Page 20 of The Primal of Blood and Bone (Blood and Ash #6)

Shoving his hair back from his face, he turned to me.

“You know what almost happened, right? Or are you living in a realm of delusion? She let loose a bolt of eather— pure eather,” Reaver said, like I didn’t have a clue.

“Maybe that would’ve knocked some sense into you.

But more likely, it would’ve killed you. ”

My head snapped toward him as I felt a surge of essence once more coming from Poppy. I braced myself, but she gave no indication of tapping into it as she slid down the wall.

The draken moved faster this time, putting himself between us again. He gripped my shoulders, his bright-blue eyes filling with the glow of eather as smoke wafted from his nostrils. “You need to stand down.”

I knocked his hands off me. “You should listen to your own advice.”

“You’re acting like you can fix that .” He pointed at her. “All you’re going to do is get yourself killed. And then I’ll have to deal with her”—he pointed in her direction again, and so help me gods, I was about to break that finger—“afterward.”

Taking a deep breath, I stepped back. “Fine.”

Reaver sighed. “Thank the gods—”

Spinning, I kicked him in the chin. “Fucker.”

Reaver slid across the floor with a growl. Ignoring him, I turned back to Poppy as she pulled her legs to her chest. Trembling, she buried her face against her knees. Fuck. My heart cracked, my legs as unsteady as a newborn foal’s. There was no way my heart could feel any more pain.

“You need…to leave.” Her words were muffled, sounding frail, but I still heard them loud and clear.

“Like I said. Even she knows you need to get out of here,” Reaver griped.

I ignored him. “I’m not leaving you, Poppy.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” the draken exploded. “Fucking listen to me. You need to find that wolf of yours and stay…” Trailing off, he turned sharply toward Poppy with a curse.

A shudder started in her tense arms and ended at her toes as a wave of icy rage so intense I had to fight the instinctual urge to take a step back rose. That anger…

My skin chilled as I stared at Poppy. It was coming from her, but it didn’t feel like her.

Reaver actually took a step back, his head cocking to the side. “You feel that?”

I didn’t respond. He muttered a curse as we both picked up the sound of pounding boots coming up the hall. I knew who it was, but for some reason, the tension in my body only increased.

A second later, the chamber door swung open as Kieran burst into the room. His presence shocked me. And the fact that he’d come back after I’d assured him that I would take care of Poppy annoyed the fuck out of me.

“Fuck me,” Reaver muttered.

“No, thank you,” Kieran retorted, stalking forward, his gaze trained on Poppy.

“I wasn’t offering,” the draken spat.

Kieran’s steps faltered as he sniffed the air. The sharp inhale that followed was a punch to the chest. After a moment, he looked at me. His eyes widened slightly when he got a good look at my throat. “She do that?”

“It’s nothing.”

Tension tightened the corners of his mouth, and his gaze darted back to Poppy.

Time seemed to slow as I stared at the wolven I’d shared a crib with.

Warning bells rang in the back of my head as I looked down.

His hands were trembling. My gaze slowly lifted to his profile.

The way he stared at her told me he was trying to reach her through the notam .

He drew back, curtly shaking his head. “Talk to me, Cas. Tell me what’s going on.”

“You should be asking me that,” Reaver said.

Clamping my jaw shut, I stretched my neck from side to side.

“I need both of you to look at her— really look at her,” Reaver instructed, but he didn’t need to tell us to do that. We already were. “Does she look right to either of you?”

Kieran said nothing. He saw what I did. She sat with her knees tucked tightly against her chest, her toes curling against the stone floor. She didn’t even seem aware of Kieran’s arrival.

“I see her.” I swallowed. “She’s beautiful.”

“For fuck’s sake.” Reaver sounded like he wanted to throw both of us into a wall headfirst. “Do you not smell the stench of death?”

Kieran swallowed. “I do,” he acknowledged. “It’s not like anything I’ve smelled on her before. But she is a Primal of Death now.”

“No, shit,” snapped Reaver. “But that smell? That stale yet sweet scent? That’s not coming from her.” Reaver dragged the back of his hand over his mouth. “When I felt her wake, she wasn’t the only thing I felt. I sensed that he was near.”

Cold air poured into my chest. “He?”

“The true Primal of Death. Kolis,” he spat.

My ears buzzed as I went completely still.

“I came here to warn you, but the closer I got to this chamber, the stronger the feeling became. I can still feel him. It’s like a godsdamn frozen fist squeezing my chest,” he bit out, thumping his balled hand on his chest. “I don’t know how, but when she spoke earlier, and when she laughed?

I could hear him. And that can only mean one thing.

He’s here. And somehow, he’s inside her. ”

What Reaver said was on repeat in my mind. He’s inside her. My muscles cramped as I forced myself to stand still. A storm of violence brewed inside me.

“How?” Kieran asked, his voice ragged. “How can that even be possible?”

“Kolis has been freed.”

“We already know that.” Kieran’s voice hardened.

“Look, neither of you has ever known a true Primal god or seen what they are capable of—especially the true Primal of Death.”

“And you have?” Kieran demanded.

“Unfortunately.”

The way Reaver answered caused my hands to fist.

“That doesn’t tell us how something like this could happen.” Kieran’s voice thinned.

“I don’t know how it’s possible,” the draken admitted, looking at me. “You thought he had something to do with the dead Ascended. Maybe that was him…feeding, which somehow gave him more power. More strength. Or maybe he’s always been in her or connected to her.”

“No.” I shook my head, every part of my being rebelling at the idea. “He hasn’t. I would’ve sensed that.”

“You don’t want to see what is right in front of you,” Reaver shot back. “And I get it. I do. But you’re smarter than this. Or so everyone claims. He’s in—”

“Do not speak those words again,” I said, my voice low. “If you do, I won’t be responsible for my actions.”

Reaver clamped his mouth shut.

For about five seconds.

“Casteel—”

“Shut up,” Kieran growled at him, then glanced at me. “Did she get enough blood when she fed?”

Reaver groaned. “It’s like no one is listening to me.”

I shook my head.

Kieran stepped closer to me, his voice lowering. “Do you think it will help if she does?”

Yes .

That’s what I wanted to say as I shifted my stare back to Poppy.

That’s all I wanted this to be.

So did Kieran because I could hear the hope in his voice—could feel it.

But the damn draken was right. I was smarter than that. And so was Kieran. Ignoring what was happening in front of us would not only make us fools but also endanger Poppy.

I shook my head.

“Reaver could be wrong,” he argued. “She may just need blood.”

Reaver growled. “I thought you were supposed to be the more rational one.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Kieran snarled as my gaze sharpened on him. “Or I will shut you up.”

The warning bells were ringing even louder now. “He’s right.”

Kieran’s head cut to me. “What?”

“You are the more rational one.”

He scowled, turning his attention back to Poppy. “All I’m saying is that there is no way for any of us to know what is going on. We shouldn’t jump to conclusions based on…vibes.”

“Vibes?” muttered Reaver.

Kieran ignored him. “We should be operating on what we know about an Ascension. What is needed. Blood.” He shifted, exhaling raggedly as a tart and sour taste gathered in my throat. “That’s being rational.”

The ability to taste emotions was fresh, but I knew what I was tasting, and my wariness grew. He was uneasy—of course, he was. But it was more than that.

Those who didn’t know Kieran like I did often thought he was cold or detached, but that wasn’t the case. He felt everything just as intensely as the next person. And right now, he was worried for Poppy—for us.

But thanks to the Joining, he was picking up the same things from Poppy that I was.

And while I had been—as Reaver had put it—a lovesick fool, Kieran had never been that.

Between the two of us, he was always far more rational than I was.

He was always the first to face the reality of a situation, no matter what emotions he felt.

Sure, he felt hope, just like any of us did.

Like with Elashya, the wolven he’d loved and lost. He’d hoped she could be cured somehow, but he’d faced the reality of the impossibility.

And when shit got real, it was always Kieran who kept a level head—who quickly assessed the situation for what it was and then acted on it. He didn’t waste time on desperate hope.

But he was now.

My gaze dipped. His hands no longer trembled, but they opened and closed rhythmically.

And that wasn’t the only thing I noticed.

His skin had thinned just enough for me to see tiny strands of fawn-colored fur breaking through.

That was a sign he was about to lose his shit—something else that had happened only enough times for me to count on one hand.

I glanced at Poppy. She hadn’t moved an inch. My attention shifted back to Kieran. I could feel his heart racing.

“Kieran?” I waited until his gaze met mine. “Why are you here?”

He stared at me for a moment. “What kind of fucking question is that?”

I wet my lower lip. “I know you.”

“Yeah, you do. So, again, why would you ask me that?”

“Because I know if I asked you to let me handle Poppy, you would do just that.” I angled my body so I could keep an eye on Poppy. “No matter what was going on.”

“True,” he said after a moment. “But not when I think you’re in danger.”