Page 21 of The Primal of Blood and Bone (Blood and Ash #6)

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Reaver turn from Poppy. “Yeah, but you wouldn’t have picked up anything from me that would’ve given you that indication. I locked my shit down so you wouldn’t feel anything.”

A muscle began ticking in his jaw. “I told you I could feel her—”

“That’s not what brought you here.”

He held my stare for a few seconds, then looked away, shaking his head. He folded his arms over the black tunic he wore. “Do you really think that’s what we should be worried about right now?”

“For once,” Reaver drawled, “I actually agree with the wolf.”

My hands fisted. “I can worry about more than one thing at a time.”

Kieran’s nostrils flared, and what I tasted from him briefly wasn’t irritation. It was thick like concern but colder. Panic . And before he put up shields, I realized it also carried a distinctive sour note. I remembered then what emotion Poppy had once told me tasted like that.

Guilt.

And I was picking that up from Kieran.

A burst of raw pain cut through what I’d sensed from him, pulling my focus to Poppy. She was trembling, her eyes squeezed shut, and her features twisted. I moved toward her before I realized I was doing it.

“Stop,” she rasped. “ Please .”

I halted, almost falling to my knees as I did. That sounded like her. I’d been wrong moments before when it truly felt like my heart had shattered, and nothing could feel worse. Because now, it felt like I’d ripped the heart right out of my chest when I spoke. “I can’t do that.”

Poppy lifted her head, and the aura in her eyes flashed. That was the only warning I got.

What felt like a gust of heated wind slammed into my chest. There was no fighting the force as I slid backward. I grabbed the bedpost and managed to stop myself as she eased up.

“I don’t know why she didn’t throw you into a wall,” Reaver grumbled.

“Because she loves me,” I said, straightening.

“Well, she likes me,” Reaver countered.

“She likes everyone,” Kieran said. “You’re not special.”

I could practically hear the draken’s eyes roll as I pushed off the bedpost.

“Kieran,” Poppy rasped, sounding like she had just seen him. “You answered.”

I halted.

He froze.

A vise had wrapped itself around my heart. “What does that mean?”

“I summoned…him,” she panted.

I didn’t take my eyes off her. “Why?”

Her throat worked on a swallow. “There’s something…wrong with me.”

“It’s okay.” I softened my tone, even as I felt the eather rising in me. “I’m going to help you.”

“You…can’t.” Her fingers were leaving indents in her flesh. “He can.”

I stiffened.

“Poppy,” Kieran whispered.

His voice. I’d only heard him sound that thin and broken once before. Right before Elashya took her last breath.

Poppy pitched forward before rocking back. “You…you promised.”

That vise tightened as I tore my gaze from her. My hands clenched at my sides again. “What is she talking about, Kieran?”

His eyes closed, and he shook his head.

“You…promised me,” she rasped.

“Don’t,” he whispered hoarsely, his eyes opening. The glow of eather was bright behind his pupils. “Don’t, Poppy.”

Her head jerked back as she slammed her palms onto the floor. “You promised me, Kieran!”

I couldn’t feel my hands. “What promise did you make to her?”

“There’s something… in me,” she cried, her tone slicing my heart into pieces. “It wants me to hurt him. Hurt all of you. Don’t…don’t let me do that.”

“You won’t.” Kieran stepped forward, the veins under his eyes beginning to fill with eather.

“What in the…?” Reaver’s whisper faded as he stared at Kieran. “Both of you?”

“You won’t,” Kieran repeated, ignoring Reaver. “You can fight this. You’re strong enough. We will figure something out.”

“Listen…to me.” She leaned forward onto one hand, gasping as a wave of silvery-gold and midnight rolled over her upper chest. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry , but… You…you know what you have to do.”

Kieran staggered.

He staggered .

And that terrified me. Eather swelled within me, charging the air as I shouted, “What did you promise her?”

Kieran’s eyes slammed shut again.

I stepped toward him, feeling the stone tile vibrate beneath my feet. “I swear to the gods, if you don’t answer me…”

“To stop her,” he uttered. “I promised to stop her if she ever lost control.”

My entire realm seemed to grind to a halt as I stared at him. “How?”

Kieran’s eyes opened, and his head turned to mine. Streaks of gold and silver churned in his vivid-blue eyes. “By putting her in the ground.”

“Oh, fuck,” Reaver muttered.

I knew what that meant as I staggered back a step, my knees feeling like they’d buckle under the weight of the betrayal.

He was talking about putting her into a deep stasis. The kind that would require Poppy to be weakened to the point where her mind retreated into itself, and her body gave up. The kind the gods had just woken from. A stasis that didn’t last days or even months.

But years.

Centuries.

Six words.

That was all it took for me to no longer see the man who had been at my side since birth. Who knew everything there was to know about me. Who was there for me when I couldn’t even be there for myself. Who I not only trusted with my life but also with hers .

Six words was all it took for me to do what I never thought I would.

I attacked Kieran.