Page 35 of The Primal of Blood and Bone (Blood and Ash #6)

With a thick, fucking unnatural laugh, she threw her head back hard enough that I winced. I could only hope that the blankets had softened the impact.

“You have no idea.” Those churning eyes swirled and shot to me. “Oh, you really have no idea.”

“Does my expression give you any indication that I care?” I had to push her down again.

The smirk was bloody. “You don’t know—”

“You know what I know?” I cut in. “You’re out of power. Nothing more than empty threats, so how about you shut the fuck up?”

Those blood-smeared lips parted, and she went for my arm again.

“Damn it.” I moved fast enough to avoid more than the stinging graze of her fangs. “Hold on.”

This positioning wasn’t working. My gaze darted to Kieran. In a moment, he nodded.

“Back off for a second,” Kieran told him.

Attes’s narrowed gaze shot to him, but then he rocked back. Poppy surged toward the Primal.

Perfect.

Tightening my arm around her waist, I slipped beneath her as I curled my other arm underneath her throat.

Poppy shrieked and snapped at the air as I flattened myself, straightening out her body in the process.

She immediately tried to use her legs, but I managed to catch one between mine as Kieran trapped the other with his weight.

Attes’s brows shot up. “Perhaps we should’ve done that first.”

“Get on with it,” I hissed through clenched teeth as Poppy dug her fingers into my stomach. It could’ve been worse. Those bound hands could’ve been positioned over a much more sensitive area.

The fucker inside Poppy went wild then, realizing he wasn’t escaping this.

But I felt no satisfaction as I held her body tight to mine, my eyes fixed on the Primal’s hand as he lowered it to the mark on her chest. I couldn’t allow myself to think about how we could no longer protect her modesty, how icy-cold her skin was against mine, or how it felt waxy.

With his hand on the mark, Attes looked at Kieran. “Pierce the center or lower,” he instructed. “Quick and fast. And pull your hand back even faster.”

The moment Kieran leaned forward, the body in my arms went still. “Do it,” she rasped in a voice as dry as bones. “Use that dagger to pierce flesh and bone. I will still live. I will find my way back. Do it!” she screamed. “Use that dagger and plunge it into her heart. Kill her!”

Attes inhaled sharply, eyes widening slightly as he stared down.

“You have the power to do so,” he taunted in her voice. “It will be a far more peaceful death than what is coming.”

The corner of Kieran’s lips drew taut. That was the only sign those words had any impact as he raised his brows. “Done yet?”

“No,” she seethed. “I’m nowhere near done.”

“Well, too bad.” Kieran smiled. “Because we are.”

The body settled against mine with a sigh. “We’ll see about that.”

Kieran moved fast, thrusting the tip of the bone dagger into the lower part of the vial. The hard stone shuddered as fissures rapidly spread across the slender container. My chest rose and stayed there as a thin trickle of blood seeped out, racing down the length of the vial.

The first drop hit the top of Attes’s hand with a crackle and a sizzle. Then another and another until the smell of burnt flesh filled the air. He made no sound as the thing inside Poppy laughed .

With a resounding snap, the basalt gave way, splitting apart. Blood poured forth, shimmering like liquid starlight spilling over the jagged edges.

I felt Attes jerk all the way through Poppy. My gaze shifted to his face. The pain had bent his neck, and I saw his clenched jaw through the strands of hair that had fallen forward.

“Fuck,” Kieran rasped, the scent of charred skin rapidly increasing.

The hollow, thin laughter ceased.

Kieran inhaled sharply, looked away, and then lowered his chin to his chest.

Attes tossed the broken vial aside, his head lifting. A fine sheen of sweat had broken out across his brow, and his skin had become a ghastly shade of gray.

Her body stiffened.

And I knew the draken blood had finally burned through Attes’s hand and reached her chest.

She let out a low, keening whimper, reminding me of a wounded animal. Then, she started to shake. The whimpering rose into a wail that became a scream as wisps of dark, oily smoke rose.

Attes rocked back, falling onto his ass as he drew his arm to his chest. All I saw was a glimpse of charred skin, dripping tissue, and bone.

Air rushed from my lungs as I lifted my head and pressed it to the side of hers.

“I’m sorry,” I rasped, her pain slamming into me, fiery and devastating.

I didn’t even try to block it. I let it burn me up like it was burning her.

My eyes closed against the damp sting filling them. “I’m so damn sorry.”

Her back bowed as raw, piercing screams tore from her throat, overcoming my apologies. Her agony filled the cell, coating the walls and floor in pain, drenching my soul with it.

“It’ll be over soon. I promise.” I rocked her as I pressed my lips to her temple.

Her skin was still cold but no longer waxy.

It had to be over soon; I kept telling myself and her it would be as her scream cracked.

The sound faltered, splintering into a hoarse rasp before fading into silence, leaving only the jagged sound of her labored breaths.

She went completely limp. I felt Kieran lift himself—

“What the fuck?” he erupted.

My eyes snapped open, and I stretched my neck. “What—?”

Shock drenched me as I saw her chest. The skin there was a…fuck. It was a mess of charred flesh and puckered holes that’d better fucking heal without a single scar left behind. But the mark between her breasts…it moved . Shuddered. Wiggled and writhed like serpents—no, not like serpents.

It was serpents.

Two of them.

Thank the gods Poppy was unconscious for this.

Kieran shot forward, reaching for them, but I was faster. Lifting my arm from her waist, I grabbed them. They felt nothing like a serpent should. Their wiggling bodies were clammy, too pliant and unnatural.

They felt like death.

Two diamond-shaped heads lifted, their mouths gaping open. They let out piercing shrieks like countless tortured souls crying out at once.

“The fuck?” I choked out as I flung my arm to the side, throwing them as hard as I could across the cell.

They slammed into the wall, howling. Crimson-streaked smoke exploded from them as they shattered, swirling with an unnatural intensity as they surged toward the curtain-draped wall.

The air filled with the sickly-sweet stench of death.

The smoke pressed against the fabric, the crimson tendrils pulsing like living veins.

The curtains began to peel back, their edges curling and graying with rot.

A foul hiss filled the air. Cloth disintegrated into ash as it slithered along the wall, tracing every crack and crevice with eerie determination.

“Essence,” Attes groaned as they reached the iron door. The tendrils hesitated. “His will.”

Kieran scrambled to his feet, the bone dagger still in his hand as I slid off the blankets, drawing Poppy farther away. He jerked his arm back and let the dagger fly.

The essence dropped, pooling at the base of the door. The blade pierced straight through and struck iron, the hilt vibrating from the impact. Kieran shot forward and skidded to a stop. The mist had already scattered, disappearing like fog with the first rays of the sun.

Kieran took a step back and whipped around. “Serpents? That’s what his aru’lis looks like?”

“No, that was his vellá —how his will reveals itself,” Attes muttered as I carefully laid Poppy onto her back. “That wasn’t his aru’lis . It was his essence, the eather that is an extension of his will.”

“He can project his will like that?” Kieran muttered.

“How do you think he’s been jumping from Ascended to Ascended?

” Attes drew in a thin, pained breath. “He is the true Primal of Death. There are no limits to how he chooses to project his will, especially as he grows stronger.” Grunting, he pushed himself back until he hit the wall. “He’s gone for now.”

Yeah, neither of us thought for a second that had killed the fucker.

I looked down at Poppy’s pale face and checked her pulse. It was silly. The imprint was still on my hand, and I could see the rise and fall of her chest, but I needed to feel her heart beating.

And it did, once more in tune with mine.

The relief was brief but sweet as my gaze flickered down.

I swallowed hard at the harsh sight of her chest. Some of the blood was hers.

Some belonged to Attes, but a few smudges shimmered faintly.

I had no idea if that was Attes’s blood or the draken’s.

Rising onto my knees, I looked over my shoulder at Kieran, my thumb remaining where I could feel her pulse.

“There is some clean linen on the table and a water pitcher. Grab them for me.” My gaze cut to Attes as Kieran hurried to the table. “Need one?”

His head was tipped back against the wall; his eyes closed as he lifted his arm. The flesh had burned straight to the bone. Only two fingers remained. “You think a cloth will help?”

I was going with…no.

“You can at least cover it up.” Crossing the cell, Kieran tossed a cloth in Attes’s direction.

Kieran dropped onto his knees on Poppy’s other side, blocking her from Attes’s view. He inhaled sharply as he glanced at the skin between her breasts.

“It’ll heal,” I told him, even though there was no way to know what draken blood would do to the skin of a Primal that had never existed before.

His gaze met mine as he quickly wet the cloth before handing it to me. Without saying a word, he lifted the robe and gown. Both would have to be removed in case any blood had gotten onto them.

“When he…possesses the Ascended? Or the Revenants?” Kieran asked, looking at the Primal. “Is it like this? He takes control?”