A Shadow in the Ember (Flesh and Fire 1)

As the Primal of Death, I doubted he would be overjoyed to learn of it—

Movement from the courtyard drew me from my thoughts. Once more, I recognized Ash’s tall form. Like the last time, he was alone as he disappeared into the crimson-tinted darkness of the Red Woods.

Three days later, the dull ache had returned, settling in my temples. Along with the faint traces of blood when I brushed my teeth. The pain was nothing like the day Sir Holland had given me the tea he’d brewed, but as I stood in the deep shadows of the throne room, surrounded by the Primal’s guards, I worried that it would worsen. I couldn’t remember the herbs that had been in that pouch Sir Holland had left for me.

Shifting from one foot to the other, my gaze traveled across the raised, shadowstone dais to the Primal sitting in one of the thrones. My body tightened upon seeing him. Dressed in black with the iron-hued brocade around the raised collar and a line of the richly woven fabric swirling in a thin, diagonal line across his chest, he looked as if he’d been conjured from the shadows of a star-kissed hour of night. He eyed a man striding down the center of the chamber toward the dais. He wore no crown as he held court, meeting with those from Lethe. No grand banners had been raised behind the thrones. There was no ceremonial grandeur. The guards lining the alcove wore no livery or finery, but they were armed to the teeth. Each had a short sword strapped to their hip and a longer sword sheathed down their backs, the hilts pointed downward and slanted to the side for easy access. Across their chests hung daggers with wicked curves. All of the blades were shadowstone.

“Do you normally fidget this much?” a voice whispered to my right.

I stilled, ceasing my endless shifting as I glanced at Saion. He stared ahead. “Maybe?” I said in a low voice.

“I told you we should not have allowed her in here,” Ector commented from my left.

Behind me, Rhain chuckled. “Are you worried Daddy Nyktos will be upset with you for allowing her in here and send you to bed without your supper?”

I lifted my brows. Daddy Nyktos?

“It will not be me who he will be irritated with,” Ector commented, watching the man as closely as Saion was. “It will be you two, as I was the only one to raise objections to this.”

“Are we not a team?” Saion asked. “If one of us goes down, we all go down together.”

Ector smirked. “I am part of no such team.”

“Traitor,” Rhain murmured.

I rolled my eyes. “No one can even see me. I doubt he even knows I’m here.”

Saion looked down at me, one eyebrow raised. He, like the other two gods, were just as armed as the guards before us. “There is not a single part of Nyktos that doesn’t know exactly where you are.”

A chill of apprehension swept through me as, at that very moment, the Primal on the throne turned his head in the direction of the darkened alcove. I could practically feel his stare piercing straight through the line of guards who stood outside the alcove. I held my breath until his focus left me.

I had a feeling I would be in trouble for this later, even though I didn’t think I was breaking any rules. Holding court wasn’t the same as having an unexpected guest. At least, that was my reasoning as I watched the man stop before the Primal and bow deeply. I hadn’t known Ash would be holding court today. In my defense, I had thought Ash and his guards were once more disappearing into a chamber that was located behind the dais, something I’d caught him doing several times in the last three days.

Which made me extremely curious about what went on in that chamber. What was discussed.

I’d been roaming aimlessly through the silent and otherwise empty palace, as I had been doing for the last three days when I saw him entering the throne room with several of the guards yet again and decided to follow. I’d made it about two steps into the chamber before Saion appeared out of nowhere and blocked me. I’d half expected him to turn me away, but he didn’t.

And so, here I was, the longest I’d been in Ash’s presence since the library. There had been no shared suppers or breakfasts. No surprise visits. He’d joined me briefly the day before when I stood under one of the outdoor stairwells watching Aios and Reaver. He’d stopped long enough to ask how I was and then left. A few minutes later, I’d seen him riding through the gates on Odin with several of the guards.

Needless to say, I was not only restless, I was also irritated and a hundred other emotions. But mostly, I was frustrated. How was I supposed to seduce him when I never saw him?