Page 224 of Born of Blood and Ash

“True,” the draken replied.

“Ignore him.” Ash sent Nektas onelast look of warning before cupping my cheeks. “Think of someplace within thegrounds of the palace. That way, you won’t have to worry about getting past anyguards.” His eyes searched mine. “Okay?”

“Okay.”

“You’ve got this.” Ash held my gaze for a moment longer,then his lips met mine. The kiss was soft and infinitely tender. It was a kissof sweet devotion.

He pressed his forehead to mine. “I’ll be waiting.”

“I know,” I whispered, stepping back as he let go.

I turned to Nektas and took a deepbreath, holding it for five seconds. “You ready?”

The draken raised a brow. “Areyou?”

“Yes.”

Nektas lifted his hands for me totake. Feeling his slightly rough, warm palms against mine, I thought of the oneplace I knew I could conjure up a realistic image of.

The garden.

I pictured the silvery green bushes with their purplish-bluespikes and the stone bench before them. Nepeta blue, my mother had called them.

The flowers my father had favored.

Holding on to that image, I summoned the eather.It rose in a hot rush and spread throughout my entire body. I took anothershallow breath and then willed us to Wayfair Palace’s gardens.

CHAPTERTHIRTY-THREE

Streaks of silver-and-gold essence swirledthrough the thick mist, whirling around Nektas and meas the floor seemed to drop out from under us for a heartbeat.

My stomach pitched as I tried to peer through the spinning eather. I caught glimpses of pitch-blackness for severalseconds—

A flash of whitish-silver light broke up the nothingness asthe space between the realms split open. I caught the brief scent of freshlilacs, and then the sea’s briny breath enveloped us, but Nektas’swild, earthy scent remained strong. The crackling light faded until only a thinline was visible, and that too quickly faded, revealing the silver-tipped greenbushes and faded purplish-blue spikes of the nepeta blue in the throes of alate-season bloom. Inhaling the hint of the bush’s earthy, slightly sweet aroma,I looked up at the clouds that had taken on dusk’s rosy, ethereal glow.

A breeze tossed some curls across my cheeks, and my heartskipped a beat. “The breeze,” I whispered, looking up at Nektas.“It’s cool.”

His head tilted slightly. “It is.”

“It never felt this cool.” Letting go of his hands, Istepped back and turned toward the bench I’d seen my mother sit upon. “Atleast, not that I remember. The Rot affected the weather.”

“But not anymore.”

“No.” I swallowed. “I knew the Rot was gone, but feelingit?” I exhaled roughly. There were no words as my gaze shifted back to thegently swaying spikes of flowers, just soaking in the feeling of the airwithout the suffocating humidity.

Nektas waited quietly beside mefor many seconds—maybe even minutes—before he spoke. “We should find yoursister.”

Drawing my gaze from the nepeta blue, I scanned the yellowsnapdragons and scarlet asters at the foot of a marble statue of Maia, and thesweet alyssum that carpeted the ground on either side of the stone pathway likesnow. I got my bearings. “We can enter the palace through the garden doors.”

“Lead the way, meyaahLiessa.”

I started to move but stopped, looking up at the draken. “Earthy.”

His brows rose.

“Your scent,” I explained. “It’s earthy. I never reallynoticed it before, but I…sense it before you are even near me. When I do, it’snot really a smell or a taste. More like a sensation.”

His head tilted. “Is there a question in there for me?”

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