Page 382 of Born of Blood and Ash

“I should be on my way to speak with Kolis.” Rising, heapproached me and clasped my arms. “I am very proud of you, Sera.Truly.” He looked at Ash, who had become my shadow as Holland let go. “And you.Your father is proud of you.”

“Is?” I felt Ash stiffen behind me.

“You released Eythos’s soul,allowing him to enter Arcadia, and Fates can travel into Arcadia,” Hollandexplained as Attes sat straighter in his chair. “Eythos has returned to be at Mycella’sside.”

“Oh,” I whispered, smacking a hand over my mouth as Itwisted toward Ash.

The line of his shoulders went rigid. “How is that possible?Kolis destroyed her soul, ushering in her final death.”

“He attempted to, and in a way, he succeeded,” Hollandshared. “But a Fate intervened.”

“Oh, my gods,” I whispered, pressing my other hand to Ash’schest.

Ash’s eyes glistened as he stared at the Fate, and gods, ifany of his tears broke free, I would sob. Like ugly sob on the floor.

“I don’t understand,” Ash said hoarsely. He folded his handover mine.

“Neither do I.” Attes sounded asshaken as Ash.

“It is rare for a Fate to intervene in such a way, but yourfather was well-liked by many of them. Your mother even more.” Holland smiled,but there was a hint of sadness to it. “Perhaps one day I will be able to tellyou more about how it was made possible.”

As I felt Ash’s heart pound against my palm, I thought Iknew what such an act had brought upon the unknown Fate.

Their own destruction.

CHAPTERFIFTY-NINE

The hem of the velvety robe swished around myslippered feet as I paced the bedroom. Holland hadn’treturned by late evening, and I kept telling myself that I didn’t need to beworried about that. Kolis was the type to purposely delay agreeing to meet withus just to convince himself he had the upper hand. I was nervous about howthings would go down, but it wasn’t the only thing that eventually drove mefrom the bedchamber.

Ash had left after dinner to check in with Theon. I’d felthim return a bit ago, but he hadn’t come back to our rooms.

I was worried about him.

Learning that your mother’s soul wasn’t completely destroyedwas good news—happy news—but it was also a lot to take in. To process. And he’dbeen quiet ever since Holland left.

I willed my heart to slow as I went down the staircase. Ithad been pounding on and off all evening, and I didn’t think that was good forthe babes.

As I neared the second floor, I decided to check in onLailah really quick. Aios had awakened this afternoonand immediately wanted to go to Kithreia to inspectits current state, but it wasn’t safe for her to do so yet. Phanos’sships had moved toward Dalos, but that was still tooclose, and our forces wouldn’t have arrived yet. Instead, she had left forSirta, and despite knowing that Bele would keep her safe while she was in avulnerable state, I hadn’t wanted her to go. Bele’s Court was also at risk if Phanos went after her.

Our armies were rapidly thinning as we attempted to protectthe Courts. Which meant we would have a battle on our hands if Kolis brought Phanos’s armies to the Bonelands,along with those who’d fled to Dalos—which he mostlikely would. We could lose more people.

No wonder my heart kept racing.

Exhaling roughly, I walked the second-floor hall, picking upon Attes’s presence. I stopped for a moment and thenforged on. Quietly, I cracked open the door.

Lailah rested on the bed, her mass of tight braids lying ona chest that rose and fell steadily. My gaze shifted to the Primal sitting ather side.

Attes sat with his feet resting onthe edge of the bed, slumped a little in the armchair, sandy-brown wavestumbling over his forehead and cheeks. He looked asleep. I started to close thedoor.

“You’re not going to say hello?” Attessaid without looking up, the tone of his voice flatter than it had been when Isaw him earlier.

I stopped. “I thought you were sleeping.”

“Nah.” Attes lifted his head then.His scar stood out starkly against his paler-than-normal skin. “I’m justmeditating. Never tried it before. Thought now was as good a time as ever.”

I arched a brow. “How’s that working out for you?”

“Not particularly well.” One side of his lips curved up.There was no hint of a dimple. The grin was empty. “The whiskey I tried to takefrom your husband’s office would’ve probably helped, but instead, I waslectured by a Primal significantly younger than me that the last thing I neededwas to drink myself into a stupor.”

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