Page 97 of The Primal of Blood and Bone (Blood and Ash #6)

CASTEEL

The moment Poppy entered the stables behind me, Setti started trotting in place like he was on display, swishing his tail and letting out a whinny that sounded a little too excited.

“I think you’re happier to see her than me,” I remarked as I approached his side. “We should’ve shadowstepped.”

The horse turned his head from me like the ass he was. I’d wanted to shadowstep. Kieran and the others had agreed to meet us there, but Poppy had insisted on riding. And what the Queen wanted, the Queen got.

Including going to Stonehill.

Normally, I wouldn’t have had a problem with her wanting to see what was happening firsthand, but considering she only just completed her Ascension, she was vulnerable. And she knew it.

But I knew that if I argued with her to stay back, she would just shadowstep her sweet ass to Stonehill herself.

Setti nickered and lowered his head as Poppy approached.

“Traitor,” I muttered as Kieran led the horse out of the next stall and swung onto its back.

Checking the bridle, I glanced over at Poppy.

Her steps were slow, her gaze fixed solely on Setti.

I tensed, my grip tightening on the reins.

The stallion towered over her, and…something odd was happening.

Setti had never lashed out at Poppy before, but I couldn’t be too careful when it came to her.

My brows lowered as I watched her slowly lift her hand, the lemony taste of her curiosity gathering in my throat. She looked up at Setti as if she’d never seen him before.

Kieran watched, his mind linking with mine. What’s going on?

No idea.

Setti nibbled at Poppy’s fingers, bringing a small grin to her lips. He nuzzled her hand, his tail swaying as she tilted her head.

“How did no one notice?” she murmured, sliding her hand up his cheek.

My curiosity rose then. I stepped toward them. “Poppy?”

Blinking, she drew her gaze to mine.

“How did you know his name was Setti?”

I had to think about that for a moment. “One of the stewards watching over Elian’s estate told me.” I glanced at Kieran as Delano peered around the corner of the stall, his ears twitching. “Does that sound about right?”

He was watching Poppy. “From what I remember it does.”

“Setti’s been keeping secrets,” she said.

“Secrets?” My brows lifted. I knew people were waiting for us, but I had to ask. “My…horse has been keeping secrets?”

“The bloodsteed has been keeping secrets,” she corrected, sending me a quick glance. “I guess I never noticed it—or maybe it’s more like I never felt it—until now.” She smiled as Setti nudged her hand—she’d stopped petting him. “The essence.”

“The eather?” Kieran questioned. “In Setti?”

She nodded. “I’m guessing neither of you feel it?”

“Uh.” My gaze briefly met Kieran’s. “No.”

“Setti isn’t a horse—well, he’s not a normal one anyway,” she said.

The reins slipped from Kieran’s fingers. “Are you saying he’s…”

“He’s not just named after Attes’s vellám . He is Attes’s vellám. ” She straightened the strap along his cheek, and fuck if Setti’s ears didn’t flicker at the mention of the Primal god. “I don’t know how or really why, but Setti’s a bloodsteed.”

I stared at her for what felt like an hour. Yeah, I was shocked as shit to hear that, but I didn’t try to refute what she said. First, it was likely the vadentia . And secondly, Setti had always seemed damn near…

I shook my head in disbelief. “How is this possible? I’ve had him since he was a colt.” My gaze crawled over his shiny coat. “Raised him.”

“I…I don’t know.” Poppy frowned as rubbed the back of her neck. “I don’t think he always appeared as a colt.”

My brows shot up. “What?”

“It’s hard to explain because it doesn’t really make sense to me,” she admitted. “But I think he chose to appear as a colt when you found him at Elian estate.”

“What the fuck?” I murmured.

Poppy ducked her chin as she grinned. “I guess only Elian would’ve known. And Attes. But I don’t know how or why.”

“It has to be magic,” Kieran murmured. “How many times in battle, large or small, has Setti remained standing, unscathed, while others were struck down?”

“Too many to count,” I said. “And here I thought it was just my horsemanship keeping him alive.”

Setti let out a quick, forceful burst of air.

My eyes narrowed on the horse.

“Didn’t you say he started following you all when you saw him in the pasture?” Poppy asked Kieran. He nodded, and she came to my side. “Maybe he sensed that you’re a descendant of Attes’s bloodline, and that’s why he followed you.”

“Maybe,” I said.

“Maybe?” Kieran laughed. “There is no way that you coming across the bloodsteed of the Primal god you’re descended from is a coincidence.”

Yeah, I didn’t think it was. But I had no fucking idea what to think about the fact that my horse wasn’t mine and wasn’t entirely normal . Fuck. I had no idea what kind of reveal would come next. That my father wasn’t who he said he was?

I almost laughed at that.

“We should probably get going,” Poppy said quietly. When I looked down at her, she seemed too calm about this.

But she was right.

I adjusted her cloak, making sure it hid her features, then led Setti out into the aisle. Gripping Poppy’s waist, I lifted her and swung up behind her.

Fuck if it didn’t feel different riding Setti now, but as Poppy relaxed into me, and we rode out of the stables and crossed the moonlit courtyard, it felt damn good having her with me, feeling the warmth of her body seeping into mine.

Our party of five was quiet as we passed through the inner Rise’s side gate.

We took the most direct route to Stonehill, traveling across the narrow bridge, its worn planks creaking as the shadow of the western slope of the Elysium Peaks swallowed its length.

The less glamorous bridge had been used for deliveries and errands the Blood Crown hadn’t wanted to draw attention to.

The night was quiet as we skirted the Garden District and took the road cradling the coast. Poppy told Kieran and me how she believed her ability to read emotions had strengthened as she stared east, where the Sun Temple’s diamond-encrusted limestone walls glittered like starlight.

“Reaver said I got my ability to sense emotions from Nyktos,” she said as we started across the bridge over the Nye River. “I wonder if Ires has the same ability.”

“Possibly,” I said, tracing a circle around her navel.

“It’s kind of strange for a Primal of Death to have that ability,” she noted.

“It actually is. The ability is similar to the empath bloodline,” Kieran said, talking about the Senturion bloodline from which we had briefly thought Poppy was descended. “And from what I remember, that was a bloodline tied to—”

“Penellaphe.”

Poppy twisted around to look at me as Kieran looked my way.

“What?” I grinned down at her. “That bloodline descended from the gods of Mount Lotho. I do recall some of my lessons.”

I saw her smile in the shadow of her hood before she faced forward again. “Perhaps,” she said, “I have an ancestor from that Court.” She turned her head. “And so would you. Right? If you truly have a changeling in your ancestry.”

Kieran snorted. “The belief that I have a changeling in my bloodline is more of a story your husband likes to tell.”

I started to grin before I caught myself, my jaw clenching, I turned my attention to the sea and the moonlight reflecting off the still waters.

“I think you—” Poppy stiffened as we left the bridge and entered Croft’s Cross.

I pulled my gaze from the sea. The top of her cloaked head grazed my chin as she sat forward. Her hands stilled, no longer idly stroking Setti’s mane. And between Kieran and I, Delano’s ears flattened.

“Do you feel that?” she asked.

I scanned the jagged, moonlit terracotta rooftops that lined the hills of Stonehill like a broken spine. This area of Carsodonia was full of the working class who paid just a little more than those who lived in the crowded, stacked-upon-one-another apartments in Croft’s Cross.

Yeah, I felt it.

Emil slowed his mount until he was to my left. His gaze met mine, and I knew he was thinking what I was. The air felt like it had the night I’d entered the Luxe. Heavy and thick. Oppressive.

“I do.” Tightening my arms around her, I drew her back against my chest.

Kieran guided his horse closer to ours. “What exactly did Naill tell you?” he asked since we hadn’t spent much time questioning Emil after he told us there were mortal deaths.

We took just enough time for Poppy to put on her boots and don a harness and a dagger—a shadowstone blade instead of the bloodstone.

I’d have to question her about that later, but I had a feeling it had to do with who the bone had belonged to.

None of us was that eager to learn what awaited us.

“All I know is that we have…” His strained tone drew my attention. It wasn’t like the Luxe, where he’d mainly been confused by what he saw and how he felt. He cleared his throat. “We have a lot of bodies.”

“How many?” I asked, swiping my thumb back and forth across her stomach.

Emil’s brow furrowed. “About fifty.”

“Gods,” Poppy gasped, causing Delano to swing his massive white head in our direction.

“Yeah,” Emil answered. And that was all he said as we climbed a street near the Temple of Saion, the God of Earth, Wind, and Water.

Emil guided us to our left, where the road veered and began a steady upward climb. The homes here weren’t dark like they were on the lower streets. Lamplight spilled from the windows, illuminating the shadowy figures of those watching from within.

Emil noted where my attention had gone. “They were asked to stay inside until we could figure out what had caused this…incident.”

My gaze flicked up as the road ahead grew darker. Thick clouds seemed to hang over Stonehill, blocking out the moonlight. “Good call.”

“It wasn’t me,” Emil replied. “It was Malik.”

My head cut to him. “My brother is out here?”

He nodded. “He’s the one who notified Naill.”

My jaw clenched. What was Malik doing out here?