“Dear Fates,” Attes rasped.
Ash was at my side in a heartbeat, one hand on my shoulder to steady me. “Sera?” His cool palm cupped my cheek. “Talk to me.”
I clamped my jaw shut, fighting the rise of nausea as I focused on the relief his cold touch brought forth.
“Is it your breathing?” Ash’s voice dropped to a whisper, and he stepped into me.
Gods, the fact that he’d even thought of that and made sure only I could hear him… I inhaled through my nose as the nausea receded. “No, I…I was just dizzy.” I opened my eyes to see his concerned stare latched on to me. “I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not.” Attes’s voice was closer.
Ash’s head snapped to him. “Do you want to get punched again?”
“Not particularly,” the Primal responded, his skin blanching. “You saw what I did.”
“What did you see?” I demanded, glancing between them. Neither answered. “What?”
“You appeared as if you were shifting,” Elias answered as the distant, angry roar of a draken sounded.
“Shifting?” I said while Nektas pulled his head from the breezeway, scanning the sky. “Into what? Someone wearing more clothing?”
A dimple appeared as Attes cracked a grin. It was probably a good thing Ash hadn’t seen that.
“We could see the embers.” Ash tucked a strand of my hair back. “In your flesh. But only for a few seconds.”
“Oh,” I whispered, thinking of the tiny dots of silvery light I’d seen in my skin.
“You… You looked beautiful,” Ash said, a flicker of awe crossing his features before concern settled in his gaze. “We need to leave.”
Wordlessly, I nodded as I glanced over at Attes. The concern was evident on his face, too, but I knew it wasn’t reserved only for me. I swallowed, searching for Sotoria’s presence. I… I felt her where the embers had been, quiet but aware.
“But we also need time,” Ash went on. “As much time as possible with Kolis out of commission.”
Elias jerked his chin at Kolis. “I can get him out of here. Hide him and make his recovery a bit more…taxing.” A brutal smile appeared, and I had a feeling a taxing recovery involved growing back limbs. “His loyalists will be concerned only with finding him. That will give you some time.”
“Not a lot,” Attes warned.
My heart turned over heavily as I thought about everything I wanted to do in this not-a-lot-of time. All I wanted to experience. A knot lodged in my throat. This was yet another thing I couldn’t think about.
“Is that what you want done?” Elias asked.
Silence greeted him as I waited for Ash or Attes to answer, but they were looking at me. So was Elias.
My brows flew up. “You’re asking me?” I squeaked hoarsely.
A faint smile tugged at Ash’s lips. “You are the Primal of Life he swore his allegiance to,” he reminded me. As if I’d forgotten.
“I’m your Consort,” I reminded him.
“Actually,” Attes began, then stopped himself. “Never mind.”
I sort of wanted to know what he’d been about to say, but we needed to leave. “I have no idea what we should do with him.”
“You know my answer,” Ash said. “But you were right to stop me—as much as I wish you were not.”
“You and me both.” I ran a hand over my arm, ignoring the stickiness of the blood there. “Could we take him with us until we can figure out what to do with him?”
“That would be ideal.” Attes had moved closer to Kolis and knelt. He cursed. “But I’m not sure that would be wise.”
Ash’s attention shifted to the other Primal. “What is happening.”
“The bone shard didn’t go nearly deep enough to stay in on its own. You can’t even get it that deep,” he explained, rising. “His body will start pushing it out soon.” He turned to us. “He’ll awaken.”
“And there’s nothing else we can do to keep him down?” I asked.
“Not unless we get our hands on a bone blade,” Attes said.
I tried to keep the frustration down. “You can’t take your brother’s?”
Attes shot me a bland look. “I don’t think he’ll give his up without a major fight.”
“One you perhaps don’t want to start,” Ash bit out.
Attes’s stare flicked to Ash. “You would be correct. I want to avoid that for as long as possible.” His jaw flexed. “Because I know it will end with either my death or his.”
My stomach twisted. No part of me would mourn Kyn’s death, but his passing, without another to rise to take his place, would cause more upheaval. I looked at Kolis.
And Attes shouldn’t be the one to kill his brother if it came down to that.
“So, that leaves us with what again?” I asked.
Ash kept his arm around me as he turned to Elias. “You really think you can get him out of here?”
Elias nodded.
“That will give us some time,” Ash said. “Do it.”
“But can you do it safely?” I tacked on. “Like without getting killed?”
“My safety is of no concern to you, Your—”
“Don’t call me that,” I cut in. “And your safety is a concern, or I wouldn’t have asked that.”
Elias glanced at Ash, then swallowed upon seeing whatever look Ash sent him. “I am honored that you would be concerned for me. I can do this safely.” He looked at Attes, a gleam lighting up his amber eyes. “If you lend me something big enough to haul his ass out of here with and fast. Like perhaps Setti?”
“I think you just want to ride my horse,” Attes remarked, dragging his fingers over the cuff encircling his biceps. “But yes.”
A thin stream of mist drifted from Attes’s cuff, rapidly spreading and taking shape, solidifying into a massive horse the size of Odin with a glossy, shadowstone-hued coat. Setti shook out his mane, making a soft, low-pitched nicker.
“I will never get used to seeing that,” I murmured, my gaze moving to the cuff on Kolis’s arm.
I thought of the weird milky reflection I’d seen there. I hadn’t seen his steed—
Wait.
Milky-white light.
Eythos.
“Wait!” I shouted as Attes took hold of Setti’s reins. The warhorse stomped hooves twice the size of my hand. My heart pounded. “My gods.” I twisted toward Ash, my eyes wide. Gods, his father… “I almost forgot.”
“Forgot what?”
“The diamond.” I slipped free of Ash’s hold. Or tried to. He moved with me, his arm at my waist. “The Star diamond.”
Attes stepped around Setti as Ash straightened, asking, “You found it?”
“Yeah. Yes. Do you know what it is?”
Elias shook his head, but Attes nodded. “Eythos told me about it.”
Ash stared at him, a whole lot of stuff likely beginning to click into place.
“You’re not going to believe this.” I twisted around. This time, Ash let me go. Even though my legs felt as if only thin tendons held them together—barely—they were thankfully steady. “It’s here. It’s been here the whole time.”
I shuffled toward the ruined cage. “I don’t think I destroyed it. Hopefully.” I peered inside, relieved to see the cluster of diamonds still at the center of the cage. “There it is. In the ceiling. Kolis had it hidden there.”
Ash joined me, a muscle in this temple throbbing as he surveyed what was left of the enclosure and what remained inside it.
“Up there,” I repeated softly, not wanting him to think about anything else he saw. “I don’t have much time to explain all of this, but we need that diamond.”
His shoulders squared as he lifted his gaze. “You sure that’s it?”