Page 23 of The Primal of Blood and Bone (Blood and Ash #6)

“Nyktos. Ash is just—it doesn’t matter.” Reaver waved his hand and shook his head.

“In case you have forgotten, all the gods have awakened. All of them. Including those loyal to Kolis. And, yeah, they still exist, even though everything possible was done to smoke out Kolis’s loyalists after he was entombed.

Most of the draken are here, which leaves both Dalos—the true seat of power for the true Primal of Life—and the Shadowlands largely unguarded.

Until Seraphena and Nyktos return to full strength, Nektas will remain there. ”

“Great.” Kieran laughed harshly. “If she didn’t get enough blood, she’ll need to feed again. If not…”

He didn’t need to finish. I already knew. She could fall into bloodlust, and that was a complication we didn’t need. But I couldn’t have her at my vein.

My insides turned even colder as reality set in. “We…I can’t let her feed.” I couldn’t look at him. “If she feeds, she’ll get stronger, and if that happens…” I trailed off, letting Kieran think it over.

When he cursed, I knew he got what I was implying.

“Finally, you’re making some sense,” Reaver said.

My head whipped around to face the draken, a sharp hiss of air seeping through my clenched teeth.

Reaver’s eyes narrowed. “You’re so… catty .”

My upper lip curled. “The only reason I’m not paying you back for hurting Poppy is because you brought her back.”

A muscle flexed in his jaw as he shifted his gaze back to her. “The fact that she didn’t try to kill any of us is a good sign, I guess.”

As I backed up, I tossed a pointed glance at his chest.

He huffed. “She still held back.”

True.

If she hadn’t, we’d all be dead. But I still hated seeing her like this, being unable to help or comfort her. But… “It means she’s still in there.”

Reaver said nothing to that.

Turning, I walked into the bathing chamber on legs that were still stiff and sore, but that, too, would fade. I’d heal. So would they. Mostly. My jaw flexed, and I checked my anger. I picked up a washcloth and used the pitcher to dampen it. When I returned, Kieran remained by Poppy’s side.

“Okay.” He stepped back as I passed him. “What happened when she woke up? Did she immediately try to run?”

I told him what’d happened as I carefully dabbed at the blood on her throat. Told him how confused she’d been and how desperately she’d fought against feeding before finally giving in.

“Her eyes…” Kieran said after a few moments and then cleared his throat. “They were just pure silver when she woke after the Revenant attack.”

I nodded, glancing back at the draken. “They looked like Nyktos’s.”

Reaver dipped his head. “That’s how Primals’ eyes look—well, all except for the Queen and the true Primal of Death.”

“How do—?” Kieran lowered his voice. “How do the Queen’s eyes look?”

“Like Poppy’s, but not,” he said. I was beginning to see why Kieran wanted to punch the draken every time they shared space. “The Queen’s eyes are green and silver. We never knew exactly why but believed it was because she was born mortal.”

We’d all thought Poppy was mortal initially, but that hadn’t been the case. Her father was a god, and the bitch who didn’t deserve to be called her mother had been a demis—a false god.

I wiped away the last of the blood. “Can you reach Seraphena?” I asked. “See if she knows how…” I exhaled roughly as my fingers curled into the cloth. “How Kolis might be responsible for this.”

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to see her,” Reaver said. “Seraphena has been asleep for centuries. She may have been conscious enough to help when we were at the Bone Temple, but it takes a while to return to the right…mindset after being asleep for so long.”

I had to take a deep breath.

“But I will go to Iliseeum and see if I can reach her,” Reaver continued. “If not, I’ll see if any of the older gods are awake. Ione or Aios may know something. Either way, it will take me some time.”

“Do it.” I nodded, tucking a strand of hair back from Poppy’s face. “Please.”

“I will leave immediately.”

Then, he took a too long, too loud breath. My gaze lifted to him. “I have a feeling I’m not going to like whatever is about to come out of your mouth,” I said.

“You’re not.” Reaver leaned forward. His wound no longer looked as pink around the charred flesh. “She needs to be somewhere she cannot harm others or herself.” He paused, wetting his lower lip. “I’ve done some exploring. There are places here—”

“No.” I stiffened. “Absolutely not.”

Reaver’s eyes narrowed. “You didn’t let me finish.”

“You’re talking about putting her in a cell,” I spat. “That’s not going to happen.”

“Okay. Then what about when she wakes and decides not to hold back?” Reaver challenged. “Then what? She’ll kill you and anyone else in her way, and then, when she is herself again, someone gets to explain that she harmed those she loves because her husband couldn’t bear to see her behind bars.”

Anger flared. “Fuck you.”

Reaver bared his teeth like it was supposed to intimidate me into agreeing. “Real mature.”

He was about to see how mature I could be. I rose.

“Cas.” Kieran stepped in front of me.

“Don’t.” My head snapped toward him. “You really shouldn’t right now.”

Kieran’s nostrils flared. “And you should really pull your head out of your ass.”

One side of my lip curled up. “You want to try doing that for me?”

He stared at me, refusing to be baited. “You know we have to make her safe.”

A wave of eather crept up my spine. “We?”

A muscle flexed along his jaw. “Yes, we , you asshole. We need to make sure she’s safe.” He started to move closer but stopped himself, crossing his arms. “So she can live with herself afterward.”

That.

That last sentence got right inside me, moving past the anger, frustration, and pain. I inhaled, but it felt choking. I opened my mouth, then closed it. When I could speak again, my voice cracked. “I swore I would never put her in a cell again.”

His eyes closed briefly, and I knew he was seeing in his mind what I was. Poppy bleeding out on the cold floor of a dungeon. I looked away.

“I know,” he breathed. “But it has to be done, and you know it. And you know she will understand once she’s herself again.”

Fuck, she’d probably thank us for it.

Knowing that didn’t make it any easier, though.

Turning from them, I sat beside Poppy. My hand trembled as I picked hers up. “I want every comfort possible made available for her.”

“Of course,” Kieran said quietly.

“Get Delano and…Emil to help,” I said, lifting her limp, cool fingers to my lips. “No one else can know.”

“Of course,” Kieran said quietly.

“Since that’s decided,” Reaver said, and I heard him stand, “I will head for Iliseeum as soon as she is…moved. You may need me if she wakes before.”

Nodding, I kissed her knuckles and then lowered her hand. There was one question I hadn’t asked yet. I didn’t want to but it was necessary. “What color are his eyes?”

“Silver.” Reaver paused, knowing who I was asking about. “When he pretended to be the Primal of Life, they were silver and gold. But once the Queen Ascended, they returned to silver and crimson.”

Red symbolized death. It was why the Blood Crown’s colors were crimson, and why the Rites were soaked in the color. Still, knowing there was this connection between her and a Primal god none of us had even known existed made me want to destroy everything in the chamber.

“Can you get Delano and Emil and make sure the space is ready for her?” I said.

“Yes,” Kieran answered.

I heard him make his way to the door. “And, Kieran?”

He stopped. “Yes?”

I closed my eyes, the words I was about to say already stinging my throat and skin. “I don’t want to see you after she’s moved.”

The air grew heavy in the silence that followed, but I knew he was still there.

“Understood,” he said, his voice vacant of all emotion.

He fell silent again, but I knew he remained. I waited.

“You should ask yourself why she asked me to make such a promise,” Kieran said.

I closed my eyes.

But it did nothing to prevent him from landing a blow that hurt worse than any fists could. “And not you.”

“I don’t like this,” Delano ground out as he stared down at a still-unconscious Poppy.

We’d been lucky she hadn’t woken while we moved her, and it made me sick to my stomach to even think that.

Fuck.

Everything about this made me sick. The cell. The shit with the promise. The thing possibly inside Poppy.

I dragged a hand over my jaw and swept my gaze over the makeshift bed of several layers of piled fur.

This wasn’t my idea of providing every comfort possible, but not only did we not have the time to get a bed down here, it would’ve drawn too much attention—even though it was deep in the middle of the night.

“Neither do I,” I said finally, lowering my hand.

Stepping back, I dropped into one of the two armchairs we’d hastily brought down.

There was very little else in the cell—a small table for food, a tub, and a crude toilet behind a privacy screen.

Colorful curtains of shimmering gold and cream hung on the walls, hiding the gray slabs of stone except for the area above the door, where a lit torch cast some light.

Delano had insisted on doing so. He meant well, and I appreciated it, but it didn’t hide the fact that we were in a cell.

The narrow, iron door was a dead giveaway. At least it didn’t have bars.

“Aurelia is at the end of the hall,” Delano said. “In case you didn’t know.”

I nodded, having relented when Reaver suggested bringing the female draken into the fold in case Poppy got out. Which wasn’t impossible. If she wanted out, she could easily go through me and the iron door.

“Want to hear something weird?” Delano asked, peering at me through several strands of pale-blond hair.

I rested my elbows on my knees. “Yeah.”

“I didn’t feel her wake up.”

My brows pulled together in a frown. “Kieran said he did.”