Tension settled in my shoulders. I suspected I knew the answer to the question I was about to ask, but I wanted to be wrong. “When did that happen?”
His lashes swept up. “In five months, it will have happened twenty-one years ago.”
Gods.
Sitting back, I turned my attention to the bare bookshelves. “Aios was right in a way, you know? When she said that the embers of life were protected while in a mortal bloodline. But when I was born, that was no longer the case. They entered a vessel with an expiration date.” Focusing on him, I swallowed. “I’m sorry.”
“Why would you apologize? It’s not your fault.”
“I know.” I lifted a shoulder. “But I’m still sorry.”
Nyktos stared at me for several heartbeats. “I have a question for you.”
“Ask away.”
“What do you think of this plan?”
“What do I think?” I rubbed my knees. “I hope it works. It’ll stop the Rot and hopefully weaken Kolis. And if it does work…” I trailed off, my throat constricting.
“What?” Nyktos asked quietly.
I didn’t know how to put into words what I was thinking, let alone feeling, because it was something I’d never consideredbefore. A future without an early, certain death. A possibly very long future, one that could possibly span hundreds of years. I felt…hope. For myself. It felt a little selfish since his plan carried the risk of more attacks between now and then, and the possibility of us not being able to locate the missing god—or the god being of no help to us. There was a lot of risk, but there was alsohope.
And hope felt as fragile as the trust he’d spoken of.
Aware that Nyktos was watching me, I cleared my throat. “I think it’s a good plan.”
He nodded and didn’t speak for a few moments. “We need to talk about the coronation.”
Gods, thatwasin two days. My stomach tumbled even further because it felt as if I’d forgotten.
“I realized we hadn’t discussed what occurs during the coronation in any real detail.” He chewed his food as neatly as he carved it. “I figured you would have questions.”
“Should I? You said I would be crowned before high-ranking gods and Primals.” I squinted. “Actually, you said that the attendance of other Primals was only a possibility.”
“I lied,” he admitted without shame. “I figured learning that Primals would be there would make you nervous.”
“It doesn’t.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“Okay. It makes me a little nervous, but it’s not like that news is something I can’t handle.”
“When we first discussed the coronation, you’d just been brought into the Shadowlands and discovered that it was not I who had made the deal that forced you to become my Consort. Your entire life, whatever it may have been, had just been upended right after you werewhipped,” he stated, his eyes flashing to a steely gray. I quickly shifted my focus to the bare shelves. “Even one as strong as you can only take so much.”
“You never know how much you can take until you can’t take more,” I said. “But I…I appreciate the motivation behind the lie.”
Nyktos chuckled. “Sure, you do.”
“So, there is more than just me being crowned and calling it a night?” I asked, looking up at him.
“Is that how Kings and Queens are crowned in the mortalrealm?”
“Gods, no. There are days-long celebrations. Feasts and parties. Fireworks.” I smiled. “I do enjoy fireworks.”
“There will be no fireworks.”
I pouted. “That’s disappointing.”