Page 101 of The Primal of Blood and Bone (Blood and Ash #6)

I nodded. Glancing at the bodies on the floor one last time, I let Casteel lead me from the house. Once outside, I breathed in the fresh, salty air, free of the scent of death. As Casteel stopped to speak with Emil, I kept moving, unable to stay still. The shock of what I’d seen was fading.

Casteel snagged the back of my cloak before I made it too far. Stopping me, he lifted my hood and then let go. But I knew he kept an eye on me as I stepped out into the street.

Delano started to follow me but seemed to think better of it, lingering with the others instead.

I was glad for the space. My mind…it started randomly showing me what I’d seen inside those homes.

And each face that flashed in my mind threatened to snap my fragile grip on my anger.

The small shoes that would never be worn again.

The books left on a nightstand, never to be finished.

Glasses on tables that would remain half full.

And for what? To send us a message? A reminder that he was still here?

There were any number of methods Kolis could have used instead of something so unbelievably cruel.

We couldn’t allow this to happen again.

But how did we stop what we didn’t even realize had happened until it was too late? The sense of helplessness was nearly overwhelming.

The energy pressing against my skin was icy, and as wrong as it felt, I had to stop thinking about it.

If not, my grip would snap, unleashing a storm of rage.

I could already taste it as a thin, metallic coating on the inside of my mouth, and feel it in the dark, shadowy energy building in my chest.

My hands fisted at my sides as I stopped and closed my eyes, once more focusing on breathing. I couldn’t give in to the anger. It would be…catastrophic if I did. And the Arae were right. I didn’t want to harm innocents. If I lost control, that was exactly what would happen.

I wasn’t my mother.

I wasn’t Kolis.

There would be time later to…lose my shit, preferably on Kolis. Promising myself that, the rage calmed to a simmering anger. It wasn’t entirely gone but it was more manageable.

Exhaling slowly, I opened my eyes, my gaze immediately locking on Malik.

He stood two homes away, alone, his back to me.

I glanced to where Casteel and Kieran spoke with Emil.

A guard had joined them. From what I could hear, they were getting an update on the other houses on the surrounding streets.

My gaze shifted back to Malik. He stood apart from his brother, who he’d risked his life for—the same sibling who had been willing to go to any lengths to free him .

But the distance between them was more than just physical, and that made my already hurting heart ache even more.

It wasn’t hate that kept them apart. They loved each other.

I knew that much. It was regret, sorrow, and everything that had gone unsaid between them.

I understood Casteel’s anger. He’d believed Malik had spent all these years treated as he had been while kept captive.

Discovering that he’d moved about rather freely in the capital was a betrayal made worse by the discovery that Malik had led the Craven to Lockswood.

But I knew Malik had never really been free. He’d done what he needed to do to survive. He’d played Isbeth’s games but hadn’t done it for himself. He’d done it for Millicent.

I knew Casteel understood that.

I moved toward him, watching how his back stiffened.

I stopped a few feet from him, my senses stretching out.

His walls were up, and when he faced me, the rigidness in his posture disappeared in a flash.

His shoulders relaxed as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his dark trousers, and his head tilted, his lips silently pressing into a thin smile.

“Penellaphe,” he said, his half-lidded eyes meeting mine with the practiced distance of someone unimpressed and untouched.

The change in him that had occurred between when I first saw him upon arriving in Stonehill and now would’ve been startling if I didn’t know it was just a mask—one he slipped on so easily it reminded me of how I pretended to feel when I donned the veil. Unbothered and untouched.

But it was just a facade. I broke through his shields and saw the turmoil beneath the relaxed line of his jaw and the faint smirk on his lips.

I searched his features, noting the shadows under his eyes.

He looked tired, and I suspected the weariness that went deeper than the bone wasn’t only because of the fractured relationship between him and Casteel.

“I was wondering,” I began, my fingers going to the buttons along the front of my cloak, “if you know where Millicent is?”

He eyed me for a moment. “I wish I did, but I don’t.”

Disappointment rose, even though I knew I shouldn’t be surprised. If he knew where she was, he wouldn’t be here. “Do you think she will come back?” I asked.

“I do.” He met my eyes, and a moment passed. “She will because you’re here, and she wants a relationship with you.”

My brows rose, and I pulled back slightly. “Really?”

Malik’s jaw tensed. “It may be hard to believe, but yes.”

“I’m happy to hear that,” I said quickly, realizing he’d misread my reaction.

He arched a brow. “Is that so?”

“Yes. I was just surprised because she didn’t really give me the impression that she would be…” I trailed off. “Not that she had a lot of time to do so.”

Millicent and I hadn’t spent much time alone. Someone had always been around—even if I hadn’t seen them. Our…mother’s Handmaidens saw and heard everything.

Which made me think about their current whereabouts. Had they, too, been dealt with? Most—if not all—were Revenants.

“But I am happy to hear that,” I said, twisting a button as I glanced toward Casteel.

Our eyes met, and an eyebrow rose, just as it had done on his brother’s face.

I opened my mouth, closed it, and then took a breath, returning my attention to Malik.

I didn’t know everything he’d gone through, but I knew it’d broken him.

Just as it had Casteel. And I knew what had done it.

Seeing his bonded wolven tortured and killed in front of him.

It made me wonder once more if Delano knew how my bloodstone dagger had been crafted.

The faint, one-sided curve of Malik’s lips started to fade. “Why are you staring at me like that?”

“I forgive you.”

He took a step back, the rest of the smirk quickly disappearing from his face.

I didn’t know why I’d even said that. I wasn’t sure how I felt about Malik. But…it wasn’t a lie.

“I don’t know if I’ve told you that or not. Some stuff is still fuzzy for me,” I admitted. “But in case I didn’t, I wanted to say it now. I forgive you.”

He was so still, I wasn’t sure he even breathed. “You shouldn’t.”

“You could’ve killed me,” I reminded him. “And you didn’t.”

“I betrayed Coralena.”

I managed not to react to that. “You did.”

“And you forgive that?”

“I understand why you did what you did.” I stilled my fingers before I twisted the button off. “And in the end, you did what was right. Coralena had to know that.”

Malik looked away.

“And Casteel knows why you stayed here,” I continued, lowering my voice. “I think you guys could, you know, get along if you stopped mentioning how you once planned to kill me.” I paused. “And if Casteel pulls his head out of his ass.”

The lone dimple in his left cheek appeared briefly. “You really think that?” he asked.

“I do.” I stepped back and smiled. “Anything is possible, right?”

“I guess so.” His gaze moved to mine, and the grin disappeared. “You have a…soft heart.”

I was pretty sure he didn’t entirely mean that in a good way. I fixed a smile on my face anyway. “Aren’t all hearts soft?”

He chuckled. “I suppose so, but yours is softer than others.”

“I prefer to think of it as being larger.” A moment passed, and then something occurred to me. “Did you hear we will be addressing the public?”

“I did.”

“I want you to be with us when we meet with the generals and during the address.”

Malik’s eyes widened, and then his expression smoothed out. “Penellaphe,” he drawled, pulling his hands from his pockets and crossing his arms. “While I appreciate your willingness to repair my relationship with my brother…”

I frowned.

“I think your concern is misplaced,” he continued. “It is better directed toward someone much closer to you.”

“What?”

With a lifted brow, he flicked his gaze to where the others stood. “What do you notice?” he asked. I followed his stare.

Other than another guard having joined the group? My gaze shifted to Casteel and Kieran. They, too, stood apart. Tension crept into my shoulders. Things had been somewhat normal between them when we were in the Solar, but they hadn’t really interacted with each other either.

“I don’t know how long you’ve been awake, but you must have noticed that something is up with them,” he said quietly.

“I did.” Hearing someone else say it didn’t just confirm my suspicions; it made me uneasy. Swallowing, I turned my attention back to Malik. “Do you know if something happened?”

“I don’t.” He squinted. “Neither has been in a caring and sharing mood with me of late.” He paused. “They’ve fought before, over one thing or another. It happens when you know someone for so long.”

I honestly wouldn’t know. The only people I had known for any length of time were Vikter, Tawny, and Ian, and not even those relationships could be considered lengthy.

“Especially since they were bonded,” Malik continued. “It’s almost like you share the same mind. It can be great. Also, extremely annoying. But this? Whatever is going on between them now? It’s not like them.”

I resisted the urge to turn and look. “Well, thanks for the advice, but repairing your relationship with Casteel wasn’t why I suggested having you with us. The Descenters know you. They don’t know me. And I’m sure Casteel isn’t known to many of them either.”