Page 129 of The Primal of Blood and Bone (Blood and Ash #6)

His shoulders tensed, but he didn’t attempt to block me this time. My gaze went to Seraphena. Her stare remained locked on Casteel. I didn’t think she had looked in my direction once, and I was, well, starting to get annoyed. “Is there a reason you keep staring at him and Kieran?”

“That’s a good question,” Casteel remarked.

The Queen stiffened, and several moments passed before the essence faded from her veins and dimmed in her eyes. Her attention finally shifted to me.

The moments of silence that followed felt like an eternity as she studied my features just as I had hers.

I knew the moment she saw the scars. Her lips pressed together firmly, and a bolt of eather streaked across her eyes like lightning.

I raised my chin. What had Kieran once told me?

Among my people, scars are revered. And his people were mine.

Seraphena’s gaze lifted to mine, her expression smoothing out.

Uncertain of what she was thinking or what was going on with how she’d stared at them, I smiled in a way I hoped didn’t look as weird as it felt.

“Hi,” I said, waving. I stiffened, my cheeks warming. “Did I just wave at you?”

The corners of her lips tipped up ever so slightly. “You did.”

I wanted to smack myself.

Seraphena gave Kieran a small smile as Casteel dipped his head and brushed his lips against my temple. “You’re perfect,” he whispered.

Seraphena’s lips curved into a fuller smile, which was much better than her eyeballing Casteel as if she weren’t sure what to make of him.

She approached me silently. Casteel was immediately on guard, his sharp gaze fixed on her. She slowly lifted her hand, and I sensed that Casteel wanted to intervene but held himself back. She cupped my cheek.

Her touch was warm, and a buzz of energy danced across my skin. I breathed in the light but unmistakable scent of lilacs, fresh and spring-like. She made no sound as her gaze tracked slowly over my features, this time not lingering on the scars.

Her throat worked on a swallow, and when her lips parted, I noticed a slight tremor.

It seemed like she wanted to say something but held back.

A rosy flush spread across her freckled cheeks.

Realizing she was a few inches taller than me, I tipped my head back a little to meet her stare.

Her emerald-and-silver eyes were glossy as she breathed in deeply.

The gold cuff glinted as she dropped her hand and stepped back. “Well.” She cleared her throat. “I was hoping not to make this awkward.”

“I think you failed at that,” Reaver commented.

Casteel and I looked over our shoulders to where Reaver stood near the door.

“I did.” She sighed, drawing my gaze back to hers. “But did you expect anything less?”

“Not really,” Reaver answered.

“I’m not…great in social situations,” she offered when we refocused on her.

“Neither am I,” I admitted, some of the rigidity easing from my muscles. “At least you didn’t wave at me.”

“Well, that’s not as bad as me staring at…

” Her gaze flicked to Casteel, lingering for far too many seconds before sliding to Kieran, who was staring at her like…

well, like he was staring at the actual person responsible for the creation of his people.

“Who, I assume, is your husband.” Her arched brows rose. “Or husbands?”

I did not hear her correctly.

There was no way.

Casteel or Kieran—possibly both—made a sound similar to a choked laugh. I knew then that I had heard her right.

“In case you haven’t realized, you’re making things more awkward.” Reaver strode toward the credenza and picked up a small carving knife I’d had no idea was there or why. “The one nearly standing on top of her is the husband.” He pulled an apple from a sack. “Not sure what you’d call the wolf.”

Said wolf sent him a glare.

“I hadn’t been expecting such a warm welcome,” Seraphena tacked on, sarcasm dripping from her tone.

“Sorry about that.” I shot Casteel a look that promised we would most definitely be talking about that later. He simply raised an eyebrow in return. “But you were staring at them in a…quite concerning way.”

Seraphena’s gaze slid back to them, eather streaking across her eyes. “Because I am concerned.”

Essence pressed against my skin as I pulled away from Casteel, my senses heightening.

Obviously picking up on the rise of eather, Seraphena’s gaze flicked to mine. “I’m concerned about what I’m picking up from them. They feel like…”

“Primals?” I suggested. Both Kieran’s and Casteel’s head jerked in my direction.

“Yes.” A slight crease formed between her brows as she looked at Kieran.

“You feel as if you carry the embers of life inside you.” Silver streaked through her eyes as she addressed Casteel.

“And you. You feel like you carry the embers of death. Attes mentioned something like that, but it’s impossible. ”

Again, I felt a weird twinge in my chest upon hearing his name.

“How?” she demanded.

“They are Deminyen ,” I said. “Or the three of us are, rather.”

Reaver halted mid-slice, and I realized he may not have overheard us when he waited in the hall.

“ Deminyen ?” Seraphena repeated. Her gaze lowered and then shot back up. “Did the three of you complete a Joining?”

That was the very absolute last question I wanted my grandmother to ask me. I could feel the heat creeping into my cheeks as I forced my voice to level. “Yes. It was, um, a very run-of-the-mill type of Joining.”

“Run-of-the-mill?” Casteel murmured under his breath.

I ignored him.

“It seems to have had some…” Kieran tilted his head to the side. “Unexpected results.”

Seraphena’s laugh was short and throaty, and I felt some of Casteel’s wariness ease. “I would say.” Her smile was a little wider now, more genuine. “This…could be good. Really good.”

“That’s your opinion,” Reaver muttered.

Kieran smirked at him as awareness pulsed through me again. Another draken was nearing the castle. More than one. Aurelia and Nithe. Had Thad returned from Pensdurth?

Reaver paid no attention to that as he sliced into the apple. “By the way, Millicent isn’t around. Not sure where she is.”

“That’s a shame,” Seraphena said with a soft sigh of disappointment.

Her gaze drifted back to Casteel and Kieran, then to me.

“I think…we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot.

” Her brows furrowed a little again as her gaze roamed over my features once more.

“I would’ve been here earlier, but…we had to deal with some issues. ”

“We heard,” Casteel said.

Surprise flickered across her face. “You did?”

“Rhahar told us before…” I trailed off as her face tightened and her back stiffened. There was a glassy sheen to her eyes. My breath caught. “Did he…?”

Seraphena closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. “Rhahar is…he’s gone.”