A Light in the Flame

“It’s the piece of the soul—the spark—that all living creatures are born and die with. It allows them to love another not of their blood irrevocably, selflessly.” Penellaphe swallowed. “It must have been terribly painful to have that torn from you. To truly be unable to love.”

“I care more because I cannot love, and I believe caring for others is far more important than loving just one.”

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

“There would be no stopping such a being. There could be no balance. Therefore, the Fates ensured long ago that such power must be split and that an absence of either ember would cause a collapse of all the realms. It wouldn’t be like the Rot—a slow death. It would be sudden and absolute for all. Kolis cannot Ascend another Primal to take the place of a fallen. By killing Nyktos, he’d doom himself. He understands that much, at least.”

“Primal wards that make them very difficult to break. The bones will even hold a Primal once weakened. The only thing they have no effect on is a being of two worlds.”

“The Primal of Life is the most powerful being in all the realms, usurping all other Primals and gods.”

“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.”

“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.”

“My father befriended him when he was a dragon. Nektas was the first to become a draken. He was the draken who gave his fire to the flesh my father lent to create the first mortal.”

“For fuck’s sake, Sera. There is such a thing as being too bold. Too brave.”

“What you did to protect me isn’t why I feel that way. I wanted to be more to you than a Consort in title only before I learned about that. What it did was help me understand a bit of what I saw. We don’t need to talk about it if you don’t want to. But know that if you don’t kill her, I will find a way to do it myself.”

“Daddy Nyktos is not happy.”

“Ash grew up seeing that loss and sadness every time he looked in his father’s eyes. He felt that himself, never knowing his mother’s touch or hearing her voice. But Ash doesn’t fear becoming his father. He fears becoming his uncle.”

“I cannot wait to hear your rationale on this. I’m sure it involves something along the lines of: I do what I want because I can and fuck the consequences.”

“A Primal had to be behind this. No other could command a draken to attack. The question is which one? Who would know or suspect enough about you to be willing to anger both Nyktos and Kolis by allowing you to die?”

“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.”

“Fate even fucks with the Fates.”

“That thread that broke off from all the possible strings that chart the course of your life? It was unexpected. Unpredictable. Fate is never truly written in bone and blood. It can be as ever-changing as your thoughts. Your heart. His.”