaching footsteps put an end to myawkwardness.

For a brief second.

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