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Nyktos goes to her room later and reminds her that she promised not to go after Kolis. He also remarks that he lives in constant fear of not being able to control himself around her. He apologizes for questioning her motives earlier, then promises not to hide the summons from her.
During training later, he squares off with Sera. She cuts his hair during their sparring, and he tells her he’d never dare cut her hair—we know how much he loves it. As they face off, she makes a list of demands, saying he’s flesh and blood and she’s flesh and fire. He tells her that all she had to do was ask to train—that being her first request. He asks her what her other demands are. As she lists them, he tells her he’s not just keeping the embers safe, he’s also safeguarding her. He disarms her but stiffens when she reminds him that he won’t claim her. Catching him off guard, she holds a dagger to his throat, and he says he’ll be the one to train her.
Nyktos runs a bath for Sera later, telling her to use his tub at her discretion, knowing she likely still has post-traumatic stress about hers.
What a sweetie.
When she takes longer than expected in the tub, he checks on her and finds her asleep. He warms the water for her with a touch, and when she wakes, he’s surprised that she lets him still look upon her unmentionables. As he watches her, he breathes that everything she does is seductive.
She tells him that it’s her choice to want him and says she’s at least brave enough to admit it. He confesses to wanting her and thinking about being with her, even when he’s not looking at her. He’s been dwelling on the deal she offered in his office—pleasure for the sake of pleasure—and tried convincing himself she hadn’t known he was in her chambers the other night as shadows. He admits he wants her. Enjoys her boldness and rebellion. Then asks her if what he said was a brave and real enough confession.
Sera taunts and teases Nyktos, prompting him to call her liessa again. She finally pleasures him, and he gets into the tub. He lifts her onto the ledge and returns the favor. As he feeds slightly from her most delicate places, she calls him Ash, reestablishing some of their connectedness and making him growl. When they finish playing in the tub, he calls her beautiful and carries her to bed.
Nyktos learns that Sera was not to be known in her kingdom. She was kept hidden away as if she didn’t exist. He also learns she was veiled and never acknowledged as a Princess. She was virtually a ghost. He tells her she was never a ghost to him.
I love that so much. All anyone wants is to be seen. Understood. Even if you don’t particularly like or engage in socialization, as with Sera, we just want someone to look and see. We want to be alive for someone other than ourselves.
After he holds court in the city, Nyktos and Sera discuss their intimate endeavors and how Nyktos can heal the wounds he creates. They have dinner together, something she requested when they sparred, and he tells her about his day. He realizes that Sera is used to blaming herself for just about everything and reminds her she didn’t fail. He states that he expects her to live longer than it takes them to transfer the embers.
Talk turns to the Pools of Divanash, and they realize that time isn’t on their side. The plan is to go in three days. Nyktos confesses that he worried Sera would feel like he was trying to control her and didn’t like it. He then admits that he’s having a hard time finding balance between protecting her and doing what needs to be done.
They talk about her demands and discuss Dorcan. Sera tells him it’s okay to have friends and apologizes that he had to kill another because of her. He argues that it’s not okay to care for others if doing so gets them tortured and killed.
They discuss Kolis a bit more, and he tells her that the King of Gods treats him and all the other Primals the same, and they fall out of favor as often as he changes clothes. Sera tells him she hopes their plan works, but not because she’s thinking about the future. He reminds her that he’s not good, tells her not to mistake his handling of her as him being good, and urges her to keep that in mind.
He’s good. He’s so very good…he just doesn’t like to admit it. But with Nyktos, his goodness is a strength that not many have, and countless others can only hope to achieve.
He reminds her that she was willing to sacrifice herself for others and is thus good, but there is no such thing as a good Primal. He adds that the embers don’t make her good or bad either.
Nyktos counts Sera’s freckles as he disrobes her and decides he needs to name the constellation of birthmarks on her thigh. They make love, and his appearance shifts—skin becomes harder, shadows gathering under his flesh, eather filling the veins in his eyes. He calls her liessa again as he finds his release.
Before she wakes, he leaves, but returns to draw her a bath and have breakfast. As they set out for the mortal realm, he promises to bring her back to her lake once it’s safe enough to do so, and tells her she can go as often as she’d like. He then explains to Sera what mortals sensing him feel, and relays that their self-preservation instincts don’t bother him.
Once in Lasania, Nyktos takes Sera’s hand as they approach Ezra, remarking that she’s holding a town hall. He scares a guard into going to the new Queen. When Sera talks to Ezra about some of the things that have happened, Nyktos is shocked that Ezmeria seems to believe her without question.
Ezra confesses to doubting that Sera could make him fall for her and admits she thought she’d likely just get impatient and stab him, getting herself killed in the process. It makes him laugh.
Calliphe appears, and Nyktos tells her that he wanted to kill her right along with Tavius when he came to claim his Consort, but her daughter spared her the Abyss. He adds that she should thank Sera.
Later, he retires to his office and is writing in the Book of the Dead when Sera comes in. He takes her to the basement in the House of Haides and tells her about the bone chains. Then, he takes her to the pool room, knowing she’ll enjoy it.
Nyktos reveals to Sera how he used to check on her before her seventeenth birthday and tells her how he was drawn to her lake. He says he’s wanted to show her his pool for a while.
His plan is to draw the eather out of Sera, so he goads her into using it on him. He tells her that he finds it amusing that she hates when he says “please” and relays that he’ll reward her with a swim and sex if she behaves. They fight hand-to-hand to draw out the eather.
Nyktos can feel it ramping up in Sera and knows she can summon it and use it with will alone. He tells her to do so. Eventually, he pins her to the table, and Sera tells him that she likes submitting to him. He has his wicked way with her right there on the stone and tells her she’s always safe with him, calling her liessa once more.
They float in the pool, and he tells her about Lathan’s anxiety, discussing the breathing techniques both she and Lathan used. He tells her she’s one of the strongest people he’s ever met, both physically and mentally—mortal or otherwise. With or without the embers. They play for a while more and then go about the rest of their day.
Nyktos trains in the yard with the guards while Sera spends time with Aios and the younglings. Later, he tells Sera about the Primal notam and explains why he thinks Nektas’s eyes flashed blue for her when they did—it could mean she’s closer to Ascending than they realize.
They ready themselves for their trip to the Pillars, and he kisses her in full view of the guards, telling her he’s been looking for a reason to. She tells him he doesn’t need a reason to kiss her and can do it whenever he wants.
He gives her a horse named Gala, thinking nothing of it since it’s customary to give a gift for a wedding. When she worries that she doesn’t have something for him, he tells her the embers are his gift.
The plan is to ride on Gala with her to the Pillars and then take Odin back to the House of Haides. During their journey, he reveals that he hasn’t accepted his way of life and has been planning to destroy Kolis or entomb him since the moment he Ascended. He explains what will happen if it comes to that and how many will likely die. He tells her he felt incapable of avoiding war until he learned she had the embers. Now, he has hope. But he warns her that Kolis has already started setting his sights on the mortal realm.
He’s confident his plan will work, and Kolis will be stripped of his glory and weakened enough to be entombed. Still, he knows he won’t go down easily. Nyktos shows Sera the poppy flower he’s talked to her about before and tells her that it gives him hope—like she does.
