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He talks to Poppy about my diary as Delano hangs out at the foot of the bed where he’s pretty much camped out since day one, and Kieran takes some time in the bathing chamber. He switches gears to the Duke and tells her he made the asshole suffer.

Bringing up the sense of rightness they both felt under the willow the night of the Rite, he says it was their souls recognizing each other.

Cas asks about Millie, which Kieran finds a strange segue, but they discuss her being different than normal Revs. Then they talk about the Rite and how things got out of hand that night. Casteel says he still feels responsible.

Suddenly, Emil asks someone what they’re doing from the hall. Delano wakes and growls, and Kieran takes up a defensive position. Millie blows in and kindly asks them not to kill her. Cas comments that Naill must have found her and Malik just as his brother walks up, looking beat.

The Revenant asks what’s going on with Poppy and says she never wanted Poppy dead. Malik insists she won’t hurt Poppy, so Casteel asks Millie why she ran. She tells them she got scared when she saw the Consort in Poppy’s eyes.

Kieran shifts and says he’ll stay if Millie wants to visit with Poppy.

Cas goes into the hall with Malik and asks Emil and Naill to give them a moment. He asks his brother what happened, and Malik tells Cas they were in a fight with some Revenants. He got most of the troublesome ones but there are more out there. When Cas inquires how they were able to kill Revs, he divulges that draken blood can kill Revenants and tells them Millie found a stash.

They talk about trust and the past and their heartmates and come to a bit of a truce.

Back in the room with Poppy, Cas tells her he didn’t want her finding out about him the way she did—with him killing the guard in the stables. He also tells her the fear he felt when he received word that she had been attacked after that. Telling her more stories, he says he thought she would stab him after he dropped his engagement bombshell during dinner, but she surprised him yet again by picking the lock and making a run for it.

He admits he fell in love with her well before he realized it. Before they even left Masadonia. By the time they reached Spessa’s End, he knew for sure. Then, he tells her there are similarities between her and what Shea did and promises to tell her more when she wakes.

Falling asleep for a bit to get some of the rest he needs, he awakens with a jolt and sees a figure in black with a white dagger in the room. Cas blocks the swing and realizes the man is a Revenant.

He says Cas should have closed the window and goes on to tell him that the blades he carries are made of the bones of the Ancients and able to stop even a primal—he even calls Cas a false primal.

I found that very interesting when I saw it, but it became clearer later.

The Rev stabs Cas in the chest, disabling him. He feels helpless as he watches the Revenant go for Poppy again. When he recites the creepy rhyme that Poppy has been hearing—remembering?—for years, something within Cas explodes. A storm rages outside, and he pulls out the bone dagger.

Then…he shifts. Turning into a black-and-gold-spotted cave cat before ripping the Rev apart. Even with his memories altered in his new form, he sees Poppy as his. When Kieran enters, he sees him as his, too.

Emil comes in then, and Cas wants to eat him. Kieran talks him down and says the Atlantian’s annoying, but he’s also his, just in a different way.

Once Emil’s gone, Kieran talks to Cas, reminding him who he is and encouraging him to shift back. When he does, they discuss that he almost killed Emil, collect the two bone daggers, and Kieran remarks that it looks like the one Callum used to curse him.

He then mentions that Cas’s shift looked a lot like Ires’s and assumes this new development has to do with their Joining bond. He wonders if Poppy can shift, too, and Cas says she’ll be excited to hear the news.

They discuss how they could hear each other’s thoughts and assume it’s another side effect of the Joining. When they decide to put the Rev’s pieces in the dungeon so they can interrogate him later, they turn their attention to Poppy.

Suddenly, the walls and floor start to shake and a circle with overlapping pointed crosses appears on the floor. It’s the symbol for life and death and blood and bone. When they look back at Poppy, she has silver eather veins under her skin, then shadows coalesce there. She has more color, is warm again, and then…she opens her eyes.

They’re the silver of a primal.

DIARY ENTRY ~ THE KING AND I

Dearest Diary,

I have just arrived back home after some time away, indulging my wandering spirit and restless soul. As you know, I often take off for parts yet unknown in my quest for life. This time was no exception, and I have certainly returned with memories I will carry with me and an encounter I cannot wait to capture within these pages.

As I have done in the past, I rode off with merely a direction in mind, letting the Fates guide my travels and experiences. When I eventually reached the forest outside Oak Ambler, I looked for a place to rest, having been traveling for several days by that time. Lucky for me, I came upon a more than adequate hunting cabin. Even luckier for me, the door was not barred.

Seeing as I didn’t know the state of the flue in the fireplace, I decided to forgo setting a blaze in the hearth and instead contented myself with getting heat from the many candles I found situated around the space.

By the flickering light of burning wicks, I settled in with my meager meal of salted and dried meat, some cheese, berries, and bread, jotting notes in you so I may remember all the encounters and experiences I’d relished thus far on my sojourn.

My eyes growing heavy, I rested my head on my folded arms and dozed, dreaming of the dashing, brawny, and ridiculously handsome friends I dallied with two nights back—they were so much fun. But I’ve already told you about them in a previous entry. Let me get back to my night in the cabin.

I knew I hadn’t been resting long, but sounds outside the door suddenly stirred me awake. I didn’t know if it was an animal—it was hunting season, and I was sure the wildlife were being driven from their homes in fear for sport—or if it was something or someone else—I was, after all, squatting in someone’s residence, even if it appeared to be a temporary abode.

Pulling the dagger from my boot, I remained seated, hiding the blade in the folds of my cloak and waiting to see what might happen. You may wonder if I was frightened, but given how long I have lived, I find that not much scares me. Concerns me? Absolutely. And so I was, concerned how things might play out.