Page 99 of Born of Blood and Ash

“And your head will bear the true crown of the Primal ofLife,” he replied.

“But yours—”

“It returned to its rightful owner,” he cut in.

I didn’t like that. Not for one second. “At least for now.”

Ash’s gaze met mine. “For now.”

Much to Rhain’s displeasure, I didn’t wear the crownas Ash and I left the House of Haides. It just didn’t feel right with Ashmissing his.

Besides, I didn’t believe a crown—no matter howglittery—made a Queen or King.

But all thoughts of crowns quickly fell to the wayside whenthe sweeping colonnade and endless archways of the City Hall came into view.

It seemed like it had only taken minutes, even though Ashhad summoned the warhorse Odin from the silver band around his biceps insteadof shadowstepping. That method would’ve been quicker.We wouldn’t have needed nearly every guard on duty to surround us or the three draken that flew above us. But the moment it came time toleave, my stomach began dipping and lurching. My thoughts raced, telling me Iwould sound completely idiotic when I addressed the people. I knew without adoubt that Ash had picked up on my anxiety and had chosen to travel this way togive me time to, well, find my footing again.

He was too damn perfect because, even though I was stillnervous, I was far calmer than I thought myself capable of.

Odin slowed as the draken glidedtoward the open coliseum, extending their wings to slow their descent. Iwatched as Ehthawn and his cousin Croleelanded on the colonnade. Pallas, a large, striking gray-and-black draken, followed, landing on the other side of thecolonnade. I was pretty sure he was the one I’d spotted when I surveyed thearmies.

But several more draken of varioussizes were already perched on the columns. I quickly counted them. Ten. Nektas wasn’t here yet, and I knew Mestra had taken Reaverback to Mount Rhee. I bet Liora was with them, along with two more draken, who would likely remain at Mount Rhee to watch overthe younglings. I swallowed, having never seen so many drakenin one location before.

As Odin came to a stop, I picked up on the hum ofconversation coming from within the City Hall. I dragged in a deep breath offresh air. There was no scent of burning oil as my gaze lowered and swept overthe rows of armored soldiers. I didn’t remember seeing the headpieces the lasttime I’d seen them standing before the City Hall. The steel-and-shadowstone helmets weren’t something easily forgotten.

Instead of a decorative ridge of dyed horsehair, the steeland shadowstone had been shaped into a crown of horns that bore a resemblance to Nektas’s.The cheek pieces swept out and up into draken wings.The helmets were as fierce as they were beautiful and were surely a fearsomesight in battle.

Rhahar and Kars had already gottendown from their horses and were waiting for us, along with Rhain. I knew Saion,Bele, and the twins were already inside the City Hall.

Along with likely everyone who called Lethe home.

Ash dismounted with a swift and graceful motion, landinglightly on his feet. His eyes caught mine as he reached up. Heart thudding, Itook his hands, and he helped me down without pointing out how hard I wasgripping his fingers.

He lowered his head to mine and whispered, “Breathe, liessa.”

I hadn’t realized I had been holding my breath for over fiveseconds. It seemed I wasn’t as calm as I thought I was. I sucked in a long,deep breath, drawing in his fresh, citrusy scent. Neither of us moved for a fewmoments. Could’ve been minutes. I stood there, shielded by his body and Odin’s.He didn’t move until my breathing steadied. Then he pressed his cool lips to myforehead.

He stepped back, and I gave Odin’s glossy black mane onelast pat, thankful that he didn’t attempt to nip at my hand today. He hadn’tlast night either.

Apparently, he’d gotten over the whole me-trying-to-kill-Ashthing.

With my hand folded firmly in Ash’s, we turned to the entryhouse as the three guards stepped to our sides.

Every soldier moved in perfect harmony, kneeling as theythumped their fists off their armor while two rows of about three dozen morefaced one another, unsheathing shadowstone swords.They raised them high, creating a walkway.

“Wow,” I murmured, my eyes wide as I realized the echo oftheir fists had silenced the chatter coming from within the City Hall.

One side of Ash’s lips curved up as his thumb moved back andforth over mine. “You liked that?”

“It was rather impressive,” I said as we walked forward.

I could hear the hiss of swords slicing through the air,lowering behind Rhahar, Kars, and Rhain as theyfollowed us. That was how quiet the City Hall had become.

We passed through the doors of the entry house, and my gazeimmediately flicked to the rounded archway leading to the City Hall’s mainfloor. I remembered exactly how long the walk was from that doorway to thedais.

It felt like it took ten years.

“I’m going to head out,” Rhain said, glancing between us asthe doors of the entry house closed. “And announce your arrival.”

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