Page 375 of Born of Blood and Ash

No. No. No.

Kyn staggered, falling to his knees, his eyes widening withshock as Ash dragged me to my feet.

“Don’t do it,” I whispered—or maybe yelled. “Attes!”

He lurched forward, grabbing his brother by the throat.“Lailah,” Attes shouted, my breath wilting in mychest as he turned toward us. Tears streamed down his face, mingling withblood. Eather pooled around his raised hand, crackling and spitting. “AscendLailah, Sera. Now!”

I was rooted to where I stood until Ash grabbed me by myshoulders. “You need to go,” he said. “She’s on the Rise by the Black Bay.Ascend Lailah. Do it now.”

I sucked in air, gaze flying to Ash’s. “Stay with him.Please.”

“I will,” he promised, letting go. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” I whispered, stepping back as lightningerupted from the dark clouds overhead.

As gold-and-silver mist rose around me, Attesturned back to his brother. The last thing I heard before I appeared on theRise was Attes screaming, and he sounded just as Ihad when I found my family impaled to the walls of Wayfair. His scream was thatof a wild, broken animal full of sorrow and rage.

CHAPTERFIFTY-EIGHT

Only an hour or so past dawn, I’d woken tofind Ash gone and suspected he had been at the Pillars since the fight in Vathihad fueled violent storms that swept through the mortal realm. The destructionand death weren’t nearly as bad as they had been after Embris,but… Yeah, it was still bad.

And there was no guarantee that drawing Kolis out wouldprevent more destruction.

After eating a quick breakfast, I’d felt Ash’s return andleft to find him. On the way, I’d stopped by Aios’schambers and found Rhain there. I had a feeling he may have spent a decent partof the night watching over her.

“I didn’t know what happened until Aioslit up with eather,” Rhain said, standing on theother side of Aios’s bed. “Then I knew.” He sighed,thrusting a hand through his auburn strands. “We all knew.”

“I didn’t know Maia well.” Heart heavy, my gaze flickeredover Aios’s peaceful features as I toyed with thebutton on my vest. I wanted Bele to be here for her when she woke. “But Iwish…”

“There was nothing either you or Ash could’ve done,” Rhainwas quick to say. “It wasn’t like preparing Saion triggered Phanosinto making his choice. There was no way he could’ve readied his armies andleft the Triton Isles in that little time.”

“I know.” But I also knew that Keella’sand Veses’ deaths, although for vastly differentreasons, could’ve influenced what Phanos decided. Ithad been a risk, one we knew we were taking. I exhaled long and slow. “I didn’tfeel unrest in her Court. The attack must have been quick.”

“Maia didn’t have a large army,” Rhain said. “Her forceswould’ve been quickly overwhelmed.”

I nodded, hoping that meant her death was as quick andpainless as possible. We’d sent as many soldiers as we could spare to securethe Court, as did Ione, but from Nektas’s quickflyover, we’d learned the capital was burning.

It felt like we were at war, even though it hadn’tofficially been declared. And maybe we were. Perhaps calling it a war didn’teven matter. But I didn’t know if we were winning or losing at this point. Yes,we’d taken Lotho, Sirta, the CallastaIsles, the entirety of Vathi, and once Kithreia wassecure, it would be under our control, too. But we’d lost Maia and most of Veses’ and Kyn’s soldiers.

“How’s Attes?” Rhain asked.

I shook my head. “I only saw him briefly when he returnedwith Nyktos late last night, but I imagine not good.”I lifted my gaze to Rhain’s. “I didn’t want it to be him.”

“I don’t think Attes would’veallowed it to be anyone but him.”

My heart was even heavier because Rhain was right. Attes could’ve stepped back and allowed Ash to finish Kyn.He hadn’t. To kill one’s own brother? And a twin at that…

First, it was Kolis, and now Attes.Granted, it wasn’t the same, but I knew this was something Attesmay never truly get past, even if his twin was a grade-A asshole. In allhonesty, Kolis hadn’t. His grief and shame over killing Eythoshad aided in him becoming what he had.

“Sera?” Concern tinged Rhain’s voice. “Are you feelingunwell?”

His question pulled me from my thoughts. “Why do you ask?”

“You’re holding your stomach.”

I glanced down, and yep, my hand was pressed to mylower stomach. “Yeah.” Dropping my arm, I cleared my throat and rose from thechair beside Aios’s bed. “I’m going to check in with Nyktos. We should be meeting with the others soon.”

“Sera,” Rhain called. “Are you…?”

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