Page 169 of The Primal of Blood and Bone (Blood and Ash #6)

POPPY

“Open your mouth.”

Arching a brow, I did as he requested. A second later, a slice of cantaloupe passed my lips. As I chewed the juicy, mildly sweet fruit, I settled deeper into Casteel.

“Comfortable?” he asked, the bowl of fruit he searched through hovering just above my lap.

“Uh-huh.”

Casteel was all lean, hard muscle, honed from a lifetime of fighting and wielding a sword. But nestled between his legs with my back to his chest as we lounged in bed, I decided he was a surprisingly comfortable spot to rest against. Especially when discussing something like a public address.

We’d decided to keep it short, acknowledging that the people were likely concerned about what had occurred in Stonehill and Lowertown.

What we told them about Kolis would be brief, leaving it to the smaller town halls held in each district for us to go into more detail about who Kolis was.

We would assure them we would keep them safe and fight for them.

“If Attes happens to show up between now and then, should we have him at the address?” I asked as Casteel pulled out a piece of banana.

“I doubt his presence will help.”

“Is that an opinion based on anything but your apparent dislike of him?”

“Probably not.”

“At least you’re honest,” I murmured. “He is your great-grandfather.”

He rooted around in the bowl some more. “No need to remind me.”

I giggled. “I can’t believe you already don’t get along with him.”

“Once you meet him, I’m sure you will understand why.”

But I already have, a voice that was completely mine whispered, causing me to frown. Technically, I had while under Kolis’s influence, but—

“While I think the people seeing that another god is on our side is good, I don’t think it’s necessary to formally introduce him or for him to be beside us,” he said, “He’s another god the people have never heard of. It will only further complicate things.”

“Good point.” I toyed with a dainty ribbon dangling from the neckline of my nightgown as he lifted a glistening strawberry to my mouth. I bit down, chewing slowly as I turned things over in my mind. “I know we decided to move against Kolis whether Attes shows or not, but how soon is soon?”

He was quiet for a moment. “In the next day or so.”

My heart kicked against my ribs. He said it so casually, it was as if we were discussing taking a trip for pleasure. Then again, he was a descendant of a Primal God of War. “Okay.”

“You sure you agree with that?” he asked after a few seconds.

“I’ve wanted to go to Pensdurth for days,” I reminded him. “So, yes.”

His chest rose against my back. “But?”

“But…it’s war,” I said, staring up at the canopy, caught between enjoying this closeness and intimacy with Cas and loathing the necessity for such a discussion. “Not with just the Ascended or Revenants but against gods.”

“We will take them, Poppy,” he assured me. “They won’t be able to stand against us.”

“I know.” And I did. My chest squeezed. I did .

“Want more?” he offered.

I shook my head. “People will die, Cas. And I know people always die in battle, but there will be no second chances this time.” An image I couldn’t get out of my head flashed in my mind. Crimson-streaked, snow-white fur. I never wanted to see that again.

Casteel had placed the bowl beside us and wiped his fingers clean by the time he wrapped his arms around me again. “Then we need to do everything in our power to make sure we suffer as few losses as possible.”

“Yeah,” I breathed, knowing that was easier said than done. Letting go of the ribbon, I dropped my hands to his arms. The feel of his skin soothed me in a way I wasn’t sure I would ever fully understand. “How do you think the generals really feel about making our move even without Attes?”

“Hard to tell,” he said with a sigh, his hand flattening against my stomach. “But I think Damron and my father are on the same page. As well as Sven.”

“I think we should have Sven stay back with Perry. They haven’t found anything that can weaken Kolis yet, but that doesn’t mean they won’t. And we’ll need that if I’m not successful.” As in, if I didn’t get a chance to get close enough.

“We will be successful,” he replied, his thumb making slow, idle sweeps. “But I agree. A commander can be pulled forward to lead Sven’s regiment.”

“And the other generals?”

“La’Sere?” His chin grazed the top of my head. “I believe she’s onboard. Murin is up in the air.”

“Aylard likely isn’t,” I muttered.

“That’s because he’s a coward.”

He was many things, a coward included. But… “He’s afraid of dying. Most people are.”

“There are worse things than dying.” His thumb circled my navel. “Someone as arrogant as Aylard should know that.”

“Has he always been that way?” I asked, curious.

“Our paths didn’t cross often in the past,” he shared. “But I was not impressed when it occurred.”

I snorted, and it was quite an unattractive sound. “I get the feeling he’s not as…” I searched for the right word. “Respectful toward the wolven as he is toward Atlantians.”

“Your suspicions would be on point.” Casteel shifted, leaning back an inch or two.

“Am I making you uncomfortable?” I looked over my shoulder. “I can move?”

“Absolutely fucking not.” His arms tightened, and then he continued once I settled back into him. “You know issues were brewing between the wolven and Atlantians again.”

I did. Alastir had also spoken of such, which was one of the reasons he’d wanted Cas to marry Gianna.

My lip curled.

“Atlantians like Aylard are part of the reason. I’d like to say we are without bigots, but that would be a lie that would only serve to empower those like him.” His thumb began moving again. “Not many view the wolven as less than, but one is enough.”

Anger sparked, stirring the essence. “That doesn’t even make sense. The wolven are closer to the gods.”

“Such hatred rarely makes sense.”

Gods. I’d seen that enough in Solis to know it was true. “Do you know why? Is it because of the war with the deities?”

“Some of it. Both sides killed many.” Cas drew up a leg, bending his knee.

“But some of it stems from the lack of space those like Aylard believe was worsened by the increasing wolven population. As if they were taking something they had no right to.” Casteel scoffed.

“They seem to forget that, since day one, Atlantia belonged to both the Atlantians and the wolven.”

One could argue it belonged more to the wolven, considering their unique ties to the true Primal of Life. I had a feeling Cas would agree.

“But Aylard will fall in line,” Cas continued. “People like him always do.”

I cocked an eyebrow at that, unsure if it was a good thing, even if it benefited our needs. I shifted my thoughts from Aylard. “We also need to deal with Masadonia. I think it’s safe to assume—unfortunately—that the scouts I and then you sent will not be returning.”

“I fear I have to agree with that,” he said, arms clenching and then loosening as the heaviness of the loss settled in my chest. “But we’ll handle Kolis first and then deal with whatever awaits us in Masadonia.”

I nodded, figuring Masadonia had remained an even fiercer Ascended stronghold. Whether or not it was on Kolis’s behalf didn’t matter. Taking on the Ascended after Kolis would be like fighting Craven, who were little more than bones.

“If we have time tomorrow, I want to train. With a bow,” I added. “It feels like years since I picked up a bow. And I would also like to train with the sword.”

“That can be done.” His lips brushed my temple, drawing a smile from me.

It didn’t last, though, as my mind returned to what would happen when we arrived in Pensdurth. What needed to be done.

His thumb stilled above my navel. “Poppy?”

“Stop reading my emotions.”

“Should I lie as you have and say I will?”

I rolled my eyes. “Shut up.”

His chuckle was quick. “What are you thinking?”

Knowing we needed to be on the same page, I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You know what has to be done, right? What I have to do.”

Casteel went quiet.

Turning around, I rose to my knees. Our gazes locked. “I am his weakness—”

“Then why do you have Sven digging around looking for something to weaken him.”

“I asked him to do that before I learned the truth,” I reminded him as I placed my hands on his chest. “And we still may need that if I end up not getting close enough.”

That muscle along his jaw started to tick. “I don’t want you anywhere near him.”

My chest twisted. “I don’t want to be, but I have to.”

Essence flared in his eyes as they hardened into cold citrine. “You don’t have to do shit.”

“That’s not true,” I whispered, sliding my hands up. The bite mark on his throat had already faded to a faint pinkish-purple. “I wish it was. I really do. But it must be done if we want a future—for us, for those we care about, and for both Solis and Atlantia. You know this.”

“Actually, I don’t.” He grasped my wrists and lowered them to his chest. “And neither do you. We just know what we’ve been told.”

“Cas—”

“Did the vadentia tell you that love was a weakness?”

“No. But it did tell me there’s another way,” I reasoned. “And I think that is something Primals are supposed to learn instead of just knowing.”

He arched a brow. And, yeah, that sounded as ridiculous to me as it likely did to him. “But it’s not the only way. A stronger Primal can kill him.”

“You’re right. But—”

He lowered our joined hands to the space between us. “How do we know we’re not stronger? That I or Kieran isn’t stronger?”

I tensed. The very idea of him or Kieran going up against Kolis one-on-one terrified me. “We are too new at this—”

“Who says?”

I opened my mouth.

“The Fates?”

I snapped my mouth shut. Had they? No. But they were concerned enough about Casteel that there could be a chance he was stronger than them already. I drew my lower lip in. But even if that was true, it didn’t mean he was stronger than Kolis.