Total pages in book: 247
Estimated words: 231436 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1157(@200wpm)___ 926(@250wpm)___ 771(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 231436 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1157(@200wpm)___ 926(@250wpm)___ 771(@300wpm)
We rode the aftershocks, and I slowed my movements against her as she went utterly limp beneath me. As the tension left her body, a sweet taste gathered in the back of my throat, reminding me of chocolate—chocolate and berries.
Unsure what I was picking up from her, I lifted my mouth and made sure I hadn’t pierced her skin.
I hadn’t.
“You are always safe with me, liessa,” I promised.
That was an oath I’d never break.
Because she trusted me.
And that was a gift. One I would cherish and protect.
NYKTOS
Also known as Ash
The Primal of Death / King of the Gods in the Blood and Ash timeline
Court: The Shadowlands
Click here to see a full-size image of Nyktos by Alicia MB Art.
Click here to see a full-size image of Nyktos’s crown by Creatively Agnes.
Hair: Thick. Reddish brown. Wavy. Falls against his cheeks.
Eyes: Silver.
Body Type: Unbelievably tall. Broad shoulders. Lean stomach. Defined chest.
Facial features: Skin a luscious golden-brown like wheat. High and broad cheekbones. Straight nose. Full, wide mouth. Thick lashes. Looks to be in his early to mid-twenties.
Distinguishing features: Wears a silver band around right biceps. Scar on chin. Black lines on the insides of hips that curve downward, creeping along the sides of his body—blood drops; one hundred and ten. Ink also stretches across his entire back. At the center of his spine, the ink is a circular, twisted swirl that grows larger and lashes out in thick tendrils that wrap around the front to his waist and connect to the ones down his hips. The drops represent the lives he’s had to take. His marriage imprint is on his left hand.
Preternatural features: Swirling eather in his eyes. When using power, he sometimes glows. When he becomes full Primal: shadows bloom under his skin and swirl, glowing white veins appear. Eather-laced midnight pours out of him. Air thickens and sparks as eather wings spread out behind him. Skin becomes the color of midnight streaked with pure eather and gets hard as stone. Wings can turn solid like a draken’s—a seething mass of silver and black. Eyes spark with so much power the pupils disappear.
Personality: Stoic. Private. Doesn’t like attention from the other gods.
Habits/Mannerisms/Strengths/Weaknesses: Deep, husky laugh. Can sense and taste emotions. One of the strongest Primals. Young for a Primal. Able to call his horse Odin to him at will, the equine turning into shadow and sinking into the skin around his silver band when not needed—a part of him. Can see the souls of the departed. Can shadowstep anywhere, no matter the distance. Can summon a soul with a touch. Can use compulsion. Can shift into a silvery-white wolf. Doesn’t make a habit of punishing mortals for speaking their minds. Fights gracefully. Bites his lip when attraction flares. Used to like to read. Doesn’t particularly like to be touched—except by Sera. A quick learner when it comes to sex. Views love as a weapon—an unnecessary risk. Loves to swim; spent plenty of time at the lake when he was young. Has beautiful penmanship.
Other: Two hundred and twenty years old. Smells citrusy and fresh. Tastes woodsy and smoky—like whiskey. Blood tastes like honey but smokier. Had kardia removed, so is incapable of love. Also called: The Asher. The One Who is Blessed. The Guardian of Souls. The Primal God of Common Men and Endings.
Background: Was forced to kill his friend Lathan—something that haunts him still. Made a deal with Veses many years before meeting Sera to keep her safe. Mother was killed while Nyktos was still in her womb. Initially rejected Sera because of what he felt from her on that day—determination, anguish, and hopelessness. Had just finished his Culling when the deal was made with the Mierel family. All of Eythos’s power and responsibilities transferred to Nyktos upon his father’s death. Was once forced to feed until he killed. Knows what it’s like to be a prisoner. (See below for additional background information.)
Family: Mother = Mycella †. Father = Eythos †. Uncle = Kolis. Second Cousin = Aios.
NYKTOS’S JOURNEY TO DATE:
My, oh my. What do I say about dear Nyktos? Beautifully tortured. Unbelievably caring. Dealt a bad hand literally from birth yet prevailed and even persevered. What I know of the Primal of Death is only what I was able to cobble together from research and my sparse visions. I wish I had seen him and Sera as clearly as I have Casteel and Poppy, but alas that was not to be. Still, what I have learned and seen of Nyktos has made me fall quite in love with him—generally speaking, of course. Seraphena is one lucky Primal.
To start with, some history…
In a vengeful rage, determined to punish his twin for causing him to lose his love (Sotoria), Kolis murders his sister-in-law, Mycella, while she’s pregnant with Nyktos. Somehow, Nyktos survives. It is unknown how, exactly, but it earned him the “One Who is Blessed” part of his title. Nyktos grew up seeing constant sadness on his father’s face at the loss of his Consort. Later, after seeing that and realizing that love could become a weapon and was a dangerous and unnecessary risk, he asks the goddess Maia to remove his kardia, thus making it impossible for him to love.