Page 33 of The Primal of Blood and Bone (Blood and Ash #6)

CASTEEL

The dim light from the corridor spilled into the cell, illuminating Poppy’s sleeping form on a pile of thick blankets. She was as I’d left her, her back to the door and the collar of the loosened robe draped around her upper arms.

As the door quietly shut behind me, I heard Kieran’s sharp intake of breath. My stomach clenched, knowing what had caught his attention.

“Casteel, what…?” Kieran’s voice was barely a whisper, but his shock was evident in the seconds before he shielded his emotions.

I turned to see him staring at Poppy’s bound wrists, his brow furrowed. The torn blanket stood out starkly against her pale skin, an ugly reminder of what I’d been forced to do and why.

“I had to,” I murmured, the words tasting like ash on my tongue. “She was clawing at herself.”

Kieran opened his mouth and then abruptly closed it as he saw the dried blood and shallow tears on her face. He went completely still.

I quietly walked to her other side. The silence was broken only by my quiet footfalls.

Gods, she looked peaceful. I wanted to go to her and brush the hair from her face but held myself back.

Her chest still rose in those short, shallow but steady breaths.

Her legs were pressed together and bent at the knees, exposed to the cool air.

I wanted to pull the robe or a blanket over her, but waking her was a concern.

I dragged my stare from her as Attes stepped around Kieran to join me. His footsteps made no sound. His eyes met mine, and then he looked down.

He jerked back quickly, his face paling so rapidly I thought he might topple over. His lips moved, forming words too fast and low for me to catch as eather lit up his wide eyes.

My stomach clenched as I shot Kieran a quick look. He seemed as bewildered as I felt. “Attes?” I asked, keeping my voice barely above a whisper. “What is it?”

He didn’t seem to hear me as he stared down at her, the scar on his face standing out in his now bloodless skin. He looked at Poppy as if she were a ghost.

Which was odd as fuck.

Kieran stepped closer to him. “Attes?”

His head drew back with his sharp breath, and he blinked rapidly. “Sorry,” he choked out. “I…”

Kieran’s eyes darted to mine. It was clear he had no idea what was going on either.

Wariness crept through me as I stepped in front of Attes, blocking Poppy the best I could. “Is there a problem?”

He closed his eyes and shook his head. “No.”

His single-word answer did nothing to assuage my growing unease. “You sure about that?”

Attes’s jaw spasmed as his eyes opened. “Yes.”

“Then what’s up with the reaction?” Kieran demanded quietly.

“It’s just…” He swallowed and glanced up at the low ceiling. “She looks like someone I…once knew.”

My brows snapped together. Someone he once knew?

“The Queen of the Gods,” Kieran surmised.

Attes nodded.

“She is her granddaughter,” he explained, watching the Primal closely. “Did you not know that?”

“I did,” Attes said hoarsely.

I assumed he still knew the Queen of the Gods, so his statement made no sense. I wasn’t buying it. My gaze met Kieran’s. I didn’t think he was either.

Attes moved to our right and took a deep breath.

I turned as he knelt. He was several feet from her, but it was too close for me.

“I’m surprised she hasn’t woken,” he commented.

“I wonder…” Shaking his head, he rose and lifted a hand.

I saw the tremor in it as he thrust his fingers through his hair.

“She won’t remain this way. We need to move quickly. Let me know when you’re ready.”

My gaze flipped to Kieran. His jaw tightened. “I’ll follow your lead.”

I glanced to where Attes faced the door. He’d stiffened. Exhaling roughly, I went to Poppy’s side and lowered myself. Her breathing hadn’t changed, but it was too shallow, too fast. What felt like an invisible hand reached in and gripped my sternum, but I forced myself to focus on the task at hand.

“I don’t see anything on her legs,” Kieran said, kneeling beside me.

Flicking a quick look at Attes’s back, I carefully lifted the hem of the gown.

“Nothing on this side,” Kieran grunted.

“Hold on a sec.” I leaned over Poppy’s prone form, gently peeling back the soft fabric of her robe and the thinner material of her gown. The flickering flames cast dancing shadows across the cell as I exposed her back.

Except for a few freckles scattered along her spine, her skin was unmarked.

Releasing the material, I rocked back to look at her.

Her eyes remained closed, but I saw rapid movement behind the faint purplish-blue-tinged skin.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kieran doing the same to her lower body.

I’d never seen his features so stoic, and that was saying something.

Like me, he took no joy in this—in what felt like a violation, even though it was necessary.

“Anything?” I bit out, my voice low.

Kieran shook his head. “Nothing here.”

“Damn it,” I muttered, wanting—no, needing —to get this over with quickly. “We have to turn her over.”

Kieran’s eyes briefly closed, and his head twisted sharply to the side. When his lids lifted again, he gave me a curt nod.

“Ready when you are,” he replied, his voice as strained and clipped as mine.

We moved in unison, slowly turning Poppy’s limp form as I kept my eyes on her face. She didn’t stir, and as we settled her onto her back, I was relieved but also concerned as fuck. She wasn’t a heavy sleeper, and with her hands still bound, the position had to be uncomfortable.

My gaze swept over her upper chest, where faint lines traced veins over her pale, almost translucent skin.

Pressing my lips into a thin line, I lifted my hand.

Fuck if my movements didn’t feel sluggish as my fingers hovered above the neckline of her gown.

I hesitated, looking toward the door. My gaze flicked there and then to Kieran.

If Attes turned at any point during this, I would rip his eyes out.

“Not necessary,” Kieran murmured, his gaze shifting to Attes’s rigid form. “I got it.”

My shoulders tightened as I stared at Kieran.

Had I spoken that aloud? Giving my head a quick shake, I turned back to Poppy.

Taking a deep breath, I steeled myself and grasped the fabric of her gown.

With as much care and respect as I could muster, I slowly pulled down the top, revealing the pale skin of her chest.

And there it was.

Air punched out of my lungs as I stared at the crimson mark. It stood out starkly against her flesh, a symbol I’d never seen on her skin before etched between her breasts—a dark, off-center red line, slicing diagonally through a circle.

The symbol of Death.

“Casteel?” Kieran’s voice was strained. When I heard his sharp inhale, I knew he’d looked. And saw.

The brand didn’t look like a typical scar, where the skin was puckered and jagged around the edges. Instead, it appeared scaled and almost as if it had been laid upon her skin.

It didn’t belong.

A maelstrom of emotions rose, cracking the control I’d barely leashed.

Icy rage washed over me, chilling my blood as I stared at the true Primal of Death’s mark.

The god had branded her, claimed her like property, and placed his mark in an intimate location.

Even if it hadn’t been done physically, the violation felt just as real, just as invasive.

“That motherfucker,” I hissed through clenched teeth. Eather pulsed intensely in my chest, darkening the corners of my vision.

“Cas.” Kieran’s hand curled around the one I held Poppy’s gown with, startling me. My gaze flew to his as I felt his hand move mine, releasing her gown so she was covered.

Kieran didn’t need to speak.

I already knew.

I needed to check myself.

What it took for me to do so was picturing Poppy’s smile—the real one that brought a flush to the apples of her cheeks as it reached her eyes, filling them with warmth. The kind of smile that couldn’t be forced and was utterly radiant.

I wanted to see it again.

I needed to.

Keeping calm so she could get the help she needed was the only way to ensure that.

“I’m good,” I uttered. Rage still simmered beneath the surface but the eather had calmed.

Kieran released my hand. “I know.”

“I assume you found it,” said Attes.

My gaze shifted to him, then returned to Poppy. The flickering behind her lids had slowed. “Yes.”

“I’m guessing I don’t want to know where.”

“No,” Kieran ground out. “But let’s get on with it.”

I placed my hands on my knees, my gaze fixed on Poppy as Attes walked around us and knelt on my other side.

“Where is it?” he asked quietly.

“On her chest,” Kieran answered.

“Of course,” spat Attes. “Fuck.”

I didn’t look at him as I spoke. I didn’t trust myself to do so. “Is that going to be a problem?”

“Other than you losing your shit during this? It shouldn’t.” He paused. “I’m going to have to touch her.”

A spasm of raw power rolled through me. “No.”

“Casteel,” the Primal began.

My fingers pressed down. “I’ll do it.”

“You can’t .”

“You might want to rethink that,” Kieran advised as my fingers stopped pressing down and began to tap. “Because there’s nothing he can’t do for her.”

Did he honestly believe that?

Clearly not. But I kept that to myself. Now wasn’t the time.

“There’s nothing to rethink,” Attes whispered harshly. “He cannot do it. Neither can you.”

I took a deep breath.

“Care to explain why?” Kieran shot back.

“Remember when I said I knew how to prevent it from burning straight through her?” Attes raised the strap from his shoulder and laid the satchel behind him. “It’s something I can do.”

Kieran shifted closer, his head lowering. “You’ll need to go into detail, friend .”

“Do we have time for that?” Attes snapped.

I slowly lifted my gaze from Poppy and met the Primal’s eyes. Whatever he saw in my stare caused him to shift back. “Yes.”