Page 231 of Born of Blood and Ash

“Shut up,” I hissed, grabbing him by the back collar of histunic.

Hauling him to his feet, I flung the fucker in the samedirection as the chair. He hit the wall with a satisfying thud and fellforward.

“My word,” Ezra murmured.

Callum caught himself before he face-planted on the floor.“Ouch.” He started to push up.

I was on him before he could take a step.

Slamming my hand into his chest, I shoved him into the wall,cracking the stone. Plumes of dust rose and shuddered to the floor as his headbounced off the stone.

“Sera,” Ezra spoke again. “Can you please tell me what isgoing on? Preferably starting with why you just tossed a god acrossthe chamber.”

“He is not a god,” I snarled, smashing Callum’s head againstthe wall again just because I felt like it.

“Okay. Then can you tell me what is happening and, at somepoint, explain why your skin is…” She paused. When she spoke again, her voicesounded closer. “Actually, I don’t even know what your skin is doing, butyou…you look like a god. Were you Ascended?”

“I’ll explain everything in a second, but I need you to getback.” I spared a brief glance at Nektas. “Protectthem.”

“You are my priority.”

“Nektas.”

The draken sighed. “As you wish, meyaah Liessa.”

“Meyaah…Liessa?” mumbled Marisol, and then Lady Faber’s squeaktold me that Nektas had moved closer to them.

I focused on Callum. “What are you doing here?” Streaks ofessence swirled down my arm, and sparks crackled from my fingertips. “Do notmake me ask you twice.”

Blood trickled from behind his ear. “You asked me to bequiet—well, you demanded that I do so.” He smiled, red smearing his teeth. “Andkind of rudely, too.”

I pulled him away from the wall and then thrust him back,cracking more stone. “Don’t try to be clever, Callum, because you’re not.”

“Maybe not.” His head rolled on his shoulders in a way thatmade me think I’d done some damage to a few important muscles back there. “ButI’m smarter than you.”

“The fact that you’re here tells me you’re not.” I pushedhim back as he tried to gain his footing.

“I was just chatting with some old friends,” he said, hisgaze darting down for half a heartbeat. “Catching up.”

“They are not your friends.”

“That’s not true,” Callum coughed out. “The former Queen andI go way back.”

“Yeah, you do.” I breathed in, attempting to quell mytemper. “What were you chatting about?”

“You,” he whispered, the dull glow of eatherflickering behind his pupils. “And what a lying whore her daughter is.”

“I’m really curious to see what kind of effect fire has onyou,” Nektas growled. “So you’d better watch yourmouth, you little fuck.”

Callum’s nostrils flared.

I smiled.

His arm snapped out, going for the dagger at my thigh.

I caught his arm. “Once again.” I twisted, breaking thebone. My smile grew as his eyes squeezed shut. “You’re clearly not clever.”

Spitting a mouthful of blood onto the floor, he lifted hishead. “You were much easier to deal with when you were caged.”

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