Page 199 of Born of Blood and Ash

Hoping I was half as good as Ash at doing this, I separatedher hair into three sections and carefully began combing the tangles free.There were a lot of things I could be doing right now. I needed to practice shadowstepping and work on using the essence for moreprecise, delicate tasks since I still struggled with moving a glass withoutshattering it. I could have handed the young drakenover to Aios and went to train with Bele since shewas around, but gods, it wasn’t that long ago that I had feared I would neversee the younglings again. Spending time with them was just as important asanything else.

As I worked on Jadis’s hair, she let out these little pealsof giggles that tugged at my lips. It took me far longer than it should have toget the knots out, but as Reaver distracted her with the creepy doll, waggingit back and forth, my thoughts wandered. I wasn’t sure how I ended up thinkingabout the father I’d never known. It sort of snuck up on me and then struck methat I could visit him.

My soul felt like it left my body at the mere thought.

I didn’t need the vadentiato warn me that going into the Vale to find him—an act far too easy for me todo so as the true Primal of Life—was something the Fates would frown upon.

The dead were dead.

The living were alive.

Any interaction would upset the balance. But could I atleast see him? Not speak to him, but just discover if the portrait of him wasaccurate? Maybe even hear his voice? I imagined it would be the same as it hadbeen while he was alive. I didn’t see any harm in that.

I pressed my lips together as I ran the comb through Jadis’shair. Either way, it wasn’t something I could do now. It would have to keep forlater.

“Thank you,” Jadis said in her singsong, little-girl voice.

“You’re welcome, sweetheart.”

Her face broke out in a wide, beautiful smile, and then sheplanted the wettest, sweetest kiss on me. Gods, I melted right there, and evenmore when she scrambled toward Reaver and curled up in his lap. He didn’t shoveher away. Instead, he moved the doll in tune with the melody she hummed underher breath. It was just as rare to see the two of them like this as it was tosee her in her mortal form.

I placed the comb on the desk, my gaze falling on the Bookof the Dead. Ash had forgotten to put it away when he was summoned. Threeglasses of juice, all of them somehow belonging to Jadis, were next to it, andI picked them up in case the moment of tranquility ended. I turned and scannedthe chamber. Other than an end table, which wasn’t exactly a large surface,there were only the shelves.

It was once more clear how rarely Ash had used his office—orany of the spaces in the palace, for that matter—for any length of time thatrequired refreshments.

But that was changing.

So, there needed to be more furniture in here.

And knickknacks.

I placed the glasses on a nearby shelf and then turned, mygaze returning to the Book of the Dead. I returned to the desk.

Curiosity swelled, and I reached for the book, even though Iwas unsure if I should pry. Just as my fingers brushed it, I stopped. The backof my neck tingled as I heard my voice in my mind as clearly as if I had spokenout loud. The Book of the Dead is for the dead. Not the living. Ipulled my hand back, my fingers curling inward. I had an innate feeling that Iwould cross an invisible line if I opened the book that Ash wrote the names ofthe dead in—in his blood.

True Primal of Life or not, I still found that unbelievablycreepy, but their souls couldn’t cross through the Pillars until Ash wrotetheir names. Or, technically, Kolis could now be the one to write their names,but that obviously wasn’t happening. The only reason Ash could continue doingso was because of the true embers of Death inside him.

All of this made me wonder what had happened when he washeld prisoner. Did no souls cross over? Intuition told me they did, but Ididn’t understand how.

I did know who often took Ash’s place at the Pillars. It wasthe same god standing outside the office right now. I spun toward the officedoors and shouted, “Rhahar!”

The god opened the door a moment later, his starlit darkbrown gaze darting between the young draken and me.“Yes, mey—” He caught himself, his handfirming on the hilt of his sword. “Yes, Seraphena?”

“Sera is just fine,” I told him. “I have a random questionfor you.”

“I hope it doesn’t end in you shadowsteppingsomewhere,” he remarked. “Or asking me to train with you.”

Reaver let out a little laugh and then ducked his head,whispering something to Jadis.

“No,” I sighed. “And I’m sorry about that.”

“You already apologized three times,” he replied. “You don’tneed to keep doing so. Just take one of us with you next time. So, what’s yourquestion?”

I grinned. “Did any souls pass through the Pillars while Nyktos was held in Dalos?”

An eyebrow rose. “That really is a random question, but yes,souls crossed over.”

“How?” Picking up the tail of my braid, I leaned against thedesk. “From what I understand, souls can’t cross between the Pillars unless Nyktos writes their names in the book.”

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