Born of Blood and Ash

“Do you really think I would allow anyone to take me out when I have you to fight and survive for? That I would allow anything or anyone to steal our future? That’s never going to happen, Sera. Never.”

“Sotoria descends directly from that second daughter, born in a shroud. Chosen even before Kolis first saw her picking flowers for her sister’s wedding, just like every single second daughter of her bloodline afterward. Until you.”

“You cannot do that. You have already brought Marisol back once,” he said. “You cannot do it again. Her soul is now beyond your reach and can only be released by Death—the true Primal of Death. Why do you think Eythos hid Sotoria’s soul?”

“The Silver Knight. The warrior Queen who fought alongside her husband and her people in battle. Her name, even now, is synonymous with honor and duty. A name that was never repeated throughout the annals of time until Calliphe, the once Princess of Vodina, named her only daughter such. And that is why I was rewarded all those years ago. By saving her and Ronan, I ensured that another bearing her name would eventually be born—one that would usher in great change.”

“It doesn’t matter if that is the truth when it’s not what others believe. Maybe that is wrong of me to say, but it’s reality. And maybe what I’m about to say is also wrong. Talk to Nyktos. Tell him before someone takes what should be your words to share and weaponizes them.”

“But those who do not seek power remain uncorrupted by it.”

“I don’t think it’s possible for anyone to be as uncomfortable when being praised as you are. Accept the praise. You have earned it.”

“I know, but theoretically, some could view the Awakening as inevitable and seek to control it. Some could believe it is the only way to save the realms.”

“Holland is…he’s like family. The kind who spends your entire life lying to you, but still, family.”

“I just…I felt like I was failing everyone and myself. I didn’t like who I was because I was no one. I was this blank canvas, taught to act and behave like someone. To not really have feelings. Like I couldn’t be mad or even happy. I was just to be whatever I needed to be.”

“That you and Sotoria are of the same bloodline? Yes. That is what I’m saying. Sotoria was never randomly reborn into anyone. She was always reborn in the Mierel bloodline.”

“Not just mightier than any Primal, but a Primal of Life and Death. Therefore, as powerful as an Ancient once their essence reached maturity.”

“If you and Nyktos were to have a child, it’s quite possible they would have the same abilities as Nyktos, or even those of his mother’s father.”

“Those who are reborn may have memories of their previous lives, but they often show as dreams or instances of déjà vu. But they almost always fade as who that person has become in their new life begins to take shape. They may be the same soul and look identical to who they were before, but they are not entirely the same person.”

“I don’t give a fuck what he is. I only know he had better have one good fucking reason for arriving unannounced and uninvited in our home.”

“Your guilt? Your remorse? It is choking me, so I know it must be suffocating you. And I know it’s not going to be something that will magically disappear tomorrow. And there will be a tomorrow, Sera. There will be a thousand and more tomorrows. And I know your remorse will still be there with you no matter how many tomorrows there are. That is punishment enough.”

“Mark my words. The Fates will decree it. They will reset the balance, and nothing—absolutely nothing—in this realm or beyond will stop me from having her. I will rise again as the Bringer of Death and Destruction.”

“How am I once again explaining what love is to a man who is fucking old enough to know better?”