Page 402 of Born of Blood and Ash

Gods.

I unsheathed the bone dagger from my thigh.

His wild gaze darted around, landing on Ash and then me, hischest rising fast beneath the chains. “What in the…?” His head fell backagainst the slab of mineral and stone. A look of relief skittered across hisface. “Sotoria wasn’t… It wasn’t real.”

He smiled.

The fucker smiled, and it was real, transforminghis too-perfect features beneath the streaked wings painted on his face.

Gods.

I snapped forward, dragging the bone over Kolis’s left wristas Ash sliced into his right. Blue-tinted blood spilled over his flesh,spreading down his wide-stretched arms. The relief quickly vanished whenKolis’s surroundings finally sank in.

He cursed, hurling various insults in both the mortal tongueand the ancient Primal language. We ignored him, slashing the arteries runningup both legs. Blood was quickly pooling on the floor under him—

“I will fuck your corpses,” Kolis raged.

The blood wasn’t draining from Kolis quickly enough, in myopinion.

Ash raised a brow and moved away, reaching for the bonechains. “I’m not sure what is more perverse,” Ash remarked, moving toward thebone chains. “The necrophilia or the incest.”

“Do we have to pick one?” I asked.

Ash laughed.

“You aren’t doing shit,” I said to Kolis, kneeling over him.He glared at Ash as if he could will him into nonexistence. “You will be righthere. If you do wake up at some point, I imagine you will fall intomadness before you lose consciousness again.”

“Fall into madness.” Attes huffed.“I think that’s already water under the bridge.”

I smiled. “Years will pass. Centuries. You will beforgotten.” I leaned to the side so my face was in front of his. He stillstared at Ash. “And Sotoria?”

His eyes finally shot to mine, burning with unholy hatred.

“She will be free of you,” I said. “She will never have tofear you again.”

“So’lis will be reborn,”he seethed, blood and spit trailing down his chin. The sheen of red bonebeneath his flesh was visible. “Mark my words. The Fates will decree it. Theywill reset the balance, and nothing—absolutely nothing—in this realm or beyondwill stop me from having her. I will rise again as the Bringer of Death andDestruction.”

I stilled.

Ash yanked the bone chains tighter, pinning Kolis onto hisback. “If that day comes, we’ll be waiting.”

I shook my head, rising so I stood over his legs.

Kolis snarled, his fangs snapping at the air, his gazedropping to the bone dagger and then lifting to mine. “Do it. I dare you, Seraphena.”

I laughed, and high above us, thunder rolled. “You don’thave to dare me.”

Attes tossed another section ofchain over Kolis’s groin, drawing out a hiss of pain. “My bad,” he said. “Theyslipped.”

Kicking his head back against the stone, Kolis laughed. “I’mgoing to beat those babes from your stomach and dine on—”

Ash moved fast. He slammed his fist through Kolis’sthroat, tearing tendons and shattering bones in one wet, crunchy-soundingpunch. “As my wife just said, you aren’t doing shit.”

Eather flared weakly around Kolis’s form as his mouth movedwordlessly.

“What?” I leaned over, curving a hand around my ear. “Ican’t hear you.”

His eyes turned, becoming black pools. My body immediatelywent cold, and the nape of my neck tingled. The nothingness of his eyes swirledaround a pinprick of red. Blood not yet spilled. And in that burningcrimson, I saw…

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