Page 36 of The Primal of Blood and Bone (Blood and Ash #6)

Attes started to respond, then snapped his mouth shut. A moment passed. “He can see through them and take control for a limited period. Like a compulsion.”

“A compulsion only lasts minutes—if you’re lucky,” I said. “This has been a day. Maybe two.”

He was quiet again. When I looked at him, he was staring at Kieran’s back. “She was in stasis, far more vulnerable to…a deeper possession.”

Something about that seemed like a lot of bullshit. I didn’t know why, though. And I couldn’t come up with a reason for the lie. “Can he get to her again?”

“As long as she’s in stasis, she’s vulnerable.”

I closed my eyes, pushing down the rising anger. I wanted to say that wouldn’t happen, but he’d gotten to her without us knowing before. It could happen again.

“What else is he capable of in this form?” Kieran asked.

“In this state, he could influence others by inciting fears,” Attes continued. “Beyond that, I don’t know. I’ve never seen a Primal reduced to such a condition and live.”

Kieran held the pitcher for me to dip the cloth in. Gritting my teeth, I saw that a small piece of charred flesh had flaked off while I carefully cleaned the wound. My gaze flicked to her face. There was no sign that she felt it.

“She’s probably exhausted,” Kieran quietly said as he reached over and lifted the other side of the robe.

I didn’t say anything because I could taste Kieran’s concern. It increased with each pass.

“I have a theory,” Attes said, his voice rough and uneven with pain. “You said she remembered herself at some point after waking up but hasn’t given any indication since?”

“Yes.” I took the fresh, damp linen from Kieran. “The last time I could be sure I was talking to Poppy was right after she woke up. I called her…sweetheart.” I twisted my head as I worked my jaw loose. “She knew I’d never called her that before.”

“Not remembering oneself can happen.” Something dark briefly passed over his features. “But her alternating between being aware of herself and not could be because her Ascension isn’t complete.”

Kieran drew back in surprise. “How? She was asleep for about six days before this.”

“I’ve seen a Primal’s Ascension take over a month,” Attes tiredly replied as he glanced down at his hand. He had wrapped the linen around it. “There’s no set time.”

“Gods,” Kieran muttered, and I knew he had to be thinking the same thing I was. The Culling for Atlantians never took that long.

“But if her Ascension was interrupted when you were injured,” Attes continued, unknowingly twisting the knife deeper into my chest—or perhaps, knowingly. “That could also explain…how vulnerable she was to outside influences.”

I stiffened, my hand tightening around the cloth.

“Didn’t we already discuss this?” Kieran’s tone dripped scorn. “What’s your point?”

A part of me was surprised by the way he was speaking to the Primal god.

I’d heard him keep a respectful tone until the moment he ripped out the throat of those who demanded less respect than a Primal god.

But he spoke with about as much deference expected of me when speaking with a Primal, and no one had high expectations regarding that.

“My point is, she is likely returning to stasis,” Attes stated as I finished cleaning her the best I could with the small cloth. “Possibly even a deeper one.”

Kieran sat back, his shoulders hunching as I lifted my gaze. I stared at the wall for several moments. “And you don’t know how long?”

“No.”

A hollow weight settled beneath my ribs, the kind of ache that made me want to punch a wall. Instead, I tossed the soiled linen aside and swallowed against the gnawing helplessness.

“You should get her out of whatever she’s wearing,” Attes said after a few moments. “Just in case any of the draken blood got on it.”

I’d already planned to do that but kept that retort to myself. Glancing around the cell, I spotted the quilt against the wall. “Can you grab that for me,” I asked, jerking my chin at it as I lowered my voice.

When Kieran rose to retrieve the blanket, I cut my gaze to the Primal.

“I’ll keep my eyes closed,” he said, likely feeling my glare.

Kieran returned, and together, we stripped her of the ruined clothing and wrapped the quilt around her.

“Casteel,” Attes said when we finished. “I need to speak with you. It won’t take long.”

The message was clear, causing Kieran to fill with wariness.

“Can you go ahead?” I asked. “Get her some fresh clothes and a bath ready.”

He hesitated. “Will you be…fine?”

I looked up at him with an arched brow. “I’ll behave myself.”

“Doubtful,” he muttered, pushing to his feet. He turned to Attes. “Are you sticking around?”

“I’m just sitting still until I can regain some of my strength before returning to Iliseeum,” Attes answered.

Kieran nodded, then released a heavy breath. “Thank you for your help.”

“You’re welcome.”

Kieran then bowed to the Primal, receiving a rough chuckle from Attes. “No need for that.”

Straightening, Kieran turned to me. His gaze met mine for a brief second, then he left, leaving the door ajar.

Silence filled the cell as I brushed some limp strands of hair back from Poppy’s face. “You wanted to speak to me?”

When he didn’t answer, I looked over at him. His eyes were still closed, and once again, I was struck by how much he looked like Malik and our father. Like me if his hair was darker and his face leaner.

“You’re staring at me,” he said.

“I’m waiting for you to speak.” I smoothed my thumb over Poppy’s cool cheek. “And it’s unnerving as fuck how much you look like my brother and father.”

“The feeling is mutual.” There was a pause. “I should’ve expected this.”

“I’m learning that Reaver tends to leave key details out of discussions,” I said, figuring he was talking about that.

“As all the draken do,” he replied wryly. His eyes opened. “I was awake during and after the fall of the deities. That was when I met…an ancestor of yours.”

“Elian?” I frowned.

Attes grimaced. “He was young then—younger even than you have to be.”

“I was told it was Lailah and Theon who joined Nyktos when Elian met with him.”

“They were there. I was more so in…the background while they discussed the bonding,” he said. “So was the Queen.”

“Of course. After all, it wasn’t Nyktos who bonded the first Elemental and wolven.” I thought about how angry Poppy had been to learn that Nyktos was recognized for it. The grin on my lips was brief. “So, what are you? Our great-times-a-hundred grandfather?”

“Something like that,” he murmured. A moment passed as I frowned. “You’re nothing like Elian.”

My brows rose. “That’s a bold assumption from someone who doesn’t know me.”

“You’re of my bloodline. A strong one that is traced back to the beginning,” he replied. “Twins are not the only thing that runs in our family.”

Twins?

I glanced at Poppy, picturing two little versions of her. I sucked in a sharp breath, my stomach and chest fluttering in a…funny way.

“So do our temperaments,” he continued, drawing my gaze back to him.

“We’re also known to be impulsive, which, when combined with our fiery temperaments and often-wrathful natures, can create a volatile mix.

” A muscle spasmed at his temple. “Especially those more closely related—those who carry more of the essence in them.”

Well, I couldn’t argue with that. “Then I probably would’ve gotten along with your children.”

Attes laughed, then winced as he jostled his hand. “I would hope so.”

My frown returned. I was beginning to think Primals were as vague as the draken, and my patience was wearing thin. “Is that what you wanted to speak to me about?”

“In part.” He shifted his wounded hand closer to his chest. “Kolis knows just how impulsive and temperamental our bloodline is. And he clearly knows you are a descendant.”

I fixed the quilt around Poppy’s shoulders. “Sounded like you and he got along well.”

His gaze slid to Poppy, causing me to tense, and I wasn’t even sure why. He’d helped her. “We used to. Kolis was once…” His throat worked on a swallow. “He will be gunning for you and all those of my bloodline.”

My jaw tightened.

He continued to stare at her, the lines of his face taut. “But especially you.”

I lifted my hand from Poppy’s cheek. “Because of her?”

He nodded.

Muscles all along my spine tightened as I posed the same question I’d asked Reaver. “What does he want from her?”

“He…” Pressing his lips into a flat line, he shook his head. “I’m not so sure anymore.”

So, he thought he knew but was no longer sure? “What does that mean?”

“Exactly what I said.”

Irritation spiked. “How is our patience in our bloodline? I’m assuming it’s short.” Eather throbbed. The breath I took did little to calm the stir of essence. “And you should stop staring at her.”

Attes’s gaze slowly moved to mine. “Perhaps you should have told your wolven to remain with you.”

“Nah. I’m good.”

“I can feel the eather building in you—eather you should not have. Eather that doesn’t feel like anything I’ve ever felt, and I’ve lived a long time. There’s very little I haven’t felt, and that makes you dangerous.” He held my stare. “To her.”

My chin dipped as I bit out, “She has nothing to fear from me.”

“I didn’t say she did,” he replied. “And you know that.”

I did.

I worked hard not to prove him correct. “Since you know Kolis, what can we expect from him?”

“You’re not going to like the answer,” he drawled.

“Try me.”

“Beyond attempting to return to a corporeal form—a process that would take ages of deep rest unless he knows of another way?”

“I think I know how he’s doing that.” My mind flashed to the Luxe. “We’ve found several dead Ascended drained of their blood.”

“Fuck,” Attes spat. “That will do it.”

After what he said about Kolis being linked to them, I figured as much. I wasn’t at all thrilled with that confirmation, considering we had a city full of Ascended. “And beyond returning to his full form?”

His brows furrowed. “He’s been entombed for an incomprehensible length of time, much of it he would’ve spent conscious.”

Conscious while impaled in a dark hole in the ground? Fuck. I knew what that could do. “He could be crazed.”

“He was already that before he was entombed,” he said wryly. “Kolis never went to rest. Never sought to clear and reset his mind. He was unpredictable before, and he will be even more so now.” He shifted against the wall. “He must be dealt with permanently.”

“You got any tips on how to carry that out?”

Tension bracketed his mouth. “She’s in this room.” Attes’s eyes narrowed on me as anger surged. “She has the power within her.” His expression smoothed out. “But I…” He dragged his good hand over his jaw. “You should really find out what you and the wolven have become. But especially you.”

“Why?” I leaned toward him. “You think I can take him? That we can?”

He stared at me for a moment, then laughed. “He is the oldest of all the Primals. That should be impossible.”

“Should?”

“Only the Fates would know. And they…? They are even more vague and unhelpful than the common draken.” He dropped his hand. “Find out what you’ve become.”

I sighed. “I’ll add that to my to-do list.”

“I’m sure that won’t happen until she wakes.”

I said nothing to that.

“You and her?” His head tilted toward Poppy, his features softening. And I swore to the gods… “You’re mates of the heart, aren’t you?”

The question caught me off guard. “Heartmates?”

Attes nodded.

I slid an arm under her. “What gave it away?”

A rough laugh parted his lips. “A lot.” His gaze returned to mine. “The power in you mixed with that temper is a dangerous combination.”

“And you would know?”

“I’ve leveled entire cities in my anger.

Inspired families to turn against one another for no other reason than I lost my temper.

” His nostrils flared as he pitched forward, supporting his weight on his good hand.

“And I paid dearly for it. Others paid dearly. I had to learn the hard way. Don’t make the same mistakes I made, because Kolis will do everything in his power to get you to do exactly that. ”

Lifting Poppy, I cradled her to my chest as I rose. “Good thing I’m not you.”

He huffed out a dry laugh. “Yeah, I guess so.” His stare lifted to mine. “But you are mates of the heart. Your lives are not the only things linked. It means your actions will determine hers, and vice versa. If Kolis hasn’t learned that yet, he will. Don’t become the fatal flaw in her armor.”

A caustic retort snapped to the tip of my tongue, but I stopped it from passing my lips.

“She doesn’t…” Attes drew his lip between his teeth and clenched his jaw.

I held her tighter. “She doesn’t what ?”

His inhale was sharp. “She doesn’t know how he fights,” he said after a moment. “But you do. It’s in your blood.”

Eyeing him, I felt myself nod but couldn’t shake the feeling that hadn’t been what he’d been about to say. It was a feeling I’d experienced multiple times.

“You need to go and take care of her.” Attes returned to his position against the wall. “I will see myself out.”

Sounded good to me.

Gathering her close, I turned to the door, then stopped before turning back to the Primal. His eyes were closed, and while sweat no longer broke out across his face, shadows had bloomed under his eyes.

I’d heard Poppy’s pain. Felt the agony. It had to be what being burned alive felt like, and she hadn’t even taken the brunt of it.

Attes had.

My chin lifted. “Thank you for what you did.”

“I’m sorry,” he breathed, his brow furrowing. “I think you were right, and my hearing has failed me in my old age.” His eyes opened to thin slits. “Because I didn’t quite hear you clearly.”

My eyes narrowed. “You heard me just fine.”

“Yeah.” A small grin stretched across his lips, causing the hint of a dimple to appear. “I did.” He drew one leg up. “But no thanks are needed. I would do any…”

Cradling Poppy to my chest, I waited for him to finish.

The smile faded from his lips. “I would do anything to fuck over Kolis.”

Nodding, I turned.

“Casteel?” he called. When I faced him, he stared back with eyes churning with eather. “Be good to her.”

I frowned. What a strange fucking thing to say. But I was too weary to point that out. “Always.”

The smile returned. “And forever.”