Page 284 of Born of Blood and Ash

“Kolis!” I shouted, entering the Sanctuary and rippingarrows from where they were stuck. This part of Kolis’s domain had remainedunscathed after I escaped.

It would not stay that way.

He’d taken my control. My sense of self. My family.I would take all he had taken from me—threefold.

A bolt of eather came at me when Ipassed the gold-adorned archways. I spun to the left, spotting several armedgods.

I sent one through the glass and another through a wall as Ishot forward, dipping under a raised shadowstonesword. Catching the god’s arm, I rose behind her. “Where is Kolis?”

“Fuck you,” she spat.

“No, thank you.” I tore into her throat, drinking deeply.Hot, thick blood poured into my mouth, and footsteps pounded.

Still latched onto her neck, I spun around just as a shadowstone dagger tore through the air. The blade struckthe goddess between the eyes. Catching her sword as it fell, I released herbody.

And locked eyes with another god. The stupid fucker chargedme. Deflecting the blow, I landed a vicious kick to his knee, shattering it. Heshouted, going down. I drove the sword through his skull and threw out my lefthand. Streams of eather hissed through the air,hitting another guard as a pale-eyed Revenant took his place.

I yanked the shadowstone swordfree as the Revenant came at me.

I didn’t have time for their shit.

Twisting, I swung the sword in a high arc, cleaving theRev’s head from its shoulders. Remembering what I’d been told about Callum’shead reattaching itself, I kicked this one down the hall.

“Kolis!” I screamed. The door to my right opened.

A blast of eather knocked thesword from my grasp, spinning me back a few feet. I caught myself before I wentdown. My skin smoked, my flesh charred, and I couldn’t feel my blood-soakedhand. I lifted my head.

A god stood before me, breathing heavily. I thought helooked familiar as he lifted both hands and took a tentative step back, a lockof brown hair falling across his forehead.

“I’m not going to fight you,” he began.

“Shut up,” I said, snapping forward. I gripped his throatwith my ruined hand. It hurt, but I drowned myself in the pain and sent a rushof eather through him.

The god’s head kicked back, and he screamed, eather pouring out of his open mouth.

I dropped him, throwing out my hands. Eather spread acrossthe interior wall. “Kolis!” I yelled. “You wanted this! Face me!”

He didn’t appear, even as I moved deeper into the building,leaving a path of ruin in my wake. Panting, my steps slowed when I entered awindowless hall. I’d been here before.

I stopped and listened. The fingers of my good handtwitched, and my head tilted. There were sounds. There had been noises theentire time. Quiet ones. Moans. Whimpers. Some louder. But I didn’t hear therumble of a draken as my stare fixed on the wall.

Kolis wasn’t here.

The son of a bitch likely suspected I would come for him andtook his draken and most of his Revenants.

But I knew what he didn’t take.

My chin lowered, and I pulled the essence to the surface. Itpulsed and then crawled over the wall. I tore the innermost wall of theSanctuary down, block by fucking block, exposing what Kolis kept inside to thesun.

There were many of them. Hundreds of Ascended. Most startedto run, their skin smoking. Some came at me. Others headed for parts of theSanctuary that still stood. None made it, their flesh catching fire. My gazecollided with the fine features of one not much older than me.

Jove.

I couldn’t look away as his face contorted in pain—the samefeatures I’d seen fear in not that long ago.

He’d been a Chosen.

But he hadn’t chosen this. He hadn’t chosen any of this.

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