Page 176 of The Primal of Blood and Bone (Blood and Ash #6)

Clearly. My mind went to his willingness to endure excruciating pain for her—for Sotoria . I had a feeling he knew a lot more.

“But otherwise, he’s incredibly calculating and precise. Always several steps ahead. And he rarely acts without purpose,” Attes continued, now eyeing the untouched glass of whiskey Kieran had gotten for him. “When it comes to…you.” His stare returned to Poppy. “He has always lost control.”

Kieran’s fingers brushed mine as he pried the glass from my hand and placed it on the table.

“In the sense that he becomes unpredictable. Recklessly so,” Attes added, reaching for his glass. “That is the weakness.” His eyes lifted to mine.

“You said there were things?” Poppy questioned, her voice steady, almost like she was unbothered by the topic. But I knew better. I tasted her lemony unease and something thicker, greasier. Slimy. Disgust. I moved my thumb across her hip, knowing it usually soothed her.

“His brother,” Attes said, and Reaver looked up. “Nyktos, and Callum.”

“Explain,” Poppy insisted and then tacked on what I felt was unnecessary, “please.”

“Kolis loved Eythos. Still does. And I know that sounds unbelievable, but it’s true,” Attes explained. “And Callum is tied to…Sotoria.”

“He’s jealous of Nyktos,” Reaver said, turning the apple in his hand. There was little left but the core. “He tried to break him and couldn’t. Then he tried to change him—to shape and mold him. He couldn’t do that either.”

Poppy nodded. “Well, Eythos is long dead, and we have no idea where Callum is—if he’s not with Kolis. And Nyktos…I’m not sure he can enter the realm.”

“He can, but only briefly,” Attes said. I couldn’t help but wonder what the fuck would happen with three Primal Gods of Death in the mortal realm. “The Blood Treaty? It’s off the table at this point. So, all the Primals can. But they’re weakened and have to be careful.”

Poppy wiggled an inch or two closer to me. “I’m sorry about Rhahar.”

Attes smiled at her, and it was blinding.

She cleared her throat. “What were you all talking about before I came in?”

“The supposedly detailed war plan you have concocted,” Attes said, sipping his whiskey. His lip immediately curled.

“Not to your liking?” I asked.

“Tastes like dakkai piss,” he muttered.

I laughed. “Well, you won’t want to drink anything else in this city if you think that tastes like piss.”

Poppy wrinkled her nose.

“That’s a shame.” He took another drink, his lips peeling back with the swallow. “So, they have spears that can wound a draken?”

“They do,” Kieran said. “Those would have to be taken out first.”

“I can handle that,” Reaver offered.

“No,” Poppy said. “I can—or one of us.”

Reaver lowered the apple core. “I know how to…bob and weave.”

The image of his large, winged ass doing that almost made me laugh.

“I know you can.” She softened her voice. “But we could do it from a safe distance. You would have to get close—too close.”

“Then can I burn those who control the spears?” Reaver asked.

Poppy sighed. “Yes, you can burn them.”

With a nod, he returned to nibbling on the apple, getting every bit of remaining flesh.

“We also know that around two hundred or so gods have gathered in Pensdurth,” Kieran added.

“I assume you aren’t outfitted with shadowstone,” Attes stated.

“We have bloodstone and a handful of shadowstone weapons,” I said, moving my thumb in a slow circle on Poppy’s hip. “But not nearly enough of the latter to arm more than a hundred or so.”

“Bloodstone,” Attes murmured. “Angry tears left to petrify in the sun.” He leaned to the side. “It can wound a god. Put them down for a bit if you get them in the head or heart. But it will not kill them.”

Similar to an Atlantian. Well, except for the head.

“Millicent had shadowstone,” Poppy said. “She had to get it from somewhere. Perhaps Malik knows if there is a stash.”

Leaning forward, I pressed my lips to her cheek. “I’ll ask.”

“The ones we arm should be your strongest warriors,” Attes said. “And not just physically. They should only be those immune to compulsion.”

“We can hopefully thin out the gods,” Poppy said, looking at Reaver. “Once we take out the spears, you, Aurelia, and Nithe can hit as many of them as you can. Like in Oak Ambler. Hopefully, we can get some gods in that.”

Reaver nodded. “That, we can do.” A rare smile appeared. “Gladly.”

“Kolis has no draken, right?” Kieran asked.

“No, he has something worse,” Attes said.

“Great,” Poppy muttered. “What?”

“Naberius,” he stated like we knew what the fuck that meant.

“And that would be?” I asked.

“Kolis’s vellám ,” Attes shared.

“What?” Poppy jerked sideways and would’ve toppled right out of my lap if I hadn’t been holding on. “His version of Setti is a draken?”

“It’s not a draken. Not really,” Reaver said. “Just as Setti is not really a horse.”

This motherfucker knew what Setti was this whole time?

“Naberius is the essence of a dragon,” Reaver stated.

Poppy gaped.

Attes, who was, of course, staring at her, slid his fingers across his mouth to hide his grin. “Speaking of velláms , how is Setti?”

“You saw for yourself, didn’t you?”

“How did Setti end up here?” Poppy jumped in before Attes could respond.

The Primal was silent for several moments. “I figured he would be better served here while I was in stasis.”

“That is a vague-as-fuck answer,” Kieran noted.

Attes lifted a shoulder as Poppy eyed him, her eyes slightly narrowed. Her lips parted—

“Sera’s vellám is the same,” Reaver announced.

“What?” Poppy shrieked again, causing Kieran to jerk. “Wait. Does that mean—?” Her shoulders deflated. “No, it doesn’t.” She never looked more crestfallen than when she twisted toward me. “I don’t have Courts, so I don’t get a vellám.”

Fighting a laugh, I patted her hip. “Well, you do get Kieran and me. We’re not as amazing as the essence of a dragon.”

Reaver rasped a laugh.

“But I like to think we’re pretty amazing.”

“Yeah.” Poppy sighed, deflating even further.

“Wow,” Kieran murmured.

“Sorry,” she said. “But the essence of a dragon ? ” The wistfulness in her voice was adorable.

I doubted this Naberius was. “Can it be killed?”

“Other than by killing Kolis? Cut off its head or take it out with eather. Only a fool would get close enough for the former—unless Nab is sleeping, which I imagine is often,” Attes said, and my brow furrowed. “And only a very powerful Primal can do the latter.”

“Could you?” Poppy asked. “When you ruled Vathi?”

Attes’s features did something that made the scars stand out less. His expression softened. “I could do some damage to Nab, but I couldn’t kill him. I’m not even sure Seraphena could.”

“Damn it,” Poppy muttered, and I saw Reaver’s head start to tip down. I hoped he smacked it off the table.

“There’s no way you can get close enough to Kolis then,” I said to Poppy, not feeling even an ounce of shame for the relief I felt.

Attes tensed, the skin at the corners of his mouth turning white. “I’m about to say something your husband won’t like.” His gaze flicked to Kieran. “The other one probably won’t like it either.”

“Then don’t say it,” Kieran advised.

“He doesn’t need to,” Poppy said as she leaned into my chest. The moment she did that, I knew Attes had been right. I wouldn’t be happy. “Naberius won’t attack me because…because Kolis won’t.”

Kieran’s spike of eather matched mine.

“I don’t like it any more than you two do.” Attes dropped his hand. “But it’s the reality. One we have to deal with.”

“I know,” Poppy said quietly. “And they do, too.”

Maybe Kieran did.

I didn’t.

“I just need you all to make sure I get to him. Then…this will all be over.”

“Finally,” Attes whispered.

My thumb stilled against Poppy’s hip as I focused on the Primal. He wasn’t looking at me or Kieran. He was back to staring at her. The control I had on my anger was already weakening. The current topic didn’t help. And I was so fucking done with him looking at Poppy like…she was special to him.

“You know what I would like to know, Attes?” I asked, the eather thrumming in my chest.

Poppy’s head snapped toward me.

Attes dragged his stare from her and lifted his brows. “Yes?”

“Why do you keep staring at my wife?”

Reaver’s head snapped up, the essence pulsing behind his slanted pupils.

“It’s okay.” Poppy touched my arm. “I saw him before.”

“You did?” Kieran asked. “When you were under Kolis’s influence?”

“No. When I was asleep.”

I slowly turned my neck to her as Kieran’s brows rose.

“Not like that,” she quickly added. “When I was in stasis.”

Attes’s eyes widened.

“Only briefly, though,” she added.

I figured it had to do with her past—perhaps some buried part of her that remembered her time as Sotoria. “That didn’t answer my question.”

“I will never hurt her,” Attes said. “If that is what you think.”

That was not what I was thinking.

The Primal’s stare returned to her. “I’m sorry, it’s just that she…”

“Looks like Sotoria?” Poppy finished for him. He nodded. “And you knew me?” she added.

The muscle in Attes’s temple was back to ticking. “Yeah, I did.”

I focused on the feel of Poppy’s hand on the center of my chest, right next to the ring. “And what type of relationship did you have with her?”

“Casteel,” Poppy hissed, her cheeks flaming.

“No, he has every right to ask that question.” Attes dragged a hand over his face, then dropped it. His eyes met mine. “We were friends. That was all we ever were.”

Just friends.

I didn’t believe that for a second.