A Light in the Flame

“Prophecies are fucking pointless.”

“There is a difference between someone trying to control you and someone trying to protect you. I know I may not behave like there’s a difference, but I do know there is one.”

“It’s clear that you should be the true Primal of Life,” I explained. “Not because it was your destiny, but because you’re good.”

“She will die without the love of the one who Ascends her—a love that cannot be ignored. A love that must be acknowledged.”

“Only the Primal of Life can wield the kind of eather that can kill a nymph. It’s the same kind of power that can kill another Primal.”

“And if you keep looking at her like that, I’ll cut your eyes from their sockets and feed them to Setti.”

“Fate doesn’t usurp that, no matter how much the Arae probably wish they did in some situations. Fate just sees all the possible outcomes of free will.”

“From the moment a Primal is born or is Ascended, the new nature of the Primal essence starts to change us. And the older we grow, and the more powerful that essence becomes, the harder it is to remember what the source of those emotions was and to be anything other than the very mortal flesh that contains power. And that essence—the Primal essence that allows us to influence mortals to flourish or decay, love or hate, create life and cause death—is never just good or bad. It’s only absolute. Unpredictable. Raw.”

“I just…I want you to know that I want this. I mean, when I told you before that I wanted to be your Consort, that still holds true. I want this, Ash.”

“Seraphena has taken no oath, sworn no loyalties, nor does she yet wear the crown of the Consort. She has not been here long, but she was still willing to risk her life to protect all of you—all of those within the Shadowlands and beyond. Believing that she was the cause of the recent attacks, she planned to turn herself over to Kolis. Though she is not the cause. Her bravery is unmatched, even among all of you.”

“But none of your choices are preordained. Fate is not absolute. Fate is only a series of possibilities.”

“But what I can tell you is something you already know. What you’ve spent your life preparing to become? What I trained you for? It wasn’t a waste. You are his weakness.”

“She’s not the enemy at the end of the day. You should know that. But if you don’t, all you have to do is go back out onto the Rise and look at the lives lost.”

“Maybe I started doing it because instead of feeling like I couldn’t breathe, I was actually controlling it, and it wasn’t controlling me? I don’t know. But it made me feel in control. Not weak or something.”

“Either way, you’re not weak, Sera. Not physically, but more importantly, not mentally. You are one of the strongest people I’ve ever met, mortal or not. With or without the embers.”

“Either way, I will not play the I-don’t-want-you-but-no-one-else-can-have-you game. With you or anyone.”

“He may be eons older than me, and he may have the entire Court and most—if not all—of the Primals behind him, but if he makes even one move toward you, I will leave the entire City of the Gods in ruins.”

“I’m his weakness. What I’ve been preparing for my whole life? It was for him. Not you. I can still try. Just help me get there, or…or let me go. Either one. I will fulfill my real destiny.”