Page 41 of The Primal of Blood and Bone (Blood and Ash #6)

The roots had appeared within an hour of me laying her on the mattress. They climbed Wayfair’s wall, snaked their way to the window, and then came through it.

I doubted they had gone unnoticed.

At first, I had attempted to stop them, remembering all too clearly when this had happened before. The roots had come for Poppy when she nearly died among the ruins in Irelone. I was fucking panicked, and Kieran…

He hadn’t been in the chamber when we returned. A fresh, pale-violet nightgown had been on the bed, and fresh water filled the tub. Food had also been placed on the small dining table. But wherever he was, he’d sensed the panic I didn’t think to shield and burst through the door.

He’d joined me without a word, tearing the roots away from her. It didn’t matter how many we snapped, though. They kept coming, curling over her legs and spreading across her stomach and chest. Then Reaver arrived.

“You both need to stop,” the draken had said as he entered. “They’re protecting her.”

“They’re choking her!” I snarled as Kieran tossed a broken root aside.

“They aren’t choking her. They are shielding her while she rests.

” Reaver’s shoulders had tensed when Kieran growled at him.

“Look, Primals are a part of the eather—the very fabric of the realms. When they enter a deep enough stasis, where they are weakened and vulnerable,” he said, which made Kieran and I halt, our breathing turning rapid—“the realm itself seeks to keep them grounded to the essence—protected and shielded.”

He’d said all of that while naked as the day he’d been born. And honestly, earlier was the first time I’d seen him in clothing since he returned from Iliseeum. I’d seen his dick more than mine the last two days.

Even now, I had a hard time believing what he said as I walked to the other side of the bed.

The area was left untouched. My gaze traveled over the glossy gray roots that curled around her prone form.

Her chest rose and fell steadily, and my gaze lifted to her face.

The scratches had disappeared, but she was so pale.

The smattering of freckles wasn’t so faint now.

The pale-pink scar starting at her hairline before slicing across her temple to narrowly miss her left eye, and the shorter scar cutting through her eyebrow stood out starkly.

She was still the most beautiful woman I’d ever laid eyes on, and I had to be the luckiest man in all the realms to call her my wife.

I ran my hand down the chain around my neck until I reached the ring at the end—my ring.

I was glad I hadn’t remembered to put it back on her.

The draken blood would’ve destroyed it, and it would’ve likely gotten tangled in the roots.

So, I once more wore it beside my heart.

My lips curved up when I remembered our conversation about what to do with it.

The cock ring remained a very tantalizing option.

My faint grin faded as I smoothed my thumb along the gold and peered between the roots. I wasn’t able to see much of her chest, so there was no way of knowing if the wound had healed or not.

“Poppy,” I called to her, letting go of the ring. I smoothed my hand down her hair. I’d managed to gather the strands and loosely braid it so it lay over her shoulder. I didn’t want her to have to worry about knots upon waking. “Please, open your eyes again and return to me.”

The sound of muffled thuds grew louder, drawing my attention to the closed doors.

A slight buzz filled my chest, and my head cocked.

It was more like a hum. Curious, I concentrated as I ran my thumb over the end of her braid, and the sensation of too-thick cream gathered in my throat.

Poppy had said concern had a thickness like that.

Emotion wasn’t the only thing I was picking up, though.

Warmth hummed in my chest as my senses stretched to reach beyond the chamber.

I felt the pathway open, feeding me something other than emotion.

It was a unique mark. Like spring. Featherlight.

Delano.

I’d been able to sense which wolven were nearby, but this was stronger. I tried to open my senses more to see if I could communicate with Delano, but I brushed against something that felt like a void.

Interesting.

I turned back to Poppy, assuming the notam only extended to her and…

Kieran .

I felt the muscles along my spine clenching.

I hadn’t seen him since the roots appeared, but I’d sensed his presence many times.

Pulling my hand away from Poppy’s braid, I dragged it over my face.

I knew he had camped out in the hall last night.

I’d almost opened the door, but what was there to say? Nothing.

Everything.

Slowly weaving my hand through the roots, I found hers.

It felt so incredibly small in mine. I lifted my gaze to the table, where Emil had dropped off several slips of parchment with requests for audiences and responses from other cities.

Contrary to what Reaver thought, I wasn’t completely derelict in my duties.

I’d gone over each one. All requests for an audience were from wealthy mortals who likely wanted assurances that the power the Blood Crown had allowed them to believe they had wouldn’t be stripped from them.

All except one from a Lord Hawley. An Ascended.

It had to be his fourth request, at least.

The letters were from commanders overseeing Oak Ambler and Three Rivers and listed their suggestions for who should be placed in charge more permanently.

I’d given my opinions. But that wasn’t all.

One of the first things I’d done once Poppy went back into stasis was to begin making sure the people of Carsodonia were educated on who the Blood Crown truly was.

A public address couldn’t do that. Not with the size of the capital.

It was being done through smaller council meetings in each neighborhood throughout the capital.

Perry and Delano were overseeing that, selecting both the Atlantians and wolven best suited for…

interacting with others. It wasn’t just a lesson in the vamprys.

It also keyed us in to any potential loyalists to the Blood Crown.

I was doing what was expected of me.

Except truly considering how the Joining would affect her. My eyes closed. Everything except truly earning her trust. Everything except keeping my wife safe.

My chest tight and heavy, I sat at the table, my gaze latched onto her. Reaver had made a harsh point when he asked if I’d tried not getting myself nearly killed. It was why I’d been pissed off enough to grab him by the throat.

Poppy remained in stasis because of the Joining.

It tied her life force to ours. She protected us, but it wasn’t some sort of pure magical bullshit.

If either Kieran or I were wounded, she’d heal us without having to touch us or even be conscious.

It would just happen. The eather in her would transfer to us, and I’d bet the severity of the injuries determined how much eather she expended.

Perhaps if she hadn’t been in her Ascension, healing me wouldn’t have taken so much out of her, making her vulnerable to Kolis and then forcing her into a deeper stasis.

And if that never had happened, she wouldn’t be in stasis now because of the draken blood.

Fuck.

If I hadn’t left that window open. If I had been more on guard. If I hadn’t fallen asleep.

If I hadn’t failed to protect her.

Agony lanced my chest, as painful as when the bone dagger had pierced my flesh. Her profile blurred. My lashes dampened.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered hoarsely, squeezing her hand. “I’m so fucking sorry.”

Only the chamber heard my apology.