A Light in the Flame

Sera resolves to be more reserved around Nyktos now that their relationship is purely transactional. However, before anything else can happen, the mark of a slashed circle appears on Nyktos’s palm. Kolis has finally summoned Nyktos and Sera. As news of the summons spreads, guards and gods flood Nyktos’s office. Nyktos tells Aios that the summons has come too soon: He had hoped to get the embers out of Sera before bringing her to Kolis since he is afraid that Kolis may be able to sense them.

Aios picks out an elaborate gown for Sera to wear to Dalos, as Kolis is big on ceremony. Aios also tells Sera not to believe that she can be Kolis’s weakness since Kolis has no heart to love anyone. He is a creature of pure cruelty. Aios knows this because she used to be part of Kolis’s court and was one of his favorites. Kolis kept Aios in a cage of gilded bones. Things grew worse after Kolis got bored of her and released her. The people of Kolis’s court always went after his released favorites, abusing and eventually killing them for sport. Aios was one of the few who managed to survive the ordeal and escape.