“Rhahar told us before…” I trailed off as her face tightened and her back stiffened. There was a glassy sheen to her eyes. My breath caught. “Did he…?”
Seraphena closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. “Rhahar is…he’s gone.”
CHAPTER 35
POPPY
The breath I took went nowhere as I pressed my hand to my stomach.
I knew it.
But I had hoped I was wrong.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, hating that apologies were all I could give her. “He was protecting us—the city. If he and Saion hadn’t shown up…”
Seraphena nodded, her throat working on a swallow.
“Sera,” Reaver called, his gravelly voice soft in a way I’d only heard it once—at Ironspire.
“I’m okay,” she assured him, her eyes opening. The glint of unshed tears was still there, and her hands were fisted tightly, but her voice was steady. “Rhahar was so incredibly brave to make the choice he did. He had a split second to make it, and he did. He gave his life not only for his cousin but also for the realms.”
Hearing about his sacrifice made my chest ache, even as confusion rose. “I…I don’t understand.”
“Rhahar belonged to a Court Nyktos and I created, one not tied to the essence of the realms as Saion’s Court is. If Saion had perished?” Seraphena’s gaze lifted and roamed over the walls and ceiling. “I do not believe we would be standing in this chamber right now. It would be underwater.”
That made sense. It was why I had hoped I was wrong. The release of power was nowhere near as bad as it should have been when a Primal fell. But I didn’t understand how or why Seraphena and Nyktos had created a Court for Rhahar. Or why he’d felt like a Primal god. So many questions rose. I started to ask one of them but stopped myself. It didn’t feel right to badger her with questions.
“I am truly sorry,” I repeated.
A small smile appeared. “He knew what could happen when he left for this realm. As did Saion. It was a risk both knowingly took.”
I nodded, even though I was sure that knowledge didn’t make his death any easier to process. I didn’t know Rhahar, but I was still saddened by his death. I couldn’t imagine what it would have been like if I’d known him for as long as she had. But I did know what loss felt like. I knew how heavy and sharp it was. How it felt nearly impossible to overcome.
“Rhahar said Nyktos believed it was a trap,” Casteel spoke up.
Her gaze returned to him. “He did, and it was.” She cleared her throat and blinked several times. I knew before she spoke that she would do what I would when desperately trying not to let how much I was affected show. She would change the subject. “I know Ascensions can be difficult.” She paused, the essence pulsing vividly in her eyes. “Yours more than anyone else’s.”
My stomach twisted sharply as my mind flashed from Kolis to feeling her presence in the field of poppies. “It was…” I glanced up at Casteel, noticing the tic in his jaw. “What it was.”
Her brows rose.
I stepped closer to Casteel. “But I’m fine now.”
“I’m relieved to hear that,” she said, and I heard the sincerity in her voice. “But I wasn’t just speaking about the Ascension and what happened during it. I meant what happened afterward.”
She was talking about the Continents.
“How…bad was it?” Seraphena asked.
“It was…” How could I summarize what I’d seen? Only two words seemed appropriate. “Horrific.” A knot of sorrow lodged in my throat as Casteel folded an arm around my waist. “And devastating.”
Seraphena’s eyes closed. “I knew that. Gods, I did.” Damp lashes lifted. “I tried to go. You shouldn’t have had to face that without me.”
Without me.
Hearing that caused a wholly different kind of emotion to choke me. “I know you tried to cross.” I cleared my throat. “I felt you before you were stopped. But I wasn’t alone. Holland was there.”
“Who is Holland?” Kieran asked, and I realized I’d never mentioned him by name while around him.
