Page 12 of The Primal of Blood and Bone (Blood and Ash #6)

Kieran flashed a grin, but it faded quickly. His attention shifted back to Poppy. I walked to the other side of the bed and sat, brushing a wayward strand of hair off her cheek. I lifted my gaze to Kieran and could tell he was lost somewhere in his head.

“What if…?” Clearing his throat, he closed his eyes. “What if she doesn’t remember?”

Fuck. Hearing him ask the question on repeat in my mind was like taking a punch to the chest.

“If she doesn’t, then we’ll help her remember.” Leaning across Poppy, I clasped the back of his neck. “It’ll be hard on both of us. Harder on you, I think.”

He raised his head. “That’s not true. I know it would nearly kill you, Cas.”

“And that’s why it would be harder on you.” I squeezed his nape. “Because you won’t only be thinking about Poppy. You’ll be worried about me and how I’ll handle it.”

Kieran couldn’t deny that.

“Here’s the thing, Kieran. It would feel like I was dying, but I won’t lose my shit. Not when I need to be there for her.” I dropped my hand to his shoulder. “And we’ll both be there for her. Together. We’ll help her remember.”

He inhaled slowly and then nodded. “Yeah, we will.”

I squeezed his shoulder. “So, have you found quarters that will be a good fit for us to move to?” I asked, seeking to distract him.

“Still looking,” he said, his thumb smoothing over the delicate bone of her wrist. “Anything in particular I should look for?”

“Anyplace that wasn’t Isbeth’s personal quarters.”

He tilted his head back, his expression bland except for a faint quirk of his brow. “Yeah, I figured that already.”

I leaned back against the headboard. “Just making sure.”

“Uh-huh.” He drew a leg up. “You going to tell me what you discussed with Reaver?”

“Shouldn’t you be sleeping?”

“Cas,” he sighed.

I rolled my eyes. “And how do you know I spoke with Reaver?”

“I know everything.”

Pressing my lips together, I blinked at him slowly.

“Whatever,” he muttered. “Reaver asked me what you wanted before he came to you.” He looked over. “And just so you know, he did it in the most impolite way possible.”

“Shocker,” I murmured, reaching over to drink the glass of whiskey I had placed on the nightstand before I bathed. Taking a small sip of the amber liquid, my lips peeled back at the bite. I then told him what I had discussed with Reaver and why.

“Did you notice the dead grass and flowers?” I asked when I finished.

“I didn’t.” He squinted. “You think it’s Kolis?”

“It makes sense.” I took another drink and then offered the glass to him. “Sort of.”

He reached over and took it. “It does. It’s what I thought, but I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to put it in your head.” Swallowing a sip, he lowered the glass to his chest. “And because I didn’t know how it was possible if he’s basically a wraith.”

“But he’s apparently not just that,” I murmured, thinking everything over. “What I don’t get is how the blood of an Ascended could do anything for him.”

“Me, neither,” he said, lifting the glass. “What made you think to have the Shadow Temple guarded?”

I lifted a shoulder. “I figured that’s where a Primal of Death would go.”

“Good call,” he remarked. “And good idea.”

“All my ideas are good.”

He snickered. “You keep telling yourself that.”

I smiled.

His gaze fell on Poppy. “The whole needing-a-vessel thing… You know what that means?”

My smile vanished. “Isbeth wasn’t sacrificing shit.”

“I’m sure you’ve already thought this”—Kieran’s gaze lifted to mine—“but what did she need Poppy for then?”

“I have wondered that.” I reached for the glass. “And I have no idea.”

Kieran finished off what was left before handing it over.

“Asshole,” I muttered, placing the empty glass on the nightstand.

One side of his lips quirked up. “By the way. I haven’t seen your brother in the last day or so.”

Inhaling deeply, I settled against the headboard once more. “Did he leave the capital?”

“Not that I’ve heard.”

Stretching out my legs, I crossed my ankles. “Have you seen Millicent?”

“No, but I get the feeling you only see her when she wants to be seen.”

He was probably right. “If I had to guess, Malik is wherever she is.”

A moment passed. “Your father is also demanding to speak with you.”

Of course, he was.

A moment passed. “What do you want done if he comes to Wayfair?”

“He’s not to be allowed in. None of them are,” I said, tipping my head toward Kieran. “Get some sleep.”

His mouth opened.

“That’s an order from your King.”

He huffed out a short laugh. “You’re already becoming a tyrant,” he muttered.

I said nothing to that.

Kieran remained quiet for a few moments. “I almost forgot. Naill has nearly an entire damn wardrobe put together for you and Poppy.”

“While I appreciate hearing that, go the fuck to sleep.”

“Whatever,” he muttered, settling in and closing his eyes.

I knew he was asleep a mere minute later. Fucking wolven. I placed my hand over Poppy’s, controlling my emotions to stop my concern from stirring Kieran. While the wolven could fall asleep at the drop of a hat, it wasn’t always a deep sleep.

My mind wandered to what he’d said about my father. I knew I couldn’t avoid him any longer. Whether Poppy was awake or not, I had to talk to him. But I wouldn’t let him see Poppy like this. She wouldn’t want that.

My thoughts drifted to my discussion with Reaver as I scanned the chambers’ shadows. The reality was, Kolis could be in Wayfair right now, and it would be hard—if not impossible—to see him.

I shifted my thoughts from that because it would only piss me off.

Emil’s words about not all Ascended being monsters surfaced. What if that was the case? I wasn’t sure how it could be. I wasn’t aware of any Ascended who weren’t predatory, but that last home…

They had no stockpile of blood.

Even more surprising, none of the dead Ascended looked like they had been on the verge of bloodlust or about to turn Craven.

Even if some Ascended weren’t monsters, it wouldn’t change how anyone felt about them.

Including me.

Right after the first rays of dawn crept in through the window, I heard pounding boots.

My gaze shifted toward the sound, and I pulled away from Poppy and quietly rose.

I could tell whoever it was had just reached our floor.

Eather hummed in my chest as I approached the door and picked up one person’s footsteps.

That pathway opened once more, telling me it was Delano.

As he drew closer, I opened the door before he could knock. He skidded to a halt, sending strands of pale-blond hair swinging back from his forehead.

“Kieran’s sleeping,” I told him.

“Not anymore,” came a sleep-roughened grumble from behind me.

I sighed. “Never mind.”

“I’m sorry to wake you,” Delano said to Kieran. “But you guys have to see this.”

“Doubtful,” Kieran muttered, face-planting the pillow.

“Yeah…” Delano gave Poppy a quick once-over. “You’re going to change your mind in a few seconds.”

My eyes narrowed on the wolven as I heard Kieran sit up. Confusion and unease practically seeped from Delano’s pores, and he was paler than usual. Stepping aside, I held the door open. “What’s going on?”

“The sun.”

My brows lifted. “What about it?”

He nodded at the window. “Look for yourself.”

Frowning, I turned and saw that Kieran had picked up on Delano’s emotions.

He sent me a look as I crossed the chamber.

I shrugged. Opening the window shutters wide, I rested my hands on the windowsill.

This side of Wayfair had a pretty decent view of the city to our east and the Elysium Peaks and the Stroud Sea to our west.

Faint golden light crept over the city as I gazed above the homes…

I leaned out farther. Soft hues of rose, lavender, and pale gold painted the sky—the empty sky.

Which made no sense. It was dawn. I turned to the west as Kieran joined me at the window.

My lips parted in disbelief.

“I don’t see anything,” Kieran said.

Delano came closer. “Yeah, there is definitely something.”

“No, there’s—”

Reaching over, I stopped Kieran mid-sentence and turned his head in the other direction. His shock hit me like a bucket of cold water.

“Tell me,” Kieran demanded, pushing away from the window and then snapping back. He gripped the windowsill. “Tell me you’re not seeing what I’m seeing.”

I blinked just to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating. “Well…”

“There’s no way, Cas,” he said, his voice turning sharp and strained. “None. That, right there.” He jabbed a finger in the direction we stared. “Is impossible.”

It should be.

But it wasn’t. Because we were both looking west, watching the sun rise above the Stroud Sea, where it should have been setting by day’s end—not rising now.

“What the fuck?” Kieran whispered.

“Yeah,” Delano replied.

The three of us fell silent, and the final verse of that damn prophecy came to mind.

Beware, for the end will come from the west to destroy the east and lay waste to all which lies between.