Page 296 of Born of Blood and Ash

“You are no longer in a position to decide what you willallow.” He tipped my head back until my neck protested. “But I don’t want aquick death for him. He will live as long as you so that he, too, can feel thatloss every day. So that he can feel everything done to you, just as he feelsthis right now. And as I said before, Seraphena, Ihave so much planned for you.”

My insides flashed cold, and our eyes locked. I thought Iheard footsteps, but I had to be imagining it because he didn’t react.

“And because I am a kind and gracious King, I will allow youtwo to leave this existence together,” he said, eyes burning like coals. Ashadow moved out of the corner of my eye. He was zeroed in on me and only me.“But by then, I imagine both of you will be begging for death.”

He shifted his lower body, and my entire being flinched.“Should we start now?”

I refused to look away from him. I refused to cower—to begor disappear.

“I’m going to ask you once more,” he said, slipping his handfrom my chin and running it down my chest. I clamped my jaw as he squeezed,swallowing the cry of pain. “Do I scare you?” His hand twisted, and I kicked myhead back. A wave of agony washed over me. “Do I?”

I panted through the pain. My head was spinning. Anotherflash of lightning radiated through the sky, reflecting off a blade of dullwhite. I didn’t understand what I was seeing in the falling snow until my eyeslocked with ones the color of the Stroud Sea. “No,” I rasped. “You don’t scareme anymore. I feel absolutely nothing when it comes to you.”

Kolis lifted his head, eyes narrowing. “We’ll have to changethat, won’t we?”

I smiled. “I think…I’ll pass on that offer.”

Crimson eather flared in his eyes,and I knew he was about to do something terrible.

He didn’t get the chance.

The bone dagger I’d dropped sliced clear through Kolis’sthroat as his head was jerked back. Hot, shimmery blood sprayed my face, andthe Primal reared, his shout ending in an abrupt crunch of bone as Ward, thefirst viktor, cut the fucker’s head cleanoff his shoulders.

CHAPTERFORTY-FOUR

The release of energy came in a flash ofintense whitish-silver light.

It wasn’t a destructive discharge of power, but it stillthrew Ward back and knocked the air out of me.

I’d been wrong.

Ward hadn’t sliced Kolis’s head completely off. And I wishedI hadn’t been wrong for several reasons. The least important one—but the onlyreason I could focus on at the moment—was the fact that Kolis’s head had floppedto the side, lying against his shoulder, exposing torn sinew and bone. His headwas only hanging on by threads of flesh.

He blinked at me, his mouth stretched wide in a silent,bloody snarl.

I would never unsee this. And there was a goodchance I might vomit, but I needed to snap out of it. He staggered to his feet,and mist poured from him, opening a tear in the realm. I groaned, rolling ontomy side and trying to stand. Kolis was severely weakened, and that kind ofinjury wouldn’t heal right away. The tomb in Oak Ambler wasn’t ready, and wedidn’t have enough Ancient bone to hold him. But if we could keep him—

The entire realm seemed to flicker into nothingness—eitherthat or I passed out because the next thing I knew, Ward was hovering over me,his sandy-blond hair damp with fallen snow. Concern was clearly etched into thesun-weathered lines of his face.

“Say something,” he said, his cold hand on my cheek.

I swallowed, wincing as pain flared in my throat. “Hi?”

His brows shot up. “Say something a little more complex thanthat.”

“You almost cut Kolis’s head off.”

“Feels strange to be relieved to hear you say that,” hesaid. “But yes, I did.”

“He’s gone, isn’t he?”

Ward nodded.

I swore, squeezing my eyes shut. Kolis would likely be downfor the count, but…

“Thank you,” I said.

“No need to thank me.”

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