A_Shadow_in_the_Ember_Amazon

by Armentrout, Jennifer L.

The impact of the knife meeting the flesh of his chest rattled the bones in my hand and arm. The knife snapped in two. My mouth dropped open as I jerked the ruined blade back. I’d known it wouldn’t do much damage, but I hadn’t thought it would do that. Good gods… I lifted my gaze to Taric’s.

  “Was that a butter knife? Really?” A fair brow arched. “Did that make you feel better?”

  I swung again, aiming the broken end at his eye.

  Taric caught my wrist, twisting sharply. I gritted my teeth at the bite of pain. My fingers spasmed open. The useless knife slipped from my hand.

  “She’s a fighter,” Taric commented, placing his palm against the side of my head as I went to jab with my elbow. “Stop.”

  My elbow connected with the underside of his jaw, snapping his head back. Cressa laughed as Taric grunted. He jerked his head straight, eyes flared wide. “I said stop,” he commanded.

  I pulled back, attempting to gain enough space between us so I could use my legs—

  The god cursed under his breath and rose, gripping my shoulders and yanking me to my feet. I tore free, backing up. I took a quick look around to make sure the other gods weren’t near. They remained by the pillars.

  Taric sighed. “You really want to try this?”

  “No,” I admitted, bracing myself. “But I will.”

  I struck first, but he caught my wrist and pushed—pushed hard. I flew backward, skidding across the floor. I hit a stone pillar with enough force to knock the air out of me.

  “You’re just delaying the inevitable,” Madis commented from the sidelines as Taric stalked toward me.

  Pushing off the wall, I spun and kicked out, aiming for his knee, but where he’d been was now nothing but empty space. I stumbled, barely stopping myself from falling.

  “You cannot fight me.”

  I whirled, finding the god standing behind me. Shooting forward, I swept up with my fist—

  He was gone again.

  “And this is getting boring already.”

  Catching myself, I spun once more. He again stood in the middle of the room, arms folded across his chest. Now I was starting to get angry. Kicking off the wall, I gained speed and pushed into the air—

  Arms snagged me from behind, and a frustrated shriek left me. “I am a god.”

  “Congratulations,” I snapped, throwing my head back. I connected with his face. The blow sent another pulse of pain through me, and I swung my legs out—

  Taric let go.

  I fell, twisting at the last second so I landed on my knees. I popped to my feet and turned. The god gripped me by the throat, lifting me. His fingers dug into my skin as I kicked out. He pushed forward, slamming my back into a pillar. I sucked in a breath of pain when he lifted me off the floor and planted his forearm against my chest. He pressed in with his body, pinning me so we were at eye level.

  “Look at me,” he demanded, and his voice…gods, there was something about his voice. It crawled over my skin, trying to find a way in. “Look at me.”

  I felt his voice digging into me with razor-sharp nails and brushing against my mind, demanding that I obey. That I do whatever he requested. And a part of me wanted to cave to it. But I fought the urge—

  “Interesting.” Curiosity filled Taric’s tone as he gripped my chin, forcing my eyes to his. “The compulsion is not working on her.”

  “It has to be her,” Cressa exclaimed. “Let’s take her and get the hell out of here—”

  “We need to be sure.” Taric’s hand slipped away from my throat and curved around my chin. “And there is one way I can confirm it.”

  “You know it’s her,” Cressa argued, coming forward. “You’re just being greedy. Stupid.”

  “Possibly.” Taric smiled, baring his fangs. My heart stuttered at the sight of them. “But I always wondered what the graeca would taste like.” He jerked my head to the side roughly. “Seems like someone else already found out.” His laugh hit my throat. “Oh, the King will be so very displeased by that.”

  There was no warning, no time to prepare. He struck, sinking his fangs into the same spot Nyktos had. He pierced my skin, and it hurt. The pain was hot, scalding my senses as he drew deeply on my blood, tugging harder than I thought possible. It didn’t ease. It didn’t become something heated and sensual. It was an endless, throbbing pain that sank even deeper with each wave, going past my skin to my blood and bone. Panic exploded in my gut as I struggled against Taric, but the god was too strong. And he was fastened to the side of my neck.

  My entire body went stiff against the wall as mental fingers scratched at my mind and then sank deeper, clawing at me—digging into my thoughts, my memories, into the very core of my being. I didn’t know how he was doing it, but he was peeling back layers, seeing what I saw, hearing words I’d spoken and those others had said to me. He was amid my thoughts—

  Pain exploded, this time inside my head, deep and throbbing. It felt like my skull was being shattered. A scream tore through me. Starbursts flooded my vision as my throat sealed off, silencing the scream. Agony fired down my spine, burning through my nerve endings. I couldn’t breathe through it, couldn’t think, or hide from it. There was no veil to retreat into, no empty vessel or blank canvas to become. The pain settled deep in me, taking root, and tearing me apart. A metallic taste pooled in the back of my mouth. Pure terror dug in its claws. Nyktos was wrong. I could be terrified. I was right then. I couldn’t take this. My fingers dug into Taric’s skin. I couldn’t take—

  The clawing, digging touch retreated suddenly. Taric jerked away, and I didn’t even feel the painful withdrawal of his fangs or when I hit the floor. I lay there on my side, eyes wide and muscles spasming, over and over as the fire faded from my skin and eased from my muscles.

  “Is it her?” Cressa demanded, sounding first far away and then closer with each word.

  My vision cleared as the burning sensation left my blood, and my muscles loosened. Dragging in air, I curled my fingers against the floor as the fiery pain still burned from my neck and chest.

  “Oh, gods, it is,” Taric exhaled. “But this is far more…” He staggered to the side, looking down. “What in the hell?”

  The floor was vibrating. I watched the darkness gather in the alcoves and peel away from the walls, racing across the floor toward the entryway. I tried to lift my head, but the muscles of my neck were like limp noodles. A blast of thunder shook the entire palace. No. That wasn’t thunder. That was a roar. A draken.

  A gust of icy wind whirled through the chamber, the air charging with power.

  Taric took a step back and turned to the front of the room as the air crackled and hissed. Pulling every ounce of energy I had in me, I sat up, leaning heavily against the pillar. Panting, I inhaled sharply, and the scent…the citrusy, fresh scent reached me. My breath hitched.

  Nyktos.

  The churning mass of shadows appeared in the archway of the chamber, and what I saw looked nothing like the Nyktos I knew.

  His skin was the color of midnight streaked with the silver of eather, as hard as the stone the palace had been built from and just as smooth. The flesh swirled all over, making it difficult to see if his features were the same. The twin, sweeping arcs behind him were no longer wings of smoke and shadow but solid and similar to those of a draken, except his were a seething mass of silver and black. Power sparked from his eyes—eyes filled with so much eather, no irises or pupils were visible.

  This was what I had seen glimpses of. What existed beneath the skin of a Primal. And he was terrifying and beautiful.

  Nyktos rose into the air, wings stretched wide, arms at his sides, hands open, and eather dancing across his palms. “On your knees,” he commanded. “Now.”

  Chapter 43

  All three gods dropped to one knee before Nyktos, their heads bowed in submission. They didn’t hesitate.

  “You dare to enter my Court?” Nyktos’ voice boomed through the chamber, shaking the entire palace. I saw Aios stir out of the corner o
f my eye, but I couldn’t take my eyes off him. He drifted forward, his wings moving silently. “And touch what is mine?”

  “We didn’t have a choice.” Cressa gasped as wind poured through the ceiling, whipping her hair around. She lifted her head. Her skin had turned the shade of bleached bone. “We—”

  “We all have a choice,” Nyktos growled.

  Cressa was jerked backward and then up into the air. I caught a glimpse of Aios sitting up and scrambling toward Bele as Cressa’s body stiffened. Her mouth stretched wide in a silent scream, and just like with the guards at Wayfair, Nyktos didn’t need to lay a finger on her. Deep, unforgiving cracks appeared in once smooth cheeks. She didn’t crumble slowly. She exploded, shattering into a fine, shimmering dust.

  “And you chose wrong,” Nyktos said, his head snapping toward Madis. “Join your sister.”

  The god turned, but a shadow came in through the open ceiling—a large, gray-and-black shadow. Nektas. The draken landed on his forelegs, his front talons slamming down on the edge of the dais. His wings swept over the thrones as he stretched his long neck forward. The thick frills around his head vibrated as he opened his mouth. Silver fire poured from it, swallowing Madis within seconds.

  When the fire receded, there was nothing where Madis had stood. Not even ash.

  Hands touched my arm, startling me. My head jerked around to see Saion crouched there. “Are you okay?” His concerned gaze fell to my throat. “Sera?”

  “Yeah,” I said hoarsely, seeing now that Nyktos hadn’t arrived alone. Ector and Rhain were coming through the alcoves, swords in hand. “Bele.” I turned my head to where she and Aios lay on the other side. I felt a flare in my chest, one that turned my skin cold. Bele was on her back, the dagger lying on the floor. Aios was bent over her, clasping the other goddess’s face.

  Nektas’s rumble of warning snapped my head around. Taric was on his feet, the trace of eather inside him erupting from within, whirling down the bare skin of his biceps and forearm, crackling and spitting silver sparks. The light swirled out from his palm, stretching and solidifying, taking the shape of a…sword.

  A weapon of pure eather.

  Good gods.

  “Really?” Nyktos sounded bored. He descended fast, landing in front of Taric in the span of a heartbeat. His wings tucked back as his hand clamped down on Taric’s wrist. The sword jutted out to the side, spitting and crackling. “You should know better than to try to use eather on me.” His voice was so cold, so full of shadows. “All you’re doing is pissing me off.”

  The glow of eather faded from Taric, the sword collapsing into nothing. The god stood there, his skin paler under the shimmer of gold. “Do you even know what you have here?” He started to turn his head toward me.

  “Don’t look at her. If you do, you will not like what happens next.” Letting go of Taric’s wrist, he folded his hand around the god’s throat, forcing his head away from me. “And I know exactly what I have.”

  “Then you should know that he will stop at nothing to get to her,” Taric sneered, his gaze tipping toward me once more.

  “Oh, man, this is going to be bad,” Saion murmured.

  “What did I say about looking at her?” Nyktos questioned softly—too softly. A shiver tiptoed down my spine. Taric’s entire body jerked as a hoarse shout parted his lips. Red filled the whites of his eyes. I shrank back against Saion, smacking a hand over my mouth as blood poured from the god’s eyes. Taric let out a high-pitched whine as his eyes…melted, streaming down his cheeks in thick globs.

  “Can’t say I didn’t warn you,” Nyktos said.

  I shuddered, bile crowding my throat. I’d never seen anything like that. I never wanted to see anything like that again.

  “Fuck,” Taric rasped, trembling. “Kill me. Go ahead and do it, Blessed One. It won’t matter. He won’t stop. He’ll tear apart both realms. You of all people should know.” Taric kicked his head back, baring blood-streaked teeth as he laughed. “Kill me. Take my soul. It will be nothing compared to what he does to you because you can’t stop him. Neither could your father. He’ll have her—” Taric howled as his entire body spasmed.

  At first, I didn’t know what’d happened, and then I saw Nyktos’ wrist flush against Taric’s navel. His hand…

  His hand was inside the god.

  He dragged his hand up Taric’s stomach, carving straight through flesh. Shimmery, bluish-red blood spilled down the front of the god’s shirt. The sounds…the sounds he made…

  Nyktos leaned in, speaking directly into Taric’s ear. “You underestimate me if you think I can’t do worse to you.” The Primal smiled then, and my skin iced over. “I can smell her blood on your lips. There is nothing that I will not do to you because of that.”

  Taric’s body stiffened as Nyktos’ hand sliced straight up the center of his chest, cutting through his heart. Nyktos twisted his hand and then jerked it free. Taric fell forward, hitting the gathering pool of blood with a fleshy smack.

  I barely breathed as the Primal turned around. Those all-white eyes landed on me. Our gazes connected. Saion’s grip on my arms tightened and then loosened as Nyktos’ chest rose. The shadows trailing along his legs evaporated as the eather receded from his eyes.

  In a heartbeat, Nyktos was kneeling before me. He appeared as I knew him. Flesh a warm, golden bronze, and no wings. Eather still whirled madly through his eyes, and his skin thinned when he took in the throbbing side of my throat. He lifted his hand—his blood-soaked hand. I sucked in an unsteady breath.

  Nyktos halted, his fingers inches from my face. His gaze flew to mine. He lowered his hand. “I won’t hurt you,” he said. “Ever.”

  I swallowed. “I know.” And I did know that. I always knew that, but the words…they just spilled out of me as I locked stares with him. It was like Saion wasn’t behind me, still holding my arms. “But I was. I—I was terrified. That god. Taric. He did something. He got into my head and saw me. He saw everything, and it—” I sucked in air, feeling pressure clamp down on my chest.

  “I know. He went through your memories. Not all gods can do it,” he said. “It’s a brutal way of discovering what you want to know. He didn’t have to bite you to do it, but it’s always painful regardless.” The lines around his mouth tightened as his gaze searched mine. This time, he lifted his other hand and cupped my cheek. His hand was still warm. “Don’t forget, Sera. You are not afraid. You may feel fear, but you are never afraid.”

  Letting out a ragged breath, I nodded and then felt something hard brush my fingers. I looked down to see Nyktos pressing the hilt of the shadowstone dagger into my palm. The one he had given me and then took away. My fingers twitched and then closed over the hilt. I looked up at him. He said nothing as his hand slipped away. Having the weapon in my hand brought forth a sense of calm, easing the tightening in my chest and clearing my thoughts. I knew it said something that he’d given it to me. Not that he trusted me now, but it was as if he knew I needed it. Knew it calmed me. And it meant something that he’d given it back. It meant a lot.

  “Thank you,” I whispered, and Nyktos closed his eyes. His features tensed—

  “Nyktos,” Rhain called, his voice sounding as if it were full of gravel.

  Opening his eyes, Nyktos looked over his shoulder. “What…?” He trailed off, rising slowly. “No.”

  I saw Ector first. He was pale, eyes strangely glassy in the starlight. Then I noticed Aios, rocking back and forth, her cheeks damp. The pulse. I’d felt it. Slowly, I lowered my gaze to Bele. She was too still, too pale. My heart clenched as I pitched forward.

  “No,” Nyktos repeated, walking stiffly toward them.

  “The dagger was in her too long. Or it hit her heart when they moved us,” Aios said, her voice shaking. “She was fighting it. I saw her fighting it. She didn’t—” A ragged sound silenced the rest of her words.

  Nyktos lowered himself beside Bele. He said nothing as he touched her cheek. His chest rose. There was no breath and no words, b
ut the pain was etched into his features, brutal and heartbreaking.

  A soft trilling sound drew my gaze to Nektas. He remained on the dais, lowering his head between his front talons. Red eyes met mine.

  “I…I can help her,” I said, my heart speeding up.

  Nyktos shook his head. “You have an ember of life in you. That is not enough to bring back a god.”

  I rose, swaying slightly. Saion was there, his hands still on my arms. “I can try.”

  The Primal shook his head.

  “Can’t she try?” Aios said, her breath catching in a shudder. “If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t. And if there’s a ripple of power, we can be prepared. We have to try.”

  My steps were unsteady, weak, but I felt the ember warming in my chest, throbbing. “I want to try.” I lowered myself beside Nyktos. Only then did Saion let go. “I need to try. They came for me. She died because of me.”

  Nyktos’ head snapped in my direction. “She did not die because of you. Do not take that on yourself,” he ordered. A moment passed, and then his gaze flicked beyond me to others I hadn’t known were in the chamber. “Make sure the guards on the Rise are ready for…well, for anything.” He looked to Nektas.

  The draken lifted his head, calling out. That staggered, high-pitched sound echoed throughout the chamber and was then answered. A shadow fell over the opening in the ceiling, and then another as nearby draken took flight.

  “Try,” Nyktos said.

  Drawing in a deep breath, I set the dagger on the floor beside me and placed my hands on Bele’s arm. Her skin had turned shockingly cold. I didn’t know if that had anything to do with her being a god, but it felt strange under my fingers. The hum of the eather coursed through my blood, hitting my skin. A soft glow stretched out from under the sleeves of my sweater to cover my hands. Live, I thought. Live. I wanted it to work. I wasn’t sure that Bele even liked me, but she had tried to defend me. She hadn’t stepped aside and let the gods take me. She didn’t deserve to die like this, and…

  And Ash didn’t deserve to have another drop of blood inked into his skin.