Born of Blood and Ash

“We. You have no idea how long it has been since any of us has heard the Primal of Life use the word we when speaking of decisions being made. It’s positively orgasmic.”

“I was wrong. He did just speak for me when he said you’d better have a good fucking reason for appearing in our home as if you belong here.”

“You don’t just live with it. You accept what you did. You learn from it.”

“There was a reason Kolis was so drawn to her. Her bloodline is old and managed to carry just enough essence no matter how many generations passed. It’s the same reason you found yourself drawn to her.”

“My brave, beautiful wife. Still so frightened by a snake.”

“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.”

“I have seen all the possible tomorrows. Some will surely come, and others are still unwritten. There are so many possibilities.”

“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?”

“What did you think would happen? That he would accept your deal? That you would somehow rule? Win? You cannot win against Death. He is inevitable. Life is not.”

“Because the Kolis I know would choose to see the realms burn before he relinquished control, and we should prepare for that.”

“She will have no real memory of herself—or of Kolis and what he will do to her. And I assume the Fates will demand that nobody warn her in order to keep the balance. She needs to be trained to defend herself.”

“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.”

“I never desired to be a Queen or to rule anything or anyone. I never wanted that kind of power, and I still don’t. But I understand this cannot be changed. I just don’t know how I’m supposed to be a Queen, let alone the Primal of Life.”

“Leave this place and never return. There is nothing but death here—in the Blood Forest.”

“All I can do is tell you that nothing—absolutely nothing—has changed between us. No matter what happened, it hasn’t changed how I see you. You’re still the same brave, strong Seraphena I saw that night in the Shadow Temple. It hasn’t changed how I feel about you. Nothing can. Nothing ever will.”

“It wasn’t the Arae who acted to restore balance. The very essence itself did.”

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

“The nota is strong, and it will want to take over. When you first do it, it can be difficult to pull yourself out of it.”