Page 148 of The Primal of Blood and Bone (Blood and Ash #6)

POPPY

“Poppy?”

Delano’s voice jolted me, and I blinked several times. Once I realized I was standing in front of the glass wall again, staring at the gray, rocky face of the Cliffs of Sorrow, I sucked in a sharp breath.

“You okay?” Delano asked.

“Yeah,” I said, even though my heart pounded, and I had no idea how long I’d been standing there. Since I returned from the Vault? I rubbed my temple and faced him, forcing a smile.

Concern filled his winter-sky eyes from where he stood in the doorway. “Are you sure? I called your name twice.”

“I’m sorry. I must’ve zoned out.”

Delano shifted his weight, his uncertainty clear. “Is your head hurting?”

“No.” I lowered my hand when I felt his relief. “I was just trying to remember something.”

He cocked his head. “Does rubbing your temple help with that?”

“Not really.” I laughed. “Is everything all right?”

He nodded. “Just figured you could use some company while you wait for Cas.” He paused, and my smile became more genuine. “Especially since you’re back.”

The smile froze.

“Yeah,” he drawled, a white-blond lock of hair slipping across his forehead as he dipped his chin. “I know you weren’t in the Solar this whole time.”

Damn it.

“How did you know?” I asked.

He lifted a shoulder.

I eyed him. The notam wasn’t that sensitive, but Delano had always been different. He seemed to recognize the notam even before I entered the Culling.

“So, what were you staring at?” he prodded, drawing me from my thoughts.

“I guess the Cliffs and the Dark Elms.”

His head tilted again. “The Dark Elms?”

“The forest.” I turned and gestured to the elms in the distance. “That’s what Ian called them.”

Delano strode forward, his features marked with curiosity. “Interesting. We’ve been calling them something similar.”

I arched a brow. “Because they look like the sun can’t penetrate them?”

“That, but mostly because they give off…weird vibes,” he remarked, staring at them. “Not necessarily bad, just…unwelcoming. Like they’re already occupied.”

A wave of surprise washed over me. “Can the wolven sense spirits?”

His brows shot up as he looked over at me. “We can sense the unnaturalness that accompanies them. Sometimes, we don’t always know that’s what we’re feeling.”

My eyes widened. I’d been half-joking when I asked that. My attention shifted back to the Dark Elms. Hadn’t Tawny once mentioned seeing a spirit in the—

Tawny .

My chest felt as if it were being split open as I thought about having to tell her what I’d done.

How did one go about confessing they’d taken someone’s soul?

Better yet, how did you tell your first true friend they would eventually sour and rot from within and become something monstrous without it?

Feeling Delano’s stare, I drew in a ragged breath. “Ian told me the forest was full of spirits too afraid to pass on and face judgment.”

“Really?” Delano tipped his head back. “He may have been on to something. That’s probably what we’ve been feeling.”

Well, now I had even more reasons never to go into them.

“Sometimes, I wonder if Ian was part Seer,” I said with a shake of my head. “He told me so many things that I believed were just fantastical stories that are now turning out to be true.”

“Maybe he was.” Delano angled his body toward me. “Leopold and Coralena were his parents, right?”

“Yes, but…” But what? I frowned. It felt like I was forgetting something, but nothing came to me. “That’s what I’ve been told. But I honestly don’t know for sure.”

“I wonder if Millicent knows.”

I pressed my lips together. She might. I could ask her. That was if I ever saw her again. Something quite…horrifying popped into my head then.

Eythos was my great-grandfather, which meant Kolis was my great-granduncle. And while I’d already known that, it was before I learned about the whole Sotoria thing.

My upper lip curled in disgust. Did Kolis realize that? Would it matter?

Probably not.

Ew.

Shaking those thoughts from my head, I glanced at Delano. He practically vibrated with curiosity.

“Did you happen to notice that it was snowing this morning?” he asked.

I blinked. “What? It was snowing?”

“Well, flurrying,” he replied. “But yeah.”

“It has never snowed here,” I murmured, frowning. “Was it even cold enough for it to snow?”

“I don’t think so,” Delano said. “But then again, it takes a lot for me to feel the cold.” He crossed his arms. “I guess it’s more of the whole destabilization thing.”

I sent him a curious look.

“Kieran filled us in.”

“Oh,” I murmured, wondering when that had happened. Had it been before Stonehill or more recently? It felt like there was so much I hadn’t been present for. “I guess it’s good that only the weather…” My lips pursed. “And the path of the sun has been affected.”

“Yes,” Delano said. “ Only the path of the sun.”

The way he’d said that made me laugh. “I suppose I shouldn’t phrase it that way.”

His gaze slid to mine. “You know I’m dying to ask about her ,” he said, his voice dropping to a whisper.

“Seraphena?”

His eyes glimmered with interest. “Yes.”

“Go ahead and ask,” I said, welcoming the diversion.

“How was she?”

“She was…” I paused, struggling for an appropriate adjective. “Casteel would probably say temperamental. I would say blunt. And…” I trailed off again with a frown. “Okay. Maybe a little temperamental.”

Delano’s eyes widened.

“Toward Casteel,” I quickly added. “They had moments of…misunderstanding. But she was actually nice and not what I expected.”

“What did you expect?”

“An…ethereal being in a flowing gown,” I answered after a moment. “But she was dressed like I am and had a mouth to rival a dockworker.”

Delano grinned at that. “She sounds…normal.”

“Surprisingly so,” I said. “She mentioned that she couldn’t linger in this realm for long without causing the notam to revert back to her.”

“I’m not surprised to hear that. I could feel it here,” he said, unfolding his arms and touching his chest. “Right next to yours.”

Curiosity rose. “Does it feel different? My notam and hers?”

His brow furrowed under the edges of his hair. “Hers was…warm and fresh.”

“Fresh?” I stared at him. “Am I not fresh?”

“I didn’t mean it like that ,” he said, his lips twitching.

“I meant…the notam feels fresh. Like the first winds of spring. Cut grass and lilacs. Light. Yours is more earthy and hot. Heavier.” His head cocked as my frown increased.

“Unless you’re mad—like killing mad. Then, it’s… yeah, it’s something else.”

Maybe I shouldn’t have asked.

“It feels icy-hot then.”

“Well.” I took that in. “At least it doesn’t make you think of rot and decay.”

Delano laughed.

My lips tipped up at the sound, and I found myself taking in his profile. He was once more staring at the Dark Elms. My thoughts found their way to his sister. He never spoke of her. I didn’t even know if he had any other siblings. “Do you have a brother?” I asked.

“A younger brother. Ronan,” he answered, his faint smile fading. “And a sister.”

“Preela?” I whispered.

His eyes flew to mine, and then he let out a short laugh. “I shouldn’t be surprised that you know that. Did Cas tell you?”

I shook my head. “I knew she was Malik’s bonded wolven, but I didn’t realize she was your sister until I saw Malik with you in Padonia and spoke to him later.

” I clasped my hands together, my throat dry.

I hoped Delano didn’t know how she died and what had been done to her before Jalara took her life.

Glancing back at the low table where the dagger remained wrapped, I took a deep breath. “Malik did tell me something else.”

“The gods only know what that could be,” he joked, but his eyes narrowed slightly as I tried to smile. His shoulders squared. “What did he tell you?”

I opened my mouth, closed it, then took a deep breath and walked over to the dagger. “I don’t know how to say this without just saying it.”

“I’m starting to get worried.” He followed me.

I cursed myself for making this worse as I picked up the wrapped dagger.

“The bloodstone dagger that Vikter gifted me… I know Coralena gave it to Leopold, but not how Vikter ended up with it.” I should’ve asked him when he said he’d never seen Leopold.

“I can only imagine the Fates had a hand in all of it.”

Taking a deep breath, I turned to Delano. “The bone used to craft the handle?” I met his stare and saw a realization begin to dawn. “It belonged to Preela.”

Delano’s lips parted, but no words came out.

“I didn’t know until Malik told me.” I glanced down at the wrapped dagger. “To be honest, I hadn’t really thought about how it’d come to be, which was…well, shitty of me. But once I learned…”

“I…” Delano cleared his throat. When he spoke next, his voice was thick. “That’s why you’ve been using a shadowstone dagger.”

I nodded and lifted my gaze to his. His eyes were glassy. Gods, if he started crying, I would collapse into a messy pile of tears. “I wanted to know what you’d like me to do with it.”

Delano blinked several times, his gaze lowering to what I held. “Poppy…”

“I’m okay with whatever you want to do,” I continued in a rush as I offered him the bundled dagger. “If you want to keep it or burn it…whatever.”

His chest rose sharply. “It belongs to you.”

I shook my head. “No, it doesn’t.”

“Vikter gave it to you, and I know how much he meant to you.” He raised his head. “I couldn’t possibly take the only physical reminder you have of him.” He smiled. “Losing that would make you sad, and I cannot have that.”

Tears clogged my throat because…gods, how could he be worried about how I felt in this moment? Delano…he was too pure.

“I have my memories of Vikter, and they are so much more important than this,” I told him, meaning it.

“And I have my memories of my sister,” he said quietly, stepping closer.