Page 403 of Born of Blood and Ash

Sucking in a breath, I jerked back. Ash’s gaze flew to mineas he shook the gore from his hand. “Liessa?”

I blinked, my heart pounding. “It’s okay.” I swallowed hard,glancing at the second dagger Ash had gifted me that I clutched tightly, andthen I looked over my shoulder to where Attes stood,his hand tight around the shaft of a bone spear. “You partial to that spear?”

Attes’s head cocked, his eyebrowsfurrowing. “Not exactly.”

“Good, because I’m going to need this dagger,” I said,turning back to Kolis. “I’m not going to waste it on you. It’s too pretty.” Iheld it between us, wanting him to see it—wanting him to remember it. “Besides,if you do come back? And she is reborn?”

Kolis went still.

“I will place this dagger in her hand myself,” I whispered.“And it will be she who drives it through your heart.”

Leaning back, I held his gaze as I sheathed the dagger.Without taking my eyes from Kolis, I extended my hand.

Attes walked the spear to me. Itook it and rose, adjusting my grip on the leather band down the center. Mymuscles trembled with the need to drive it through Kolis’s heart and into theblood-soaked stone below him, but…

I raised my eyes to where Ash stood on Kolis’s other side.

But the pain Kolis had caused me was nothing compared towhat he had done to Ash.

Taking a deep, cleansing breath, I handed the spear to Ash.

His gaze dropped to the weapon and then returned to mine.“You sure?”

I nodded.

He froze for a moment, his chest still, and then he reachedacross Kolis’s prone body and clasped the nape of my neck. His fingers curledinto the braid there to guide my mouth to his. The kiss was fierce and hard, anexpression of both savage gratitude and a promise that he would show me justhow thankful he was later as he took the weapon from me.

He slowly lifted his mouth and pressed his forehead to mine.“I love you, liessa.”

“I love you,” I whispered.

His hand slipped from my braid, and I stepped back. I couldfeel Kolis’s unwavering stare on me now, full of hatred. I didn’t look at him.He wasn’t worth it. When Ash turned back to Kolis, he didn’t speak. Again, hewasn’t worth it. Ash folded his left hand under his right and lifted the spear.A heartbeat passed. That was all.

Ash sank to one knee and plunged the spear into Kolis’schest. Ribs cracked and gave way. I exhaled roughly as the spear struck true.Kolis jerked, his fingers clawing into the stone beneath him.

I looked at Kolis’s face, and hairs rose all over my body.Our eyes met. His mouth stretched wide in a silent roar. A bright, ruby glowrippled over his body, sparking and sputtering against the floor and thenquickly retracting. His skin thinned and vanished, revealing the churning,crimson-streaked black vines etched into the bones beneath.

The air stilled.

The realm went silent.

Kolis’s…presence eased away from me.

“Here we go,” Attes murmured.

Ash’s head bowed as the spear hit stone and then sank intoit. The impact was a shockwave, shaking the floor and rattling the damp-lookingwalls. A stale-lilac-smelling wind blew the wisps of hair back from my face.Dust and dirt fell from the ceiling, and red-and-black eathererupted from where the spear had been plunged deep into Kolis’s chest. Streamsof essence snaked out, filling the air with a thousand screams. The twistedmass of energy streaked to the north and south, then to the east and west, slamminginto the walls and crawling up them. I tensed, realizing his energy was…wasseeking a way out. If that happened, the city would be leveled.

The eather rolled over theceiling, and cracks appeared in the walls, the floor, and above us. The screamscontinued as the celastite in the walls held firm,serving two purposes: to keep the essence of the realms out and the Primalessence inside.

Eather pulsed, washing the space in a crimson glow. My bootssent loosened dirt and small stones scattering when I stepped back, watchingthe light fade into the fissures that had formed shapes. Circles with avertical line through them.

The symbol of Death.

Nearly the same as the MierelCrest.

Ash rose as the last of the eatherseeped into the walls. He turned to me, but my gaze returned to Kolis.

The true Primal of Death was nothing but bone and emptyflesh, already turning gray.

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