#seranyktos

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Nyktos: *razes a mountain getting to Sera, makes out with sera in the middle of a battle, holds sera in his lap while making war plans*

Attes:

Nyktos: *adamantly refuses to let sera die, responds aggressively if anyone says something else is more important than sera, calls sera pet names more than he ever calls her sera*

Attes:

Sera: it’s just so sad, but it is what it is

Nyktos: *threatens attes for smiling at sera*

Attes:

Attes:

At the end of A FIRE IN THE FLESH, Sera and Nyktos are happy, together, and both Primals, so…what now? I asked this same question going into this book. And well, quite a lot, actually! So here’s what to expect from BORN OF BLOOD AND ASH, (without spoilers, of course!)

- Kolis is still very much out there.

- Sera is dealing with the fact that Kolis is still kickin’ and the trauma she underwent while in his captivity.

- Sera’s now the Primal of Life…so what does that mean? (Read to find out.)

- Ash is h*rny every time Sera does anything.

- War. Terrible war is on the horizon.

- That gosh darn prophecy is also very much out there.

I finished BORN OF BLOOD AND ASH well past midnight last night and had a lot of feelings falling into bed right after. First thought? Wow. What a way to tie FROM BLOOD AND ASH to this prequel series. My second? Remembering everything happening to Nyktos and Sera in the From Blood and Ash series. (Spoiler: I’m sad about it.) BORN effectively leads into the grand finale of the FROM BLOOD AND ASH series and points us towards one thing: Poppy.

The beginning takes a bit to really get going, but once it does, you’re on a thrill ride that won’t have you noticing how many pages the book is. And that last chapter? WHOO BUDDY I HAVE A LOT OF EMOTIONS. Have fun!

Thank you to the Queen JLA and BlueBoxPress for the eARC!

ASH will Ascend Sera:

1. Ash has "fallen" for Sera in the same vein as the Ancients "fell" and developed kardia/emotion in the first place. This is evident in Nektas's language "he is how you wish him to be." It's clear he is unable to recognize what love feels/tastes like and is unable to place the emotion at the coronation once Sera realized she was in love with him. He feels peace with Sera according to Nektas, we know peace is a defining feature of true love in the JLA-verse because Aios (goddess of love, etc in Poppycas time) describes it as such when Sera asks her before the coronation. He is willing to choose Sera's safety over that of his people/the shadowlands/the world - he admitted he wasnt protecting the embers, he was protecting Sera. This emotional reaction is not the logical/able to put aside caring for the greater good he described in SITE as the advantage of not loving one person above all others.

-there's also the language I've seen pointed out that without a kardia you cannot love someone "not of your own blood" and how Sera has consumed Nyktos's blood so its a loophole

2. Ash will have his kardia restored by Maia or Aios (since Sera Ascended her at the end of ALITF) and will make it to Sera before Kolis drains her of blood and starts the Ascension

-I havent thought this one out as much because it seems more direct narratively, but the “narratively direct” route just doesn’t seem like JLA’s style so this one is much less likely to me

KOLIS will Ascend Sera:

1. This was my immediate assumption at the end of ALITF because Kolis had already begun the process of draining Sera for the embers when he realized she had Sotoria's soul within her. We know that Kolis loves Sotoria (in a twisted, possessive way) and he is currently the Primal of Life, so he could meet the "blood of the Primal that one of the embers of life belonged to" criteria even though he stole his embers from Eythos. Holland states "she will die without the love of the one who Ascends her." We know that only one of the embers in Sera technically belongs to Ash so the other ember (I believe it belonged to Eythos, right?) is the one that would likely respond to Kolis since he stole his brothers birthright and we know he drained Eythos's life force as well (there's also the loophole of blood meaning family, Kolis being Nyktos's uncle and blood relative). 

Narratively, Kolis saving Sera and Ascending her into the Primal of Life makes sense because of the narrative trend of Kolis/Nyktos being swapped in Sera's understanding (her destiny was to kill Kolis, not to kill Nyktos; Kolis caused the Rot, not Nyktos; she tries to run off to seduce Kolis and continue her plan that was originally meant for Nyktos, etc). This also provides reason and closure for Sotoria's soul and possibly explains why Nyktos states he believes Sera is right and she has two souls, hers AND Sotoria's, instead of being another reincarnation of Sotoria alone (I imagine Sotoria's soul/life force would be removed from Sera's body/drained in place of Sera's).

Also Kolis bringing about his own reckoning because of his obsession with Sotoria, giving her/Sera the power to end him and fulfill the prophecy makes for great storytelling

-my main hangup about this is that its not a great message about love because clearly Kolis is toxic and I would hate for it to be confirmed he does truly love Sotoria, but with the narrative trend of unhealthy/ obsessive love (Isbeth to Malec, Eythos/Mycella/Kolis, Nyktos's whole reason for removing his kardia being the fall of the Ancients due to love) and Sera's philosophy on goodness/trying to be good I feel like its a real possibility

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• A Light in the Flame

• Flesh & Fire series (book2)