Born of Blood and Ash

“I understand he cares for her. I know what that bond between them incites when the other is threatened, but you need to get him under control before I do.”

“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.”

“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.”

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

“You are what has been snipping those threads—ending some and weaving new ones. Trust your instincts. For if what comes from this meeting is war, it will not end, not until there is blood and bone.”

“Sotoria’s soul is beyond your reach now. You all need to accept that. Now, we are left with only one way to prevent her from being reborn from the giver of blood and the bringer of bone, the Primal of Blood and Ash.”

“No Primal of Life and Death should exist, for such a being would have the very powers the Ancients split from themselves to create the Primals. It would not wake them all, but the shift of power would disrupt the stasis of enough of them that the damage to the realm would be the same.”

“I love that sound. I love your smiles. I love your throaty moans. I love how wet you are right now. And I especially love the way your pussy clamps down on my dick.”

“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.”

“I’m scared, too, Sera. Neither of us planned for this, and our lives are about to change in ways I cannot even begin to imagine. But I know we will love them just as fiercely as we love each other. And I also know we’ll figure everything out. We’ve got this, liessa.”

“You need to be careful, liessa. For both of us to do what needs to be done, it’s going to be just as hard on you as it is on me. I have to allow you to fight, and you’ll need to allow me to put myself in front of you. You’re going to have to pull back and not rush into battles.”

“All of us, the good and the bad, are a little monstrous. I am no better than you.”

“Your daughter is brave. More courageous than most. She is loyal, even to those who do not deserve such. And she cares deeply for others, even for those who, yet again, are not deserving.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“The oath I made to you before has not changed. Kolis will pay for what he has done to you and yours.”