Page 13 of The Primal of Blood and Bone (Blood and Ash #6)

I was so cold.

I was…

What was I?

I wasn’t sure.

I couldn’t think.

A thick fog clouded my mind, leaving room for only the pain—the sharp, stabbing agony invading every limb. The thumping in my temples and behind my eyes. The dryness in my throat. The gnawing hunger in the pit of my stomach. I couldn’t figure out what had happened to me or where I was.

Or… who I was.

But I knew what I was.

The Primal.

The eather in my chest hummed feebly as I concentrated on my surroundings. I was lying on a bed, but whose? I wasn’t sure it mattered.

I inhaled and caught a familiar scent. It reminded me of—

Pain sliced through my head, causing me to suck in a sharp, short breath.

The soft click of a door closing pierced the quiet. Footsteps neared me. I dragged in another breath, this one deeper, and the scent increased. The footsteps halted.

“Are you…?” The source of the scent’s voice was deep and melodic. Familiar. It was his voice. The one that had captivated me when I was in the darkness. “Poppy?”

That…was…

“Can you hear me?” he asked softly. I tasted…bubbly hope tinged with a tang of desperation.

I couldn’t respond.

“It’s okay,” he said, appearing to wait for a response. “I’m here. You’re not alone.”

He fell quiet, and I wanted him to keep speaking because I had a feeling he’d been doing that a lot. I also wanted him to come closer, even though it made the hunger worse.

“I can tell you’re waking up.” He paused for a moment. “I can feel your confusion—taste it. I don’t think it’s as strong as what you feel from others, but it’s real. Unbelievable, right?” A low, rough laugh left him. “Kieran and I think it’s an unexpected byproduct of the Joining.”

Kieran .

That name felt familiar. Important. I tried to grasp why, but my thoughts were fragmented, little more than glimpses of deep violet leaves and the sound of rushing water. And I was so hungry.

Starving.

“I’ve been waiting for you to return to me,” he said after a moment.

Please, open your eyes again and return to me.

I had heard him say that to me, hadn’t I? I had while I was sleeping. He had been talking to me. Sharing memories with me—memories of us. Restlessness surged through me. I wanted to know them, but they remained out of reach.

“And I’ll keep waiting,” he promised. “However long it takes. Even if it takes forever. I’ll be right here.”

The bed dipped. My right arm warmed. Heat radiated off his body, and I felt his heartbeat. It…echoed mine. That was strange and—

Fingers glided across my cheek, sending a jolt of panic and indescribable yearning through me.

The dual emotions ignited a burst of energy, striking every nerve.

Power emanated from his fingertips, pulsing with it.

The essence in me surged, responding to his.

Driven by instinct, I harnessed the power to force open my eyes.

Everything was blurry.

Blinking several times, my surroundings came into focus. Sunlight illuminated ivory walls with gilded trim—walls with thin cracks running from the floor to the arched ceiling.

“Poppy.”

At the rough whisper, I reacted without thought, jerking upward. My legs tangled in the sheet, causing me to land knee-first on the bed as my head snapped up.

I saw him.

Time seemed to slow and then stop. Neither of us moved.

He was strikingly tall, even though he was bent at the waist, one knee resting on the mattress as if he had been in the process of lying down when I sat up.

The black breeches he wore were perfectly molded to muscular legs, and the top clasps had been left undone so they hung low on his hips, revealing a fine dusting of hair that traveled south from his navel, and lower stomach muscles that tapered into distinct, angular lines.

His chest and broad shoulders were bare, and while his body was all lean, chiseled muscle, it wasn’t flawless.

Knicks and slashes were scattered across the tightly rolled muscles of his stomach and chest, having long since faded to a shade lighter than his sandy-hued flesh.

One scar stood out, its raw, uneven edges a faint pink.

An image—or maybe a feeling—flashed through me, one of such inexplicable pain and heartbreak that it stole my breath. It had been my pain and…his heartbreak. That was all I knew.

I forced my stare from the scar. Tendons stood out starkly on his neck, and a shadow of stubble covered the curve of his hard, proud jawline.

His lips were lush and slightly parted as if he had just taken a deep breath and couldn’t catch another one.

The rest of his features were just as perfectly sculpted as his mouth, like he’d been crafted and molded by the hands of the Goddess of Love herself.

Deep, rich-black hair tumbled over his forehead, brushing equally dark brows and curling against his high, angular cheekbones.

And those eyes…

Framed by a heavy fringe of coal-black lashes, they resembled twin pools of liquid gold.

I…I remembered those eyes. I always thought…

I couldn’t remember, but he was simply the most exquisitely beautiful man I’d ever seen, and he was…

Mine .

His chest rose sharply, and I tasted the thick tanginess of anguish and concern again. It was so heavy I wondered how he could bear its enormous weight.

Pressure clamped down on my temples— He shifted toward me, and the hunger returned, seizing my muscles and clamping down on my bones.

I needed to feed.

Something akin to understanding flashed across his striking features. “I know what you need,” he said in a low, soothing voice. Slowly, as if afraid to startle me, he sat on the bed and faced me.

“Come to me, my Queen.” He extended his arm.

Tension gathered in my legs as my gaze dropped to his hand. My chest clenched when I saw that his pointer finger was missing, but I couldn’t remember why it hurt me to see that. There was also a mark on his left hand—a golden swirl on the palm. My gaze flicked back to his.

An innate sense warned me to keep my distance.

I knew I was powerful, but…so was he. I could sense the eather coursing through his veins.

It reminded me of mine, but there was more to it.

My head cocked as I inhaled deeply. His scent was amazing.

Like pine, spice, citrusy snow, and power .

There was also something wild and animalistic, but also something else.

An element that had been in generations of those who carried his blood.

Something old. Something infinite. I needed to be careful.

I was weak .

Muscles tensed as the aura pulsed and expanded until streaks of eather pierced his irises. Silvery bolts of essence laced with… crimson .

Death.

The eather within me rose swiftly, responding to the power stirring in his eyes and flowing through his veins. Deeply buried, ancient instinct seized me.

I launched myself backward, landing in a low crouch.

My fingers brushed the floor, my chin lowering and lips peeling back.

A low rumble came from my chest. I rose on legs that felt like they were made of jelly.

A wave of dizziness swept over me, causing the chamber to tilt before steadying itself.

My thoughts whirled in maddening circles as my gaze swept the chamber.

For a moment, I thought I knew where I was.

My head jerked toward the sound of movement.

He was already on his feet, having moved much faster than me.

The bed separated us, but I had a feeling that fact wouldn’t last much longer.

I forced in a shallow breath, knowing if he came at me, there would be little I could do to stop him.

That knowledge sent cold panic surging through me.

My hands spasmed at my sides as I quickly scanned the chamber, spotting two doors. I needed to get out of here.

“Poppy.”

My gaze shot back to him, and my heart twisted. He sounded tortured. Broken.

“That’s your name,” he said, his tone steady again, comforting. “My name is Casteel.”

A spasm rolled through me, and my lips mouthed the word. Tasted it.

“And you are my—”

“I know what I am,” I said in a low, hoarse whisper that scratched my throat. “I know what you are.”

The muscles of his shoulders tensed. “And what are we?”

My spine straightened as I inhaled his scent once more. “You…you are the end, but I’m the beginning and the end.” Eather flared weakly in my chest, and the nape of my neck tingled faintly. My head lowered. “We are…Primal gods.”

“We are much more than that.”

More .

I closed my eyes and saw us surrounded by frothy, steaming water, our limbs intertwined, our bodies one. My eyes flew open. They’d only been closed for a heartbeat or two, but in those few seconds, he’d moved toward the foot of the bed. A few more feet and he’d be closer to both doors.

I had to act now.

“Poppy,” he said, this time in a way that sounded like a warning. His head cocked, and his eyes narrowed. “Don’t—”

I sprang forward and bolted across the chamber, aiming for the closest door. My fingers grasped the cool metal handle—

“Nope.”

Arms snagged me, jerking me back.

“What in all the realms are you thinking?” he demanded, hauling me against a wall of hard, warm muscles.

Air punched out of my lungs, the feel of him shooting through me like lightning. My eyes widened as my muscles locked. The flimsy nightdress I wore was no barrier against his bare chest and my back, nor the band of steel below my breasts.

His head dipped, the rough stubble on his cheek dragging against mine. The sensation scattered my already jumbled thoughts, and I felt his chest rise sharply against my back. “Poppy,” he breathed.

The silken shift in his tone sent a tight, hot shiver coursing down my spine.

He drew his head back, his warm breath dancing over my ear. “What are you thinking now ?”

I…I wasn’t sure. The feel of him, hot and hard against me, had awakened a bizarre concoction of emotions inside me. Need flooded my body with a wave of molten desire, which was so wrong when instinct warned that he was a threat.