Page 48 of The Primal of Blood and Bone (Blood and Ash #6)

He rested his forehead against mine. “I know you have a lot of questions but let me get you something to drink. And I’m sure you likely need to make use of the bathing chamber.”

Did I need to relieve myself? I would think after being asleep—in stasis—for that long, I would. But I didn’t. Not urgently, at least. And that was odd. Then again, I hadn’t had anything to drink or eat in that time frame—

A hazy memory of eating formed—frantic, tearing at meat with my fingers—and then faded. It was so quick, I wasn’t even sure if it was a real memory or something I’d dreamed.

Why was I even dwelling on that?

Shaking my head, I started to rise but stopped as Cas straightened. His eyes, burning like twin amber flames, met mine.

Clasping his cheeks, I brought his head down until we were face-to-face once more.

I thought about how I could feel his essence when I first woke up and how strong it felt now.

How did this happen? What felt like an obvious answer occurred to me, but it didn’t make sense.

The Joining. “Tell me about this—the eather I can feel and see in you.”

“I will. I promise.” He folded his fingers around my wrists and gently pulled my hands away. After kissing the palms of each, he released them. “Once you get up and see to your needs.”

Letting out an aggravated breath, I stood. “Fine.”

Amusement curved his lips as he stepped back. “The bathing chamber is through there.”

Noticing a fine crack in the stone tiles, I crossed the short distance on surprisingly steady legs for someone who hadn’t stood for so long. Cas shadowed me, though, almost like he expected me to collapse. As we neared the door, I noticed spiderweb fractures in the plaster of the wall.

I started to ask about it as Cas reached around me and pushed it open. He flipped a switch. I was relieved to see warm, white light flood the space.

“I’ll be right outside,” he told me.

I glanced back at him. He seemed hesitant to leave me alone. An ache settled in my chest, mostly warm. His concern was sweet, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was rooted in something other than me having been in stasis for so long.

“I’m fine,” I assured him.

Nodding, he pushed himself from the doorframe. Closing the door, I took a shallow breath and turned. My gaze landed on the clawfoot tub—

A shiver ran down my spine as I stood there. The strange, almost oppressive feeling of familiarity rose. It was like I’d seen this tub in this very chamber before, but I knew I hadn’t.

Still, unease prickled at my skin as I took care of my needs and then went to the small vanity.

I was happy to find a brush used for the teeth and a bar of soap that smelled of sandalwood.

First, I took care of my teeth, utterly distracted by how sensitive my mouth was, and then lathered the soap between my palms. I quickly cleansed my face, using the water to wash away the suds.

It was strange. I didn’t feel like I’d been in bed for that long, sticky and gross.

I was willing to bet Casteel had a hand in that. A smile tugged at my lips—

Memories of hearing voices while surrounded by nothing rose. His voice. Kieran’s. And there had been another, hadn’t there? Suddenly, gold flashed in my mind, and my skin turned cold.

Gold.

The golden bars of a cage.

A faint tremor ran through my hands as water dripped from my fingers. The image faded from my mind as quickly as it had entered, leaving me unsettled.

Why, in all the realms, did I see a golden cage in my mind?

Maybe it was something I’d dreamed while in stasis. I had no idea, but I decided there were far more important things to focus on. I shook the water from my fingers and lifted my gaze to the small mirror above the vanity.

Immediately, I focused on the scars. I thought they looked a little lighter, but they were still there. I couldn’t say I was disappointed, but I was a Primal goddess now. Shouldn’t I appear as flawless as those rendered in paintings and sculptures?

Sighing, I moved to tuck some loose, now-damp strands of hair back from my face, letting my gaze sweep over my—

I jerked back with a shriek.

The bathing chamber door swung open as Casteel burst into the space.

“What’s wrong?” he demanded, scanning the chamber. “Poppy?”

“My eyes,” I whispered.

“What?” He stepped behind me, following my gaze to the reflection in the oval, gold-trimmed mirror.

“My eyes ,” I repeated.

“Oh,” he murmured.

“What do you mean by oh ?” I shouted.

He pressed his lips together. “I probably should’ve warned you about that.”

I gaped at him—at the that he spoke of.

They were a multitude of colors—the green was familiar, and the silver wasn’t entirely new either, but the blue and brown were.

And instead of the luminous sheen forming an aura behind my pupils or even streaks, they were scattered throughout the green, almost like tiny starbursts.

There were also streaks in my irises—ribbons of gold and thin bands of onyx eather.

“Do you see them?” I asked, my words coming out as barely more than a squeak.

“I see them.” He stepped in closer to me. The top of my head barely reached his chest. He folded his hands around my upper arms. “They are beautiful.”

“They are…” I shook my head. “They are just like…”

“Like what?”

Whatever I was about to say faded. It was almost like I’d seen eyes like this before. But surely, if I had, it wouldn’t be something I’d forget.

“They’re weird,” I said, leaning forward to get a better look.

“They are uniquely beautiful,” he said.

I looked over my shoulder at him with an arched brow.

“I’m telling the truth.” He ran his palms up and down my arms as he turned me so I faced him. “Yes, they are different , but they are beautiful.”

“They are distractingly—”

He dipped his head and kissed me. “Beautiful.”

“I was going to go with bizarre,” I said when his lips left mine.

“Bizarrely beautiful, perhaps,” he replied without missing a beat. “You finished in here?”

“Yeah.”

Taking my hand, he led me out of the bathing chamber. I was still thinking about my eyes as he led me back to the bed, resisting the urge to rub at them—as if that would somehow change how they appeared.

“Are you going to tell me about the eather I saw and felt in you?” I asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“It started while you were in stasis—don’t.” He caught my hand halfway to my face. “Do not prod at your eye, Poppy.”

“I wasn’t going to,” I denied.

The corners of his lips quirked as his brow rose.

“Whatever,” I muttered. “You were saying?”

Cas hesitated as if he believed I’d have my fingers in my eyes the moment he let go. He gave me a look of warning before finally letting go. I folded my hands in my lap.

“As I was saying,” he said, “it started while you were in stasis.”

I watched him turn, my gaze roaming over the corded muscles of his back and down his long legs to his bare feet.

He looked a little leaner. I suspected he hadn’t taken care of himself while I was in stasis, and I was betting neither had Kieran.

My heart felt heavy at the thought of them being more concerned about me than themselves. I glanced at the door.

Where was Kieran?

“Actually, I think it started even before that,” he continued as he walked to a small, oval dining table. There were pitchers and covered plates scattered across the top. “But it really kicked off right after the Rev attack. You woke up briefly.” He glanced over at me. “You don’t remember that?”

“No.” I frowned. “And this was after the Revenant stabbed you?”

“A little bit after, but yes. The whole damn castle shook,” he said as my gaze fell to the fissure in the stone floor.

“You lit up with eather and then opened your eyes. We—Kieran and I—thought you were waking up, but that’s not what happened.

Eather flowed out of you and slammed into both of us, knocking our asses out. ”

I drew my lower lip between my teeth. “That sounds painful.”

“It was…” His fingers hovered between a white decanter and a pitcher. “Intense.”

I knew that word was an understatement. “What you’re describing is like what happened to me in the Bone Temple.”

“Except when it happened to you, it was far more badass,” he remarked, and I grinned at that. “Before we passed out and entered what I guess was our own mini-stasis, I saw the essence swirling around Kieran and inside him.” He paused, picking up a pitcher. “His was gold and silver.”

My lips parted as my heart skipped a beat. “And yours?”

“Silver,” he said, glancing over at me. “Silver and shadows.”

I leaned back, my mouth agape as words failed to escape. Shock seemed to have paralyzed my tongue briefly while my thoughts raced. “What you’re saying sounds like my abilities split between you.”

Casteel poured liquid into a glass as he said, “I think we can safely assume that a Joining with a Primal is…vastly different than a normal one.”

“You don’t say,” I murmured, rubbing my palms against my knees. “I wonder if you two have, like, full access to those abilities. If Kieran can heal with his touch or even give life. And if you…”

He arched a brow as he set the pitcher down. “Can kill with a touch? That wouldn’t be that much different than normal.”

“Except it takes much less physical effort,” I pointed out.

“Except for that.” He poured a second glass. “But as far as having those abilities, I’m not sure. We haven’t exactly tested them out.”

“We should test…” I trailed off, realizing testing said abilities either meant finding someone injured or, perhaps, injuring that person and, well, killing someone else.

“I’m guessing you just realized what testing those abilities would mean,” he said, his lips curving into a knowing smirk.

“Yeah.” I sighed. “So, I didn’t really wake up then? I went back into stasis?”

“Yes. You went back to sleep.” He looked away. “You hungry? There’s some cheese and cured meat here. Some fruit and chocolate, too. I can also have more food brought to us.”