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My brother.

I tightened my grip on the rim of the tub. He and Kieran were out there while the mist still blanketed the city, making sure no one nearby had alerted the Crown of any suspicious occurrences.

Poppy glanced at the door. “I hope they don’t harm each other.” Her brow creased. “Too badly.”

“You worry for Malik?” I raised a brow. “You believe him?”

“I believe he spoke the truth about why he stayed. I tasted his emotions. He loves her. But there was also a lot of guilt and agony under that. I don’t know if that’s for what he’s done by staying here or something else.”

A little bit of empathy crept into me. Not a lot. I couldn’t feel sorry for him or anything until I knew for sure that he wasn’t playing us.

Until I knew if I’d have to kill him or not.

Beyond that, I didn’t know what to think. I wanted to believe that love drove Malik’s choices, but the knowledge that he’d chosen the Revenant over his family and kingdom didn’t sit well with me.

Neither did the knowledge that I would’ve done the same for Poppy.

But this Revenant…

Poppy’s sister.

How did she factor into all of this?

And how in the hell was I going to tell Poppy about her?

Poppy resumed trailing the cloth over my hand, along the golden marriage imprint. Her movements stilled once more. “Does it still hurt?” she whispered.

I looked down to see that she stared at what remained of my finger. The infection was gone. Thanks to Poppy’s blood, new skin, now a glossy pink, stretched over the once exposed bone and tissue.

And maybe Malik’s aid.

What the fuck ever.

“What hurts is knowing that you knew it was done.”

Pressing her lips together, she shook her head as her eyes closed briefly. “I should’ve been the last thing you were worried about.”

“You will always be the first thing I worry about.”

A visible tremor shook her as she leaned forward, pressing a kiss to the knuckle. Placing my hand back into the water, she draped the cloth over the rim of the tub. She reached behind her neck, lifting the golden chain and the ring. “This is yours. It belongs with you.” Her eyes lifted to mine, bright and mesmerizing. “Can you wear it on your right hand?”

I cleared my throat, but it was still scratchy. “I can wear it wherever you want me to.”

“Wherever?” she teased, even while her fingers trembled as she worked the clasp on the chain.

“Wherever you want,” I affirmed. “On any finger or toe of your choosing. I can have it pierced to my nipple. Or have it melted into a bolt and pierced in my cock—actually, you might enjoy that.”

Poppy’s gaze flew to mine. “In your…cock?”

Said cock hardened at the sound of her saying that, at how her lips parted around the word. I nodded.

Her cheeks pinkened as she tipped forward. “That’s possible?”

“It is.”

“Wouldn’t that piercing hurt to have done?”

“Probably hurts like the fires of the Abyss.”

She glanced down at the ring. A moment passed. “And…and why would I find that enjoyable?”

Gods.

I loved her curiosity. “I’ve heard that many find the rub of the ball that holds the bolt in place to be very pleasurable.”

“Oh.” She drew in a deep breath. “And does the wearer of such a piercing find it pleasurable?”

“Oh, yeah.” I grinned as the color in her cheeks spread down her throat.

“Interesting,” she murmured, her brow creasing once more. I would’ve given anything to know what she was thinking. But she lifted the ring. “I think your pointer finger on your right hand will do.” A small grin appeared. “For now.”

I chuckled roughly. “For now.”

She rose onto her knees as I offered her my right hand. My chest seized. Never would’ve thought I could go from talking about cock piercings to being choked up in under a minute, but here I was. Throat clogged, I watched her slide the ring onto my right pointer finger, the gold warm from being so close to her body. A feeling of completeness surged in seeing the ring there.

A little bit of renewal.

Her beautiful eyes glimmered as they held mine. “You…you keep asking if I’m okay, but are you?”

My chest clenched again, but the feeling was colder and more brutal. In a second, I tasted the bitter panic of being trapped—chained and unable to do anything to fight back effectively.

To be of any aid to Poppy.

“Cas,” she whispered.

A ragged breath left me as I threaded my fingers with hers. “I think I need to work on rebuilding those mental shields around you.”

“I’m not trying to read your emotions.” Poppy pursed her lips. “Okay. That’s a lie. I am. I know I shouldn’t. It’s just that… I don’t know what you went through, and I saw the marks on your body. The cuts. There were so many.”