A Light in the Flame

The next morning, Nyktos invites Sera to his office, which is crammed with all the members of his court. He climbs a dais with Sera and addresses the gathering, announcing that she showed unparalleled bravery last night. Believing that she was the cause of the attack, Sera ventured out to hand herself to Kolis. He says that he and the denizens of the Rise will be honored to have such a brave woman as his Consort. Nyktos takes a knee before Sera, and the rest follow suit. When Nyktos rises, he whispers to Sera that no one will dare to question her after his show of solidarity. Despite her lingering anger against what she sees as his control, Sera is moved by Nyktos’s words and actions.

Sera leaves Nyktos’s office and finds Nektas eating breakfast in human form in an alcove, cradling his little daughter, Jadis. Jadis wants Sera to pick her up. Sera holds the little dragon lovingly and gets her to eat eggs off a fork, a tough task because Jadis hates cutlery. Sera wants to know about Jadis’s mother. Nektas tells her that Jadis’s mother, Halayana, his heartmate (soulmate), is dead.