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Nyktos carries her inside, and she tries to tell him that she’s not hurt. He says he can feel and taste her pain, adding that she needs blood, especially since she won’t be able to heal while in the Culling. He refuses to let her stay in pain and asks her to let him help her.
Sera takes his blood and thinks it tastes like honey. It makes her feel tingly all over, and she can feel his power vibrating in her chest. Her pain fades, and she feels at peace. She also feels his touch more than ever. Her skin humming and blood hot, she realizes it’s a side effect. He tells her that he can feel and taste her need. That he’s practically drowning in it. She tells him to drown with her.
They have sex, and Sera doesn’t hold back. She wants him to hear, see, and know what he does to her.
Later, with the guards, Sera reassures Bele that she’s not to blame for anything. The goddess thanks Sera for saving her life. When Sera tells the group about the god who was ready to let her die, Nyktos gets visibly upset. They come to the conclusion that the attack had to be led by another Primal since they are the only ones who can control the draken.
Knowing the embers and Sotoria’s soul make her the perfect weapon to be used against Kolis, she scales the palace wall and makes it to the Black Bay, hoping to stow away on a ship and head to Dalos and Kolis in a bid to save the Shadowlands.
A silver hawk—which is actually Attes in his nota form—saves her from some Shades in the woods, and she somehow almost brings one back to life. When Nyktos appears, Sera runs from him, determined to fulfill her destiny. She can’t stop the Rot nor can she protect him. She has no other purpose but this. Furious, he tackles her but absorbs the blow, demanding to know why she was running from him. She tells him that she was trying to save him.
Sera confesses what she believes is her true destiny. She’s Kolis’s weakness, and whatever happens to her will be worth it. The mortal realm can be saved, he can be saved, and no one else needs to get hurt. Nyktos tells her that he will gladly suffer anything Kolis dishes out so long as she’s spared, though he doesn’t stop from mentioning the embers yet again. Sera gets angry and screams. Power explodes from her, throwing Nyktos into the air.
In seconds, Nektas is crouching in front of Sera, protecting her from any reflexive retaliation the Primal of Death may deliver. Almost in tears, she apologizes and says she doesn’t even know what happened but worries it will happen again.
She realizes that Nyktos will never let her go, and he confirms as much. She argues that she’s no better than a prisoner, and he tells her that’s her choice. He says her destiny is not to die by Kolis’s hand and insists there may be another way for them to go about things.
Back at the palace, Nyktos tells her the next time she puts a dagger to someone’s throat—even his—she’d better mean it, and then orders her to her room. He follows her into her chambers and informs her that she’ll sleep within arm’s reach from now on, then carries her to his room and throws her onto the bed. Stubborn, she refuses to undress, making him do it for her before they fall asleep.
The next morning, Sera wakes alone, and Baines brings her water for a bath. Orphine says she’ll escort her to Nyktos once she’s ready. As they walk, Sera notices the design on the throne room door for the first time—the wolf. Once inside, Nyktos tells everyone that Sera tried to go after Kolis to protect the Shadowlands and says her bravery is unmatched among them. He then whispers that none shall harbor ill will toward her now and should see her as she is: brave and daring. If not, the negative thoughts will be their last. He vows to destroy them, no matter how loyal they are to the Shadowlands. He tells Sera that she’s brave and strong and more than worthy of them.
She feels like he’s saying more.
Nyktos suggests they try to remove the embers from her and she’s stunned. She didn’t think that was even possible. Nektas tells her the embers aren’t fully hers until she Ascends, so they should be able to remove them. Nyktos’s blood would ensure she’d survive the Ascension then, though she learns she might Ascend into an actual god.
After they discuss when to go to the Pools of Divanash, talk turns to other things, and Sera learns how Nektas’s mate Halayna died, and that he was the first draken and the one who helped Eythos create the mortals.
They talk more about removing the embers, and she finds out that only the usual suspects in the Shadowlands know of the plan—and they only know she has one ember. They also support it, even the bit about Ascending her. Only Nektas knows about Sotoria’s soul, though, and it needs to stay that way. It would be too risky for the others to know.
Sera asks Nyktos if he will continue the Rite after becoming the Primal of Life and then learns why it was started in the first place. She explains what life is like for a Chosen in the mortal realm and finds out the mortals started that, not the gods. Sera wonders if all the missing Chosen have been turned into Craven like the seamstress—though she knows about the Revenants, too. She then asks what will happen to Kolis and the Rot if they succeed in removing the embers. They tell her they may never be able to kill the false Primal of Life because of the necessary balance, but they can weaken him enough to entomb him. She tries to tell them there is a way to kill him and it’s right in front of them—her—but Nyktos refuses to hear it.
The sound of chaos outside interrupts them, and Sera finds out about the Cimmerian and how they fight. She decides to push her luck and goes outside to join the battle. She kills a Cimmerian primed to attack Rhain and is reminded that she can be killed; the enemy doesn’t know what’s inside her.
During the fight, Sera gets injured on the left side of her waist, and Nyktos comes to her. They flirt a bit, even as fighters die around them. Her gift flares to life at the deaths, and Nektas growls at her in warning, telling her to control herself.
Once the fight is over, Rhain reluctantly thanks her for her aid and verbally roasts her a bit. He casually mentions that Nyktos has endured and sacrificed things for her, which piques her interest. Ector tries to cover and quickly chimes in that Rhain is merely being dramatic.
Nyktos reappears, and Sera yells at him, telling him that she won’t be ordered around as if she has no control over her life anymore, especially when she can help—no matter the risks. Then she reminds him that she’s never really been allowed to value her life or think for herself.
He asks her what kind of life she’s lived, and she won’t answer. And he won’t tell her what he’s sacrificed when she asks.
Sera wonders if Taric could taste the embers in her blood when he drank from her. Nyktos tells her that no one else will feed from her—he won’t allow it—but…yes, the god would have tasted the embers. He then goes on to tell her that her blood tastes like a summer storm and the sun. Like heat, power, and life. Soft and airy like sponge cake.
The Primal is a poet. Seriously.
Nyktos explains about shadowstepping, and Sera asks if she’ll be able to do it once she Ascends. He tells her that she will, reconfirming his faith in their plan. They also talk about Tavius, and he calls her brave and strong.
It chokes her up.
He says she needs to rest—she’s going through the Culling and got cut with shadowstone. Then he adds that he wonders how else the embers are protecting her since a mortal or godling would have died. Not even his blood in her would have been enough.
Later, back in her room, she notices that her wound looks several days old instead of hours. Which makes her wonder just how strong her embers are. Settling in, she thinks about Ash as she masturbates, somehow knowing he’s in the room watching her, even if she can’t see him. She does see dark tendrils and intuitively knows it’s him. She can feel his touch. She climaxes and calls to him as she does but gets no answer. Just as she dozes off, she swears she feels the bed shift as if someone lowered themselves to the mattress.
The next day, Nektas asks her what she thinks of the plan to remove the embers, and she says she’s tentatively hopeful. As they talk about their journey to the Vale, she finds out that it isn’t dangerous, but the road to get there is.
Nyktos arrives not long after, just after Jadis manages to set a chair on fire. He makes a flippant comment about Sera’s dress that annoys her and then talk turns to more important matters. She discovers that the army in wait is because Nyktos plans to go to war with Kolis. Unfortunately, she realizes that he doesn’t trust her enough to speak plainly or truthfully around her, and that bothers her greatly.
Nyktos dismisses her, but she tells him she chooses to stay with him. As he works, she asks him about the Books of the Dead. She tries to goad him, referencing others she should or could be spending time with, and he warns her that she should be selective of how she spends her time with others. They discuss the night before and their needs, and she offers him a deal: pleasure for the sake of pleasure.
