Page 235 of Born of Blood and Ash

Ash left my side and raised a hand. The table flipped over,revealing a sprawled but no-longer-leaking Callum.

The Revenant was already healing.

Ash gripped him by the back of the neck as his silvery gazebriefly met mine. He then looked past me to where my mother remained kneeling.“Remember what I said.”

My mother’s head rose. She didn’t look at Ash. Her gaze wasfastened on me. “I will.”

“Sorry about the table,” I said. Ash had returned tothe Shadowlands with Callum, and we’d moved to one of the nearby sittingchambers. “I hope you all at least finished supper.”

Ezra arched a brow and lowered herself onto a forest-greensettee. Marisol had accompanied her parents to a separate chamber in an attemptto calm them.

“And for the new cracks in the walls,” I added.

Nektas snorted from where he stoodby the doors. I didn’t have to look at him to know he was eyeing my mother.

“We had just finished supper, and I suppose the dining hallwas in need of a remodel.” Ezra smoothed the front of her waistcoat. There wasnothing wrong with it. What she was doing was a nervous habit—the only sign shewas disquieted by, well…everything. “So, you’re the Primal of Life? How is thateven possible?”

The simple bluntness of her question made me grin. I didn’tthink anyone would be able to handle this kind of news as well as she was, butthen again, she’d known I had the power to restore life. As she had said in thedining hall, it made sense to her.

“It’s kind of a long story, and I don’t have much time,” Isaid.

“Can you not make some?” Ezra countered.

I laughed dryly. “There isn’t enough time in the realms forme to tell you everything. But I…” I sat on the edge of the chair across fromher. “But I’ll tell you as much as I can.”

And I did, skipping over a lot, like how I’d been heldcaptive, as well as Sotoria and her soul. I glossedover how close I’d come to dying. I also had to silence Ezra’s understandablequestions regarding the part about who Kolis really was.

By the time I got to my Ascension and awakening as the truePrimal of Life, Marisol had returned and sat next to her wife. She stared at melike she had never seen me before.

I couldn’t quite blame her for that as I smoothed my handsdown my thighs. “So, yeah. That’s it.”

Ezra blinked and cleared her throat. “I am positive that is notit.”

I smiled. “It is for now—”

“I believed you had died,” Mother said.

My breath snagged as my gaze flew to where she sat. Shehadn’t spoken—not once until now—but I kept hearing what she’d said to Ash.

Nektas unfolded his arms, but mymother continued.

“The Rot disappeared in a flash. It was just gone.” Herhands were still in her lap, but her knuckles were as white as Ezra’s had been.“Only one thing could’ve done that. I figured you’d somehow fulfilled what webelieved to be your duty—”

“If I had succeeded in killing who we believed to be thetrue Primal of Death, it would have been a catastrophe,” I interrupted.

“I understand,” my mother replied. “But we didn’t know therewas another way for the Rot to end. We’d only ever been told that the Rot wouldnot lift until you killed the Primal of Death.”

“I thought the same,” Ezra said, drawing my attention backto her. “That you had succeeded by killing…” Her brows furrowed. “The correctone.” She gave a small shake of her head. “And we knew…”

“I wouldn’t have survived that,” I murmured. “I get it.”

“And Kolis?” Marisol asked, tucking a short strand of darkhair behind her ear. “He’s the true Primal of Death?”

“Yes. And he’s still alive. That’s why I came here today.But I need to know what Callum was doing here.” I cleared my throat. “And whathe said.”

“He arrived two days ago, I believe. We’d just returned fromMassene, where we celebrated the Rite with PrincessKayleigh and her family,” she said, and I tried not to think about the fate ofthe Chosen. Marisol’s fingers dropped to her cream-colored blouse. “I didn’tspeak very much with him.” She glanced at Ezra.

“Neither did I,” Ezra told me. “He joined us for supper eachnight and mostly kept to himself outside of that.”

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