Page 356 of Born of Blood and Ash

Ash sat up. “You love it when I call you that.”

“Not right now.” I squared my shoulders. “Look, I get whyyou don’t want me endangering the babes.”

“It’s not just them.” Ash rose swiftly, stalking past me.“It is also you. We already know they are pulling on your essence. The evidenceof that is still on your throat.”

I turned as he went to the small table and picked up thewater pitcher. “I can’t deny that, but it doesn’t change what needs to bedone,” I said.

“Not to sound repetitive, but it changes everything.” Hepoured two glasses. “We can still Ascend Ione but have her come here. The othergods can also be Ascended.”

“So, that’s the plan?” I asked.

“Part of it.”

“I’m sure I can guess the rest of this reallywell-thought-out plan full of problems.” I tried to quell my anger. “Ione willbe out of it after I Ascend her, which means she will be here, with no one inher Court.”

He set the pitcher down. “We can send guards there.”

“Guards that none of the gods in her Court are familiarwith,” I reasoned. “She needs to be in her Court with people both Keella and she trusts, which means I need to do what isexpected of the true Primal of Life.” I stared at his back. “And you need to beokay with that.”

The hand at his side fisted. “Me being okay with youendangering yourself and our children is impossible.”

“Then you need to not stand in my way and deal with it,” Itold him. “Because the only thing that is truly a danger to me is Kolis.”

He faced me, the flesh along his jaw and cheekbones mottledwith shadows. “I will handle him.”

“You cannot handle him without me,” I said. “And you knowthat. The fact that you know that is one of the many, many reasons I love you,so don’t say you can.”

He came forward and handed me a glass. The scent ofstrawberries reached me. “One of those reasons should be because I am willingto do anything to protect you and our children.”

“It is,” I insisted. “And, admittedly, you doing the growlything was a little hot.”

Ash smirked as he lifted his glass. “Knew it.”

“But also annoying,” I tacked on, taking a drink. “And yes,you wanting to protect us is one of those reasons, but your willingness to getyourself killed in the process is not.”

Ash huffed. “I will not get myself killed.”

“I know you will do everything possible to ensure thatdoesn’t happen, but I also know Kolis will take the first chance he gets tokill you, and he can do it.” My chest seized with real fear, and I didn’t stopmyself from feeling it. I wanted Ash to pick up on it, and I knew he didbecause he inhaled sharply, and the shadows deepened in his flesh. “You feltthat?”

Ash said nothing.

“I know you did.” My grip tightened on the glass. “The ideaof you going after Kolis—going after any of the Primalswithout me—is terrifying. And yes, we can worry about the risks I’m taking, butwhat about the risks you’re taking? What do you think you beinginjured or worse would do to me? To the lives I carry inside me? I cannot doany of this without you.”

“You will not lose me.” He clasped the back of my head withhis free hand. “Never.”

“Do you promise?”

“With every breath I take and every beat of my heart,” heswore.

“Then to honor that, you know what must be done,” Ireasoned. “I need to fight beside you. And I need you to support that becauseyou will not stop me from doing so.”

The air around us dropped several degrees and charged, but Iheld his stare. “I don’t want us to fight. Neither of us needs that. We need tostand together against Kolis. Not separate. I don’t need you to want this. Ineed you to understand that this is how we ensure we have a future with ourchildren.”

Ash cursed and dropped his hand. He stepped back, the energyramping up within him, stoking the eather inside me.“You know, I thought you asking me to take you to your lake was the hardestthing that would ever be asked of me.” He turned fast and sharp, throwing hisdrink at the wall. The glass shattered, raining water and shards across thefloor. “I was wrong.”

My heart twisted and ached as I lifted my gaze from the messto his rigid back. Wisps of eather drifted from hisshoulders.

“You asking me to end your life was a nightmare made real,”he said, his voice thin and icy. “But this…”

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