Page 98 of The Primal of Blood and Bone (Blood and Ash #6)

Poppy’s hand landed atop my forearm and squeezed.

Forcing my jaw to loosen, I glanced at the roofs. A frown pulled at the corners of my lips. The streets were starting to look—or maybe feel—familiar to me.

“We’re here,” Poppy murmured, her tone flat.

Emil looked at her in surprise.

“Are we?” Kieran asked.

The Elemental blinked. “All I know is the location.” He turned forward, seeing nothing but a dark, barren street ahead.

My gaze shifted to the homes as Setti’s hooves clattered off the cobblestones. No light shone from inside any of the houses on either side. I searched the street and its thin stretch of sidewalk, spying the iron beams of streetlamps. From the road, I could see that the glass domes were blown.

Kieran mind-linked with me as he eyed the lights. Kolis .

Looks like it.

“I can feel it,” Poppy said after a moment, straining forward. “I can feel death.” Her breath was short and shallow as Delano edged closer, causing Setti to blow out a puff of air in annoyance. “You all feel it, too. It’s in the air—that thick stagnancy. The chill. It’s Death.”

Knowing she meant that with a capital D, I tugged her back against me again as Kieran glanced at her. His gaze flicked to mine, worry etched into his features.

I knew what drove that concern.

We had no idea how vulnerable Poppy remained to Kolis’s influence.

She was awake, but the connection between them that had been forged was still there.

I wanted to turn Setti around and take her back to Wayfair—fuck, take her as far from this city as possible.

Because she wasn’t just talking about death.

And I didn’t want her anywhere near where he was or had been.

It took every damn ounce of restraint I had not to give in to the near-feral need to take her away, to protect her, as we continued on. She’d have my fucking balls if I even suggested it.

Poppy looked down at Delano, and I saw how close he was, somehow managing to avoid being trampled by Setti. I was half-worried that he would try to jump on Setti’s back to be even closer.

A bend in the road ahead appeared, and I picked up on the sound of hushed voices and movement.

Seconds later, the guards’ golden armor became visible in the thin strands of moonlight breaking through the thick clouds overhead.

A group stood clustered together about two blocks down, half in the street.

I spied my brother amid them, his arms crossed over his chest as he turned toward us. He backed away and took a few steps before halting. His arms unfolded and fell to his sides. Even from here, I felt his shock.

Malik moved away from the group, who hadn’t yet realized who traveled with us.

That didn’t last long, though. The others turned, and their surprise was like a splash of cool water.

I wanted to wrap Poppy in my cloak and hide her away, but again, she would likely grab one of the swords I’d strapped to my back and stab me if I tried.

A wry grin tugged at my lips as I slowed Setti.

Poppy looked over her shoulder. “Do I even want to know what you’re thinking?”

“Probably not.”

Bringing Setti to a stop, I swung off his back and then turned, settling my hands on her hips. She didn’t need my help, but her hands went to my shoulders nonetheless. I lifted her from Setti’s back and settled her on her feet.

Delano brushed against my legs as he came to her other side. Her hand went down to stroke the fur between his ears.

Malik’s mouth opened, but then he snapped it shut. I eyed him, quickly seeing that his face was more gaunt than the last time I’d seen him.

The fucker hadn’t fed.

Malik’s chin lowered. “My Queen.”

Poppy’s head tilted. “No—”

Behind Malik, the guards moved as if coming out of a trance. Hands swung to chests as they began to kneel.

“Oh, gods, please don’t,” Poppy said quickly. “No one has to…” She trailed off as about half a dozen dropped to one knee, their heads bowed as they echoed Malik’s greeting. “Do that,” she finished.

“They didn’t do that when they last saw me,” I drawled. Unable to be upset by the show of respect. I bent down to whisper, “Don’t forget to tell them they can rise.”

A soft sigh escaped her. “You may rise.” She waited as they stood. “And you do not need to do that again.”

“Disagree,” I murmured.

Her head snapped in my direction, her glare burning straight through the shadows of her cloak. Slowly, she turned her head back to those before her. “I…I command that you do not bow to either me or Casteel.”

My brows flew up as my surprise was echoed in those before us. The steadiness in her tone…

Fuck.

I was getting hard.

Behind me, Kieran chuckled. “Someone is catching on.” He paused. “Finally.”

Malik stared at her and then rose, snapping out of his stupor. “You’re…”

Or perhaps he had not snapped out of it.

Poppy stepped forward, Delano right with her. “Awake? Yes.”

My brother started to move but clearly thought better of it as his wide, amber eyes shifted to me and then darted back to her. “It’s good to see you, Penellaphe.”

“It’s good to be awake,” she replied.

Malik gave her a faint smile that was more brittle grimace than anything. “Though, I wish you were not here.” His gaze met mine. “She doesn’t need to see this.”

“ She does,” Poppy said. Her voice remained soft, but there was no mistaking the thread of steely resolve beneath it. “We were told you were the one who notified Naill.”

Malik let out a short breath and nodded. “Yeah, I was in the area and—”

“Why?” I asked.

His shoulders tensed. “No reason other than I like— liked the area. I don’t think I will after tonight.” He dragged a hand through his hair and pulled it back from his face. “Reminds me of home.”

My eyes narrowed on him. Nothing about Stonehill, besides maybe the scent of salt in the air, could even remotely remind him of our homeland.

He lowered his hand. “I saw that Viktoria’s house was dark.”

“Viktoria?” Kieran asked.

“She works at one of the taverns in Lowertown,” he explained.

“She and her husband Jathen both do. They would’ve been home by now and still up.

At first, I didn’t think too much about it, but then I saw this.

” He jerked his chin toward the houses. “The whole street was dark, and it…it didn’t feel right.

So, I went and knocked on their door. When nobody answered, I tried the knob and found it unlocked.

” A muscle ticked in his temple. “That’s when I found them and got Naill. ”

“I’m sorry,” Poppy said and then proved once more how much better she was than me when she reached out and placed a hand on his arm, comforting the man who had once planned to end her life.

Malik looked down at her hand for several moments, likely reminded of the same thing. That she was better than him, too.

“Thank you,” he rasped, stepping back. He swallowed. “I didn’t know about the others at that point.”

“Can you show us?” Kieran asked.

“Perry is in one of the houses,” Malik replied, turning with a frown. “But you can enter any of them and find the same.”

Poppy stopped, her hand lifting to press against her upper stomach. “The whole block?”

“And the next one over,” Malik confirmed.

Fucking gods.

I placed my hand on Poppy’s lower back. “Where is Perry?”

“Three houses down,” he said, leading us the short distance.

There was little open space around the homes in Stonehill, with no front courtyards, only those in the back. The main door of the squat, stucco home sat right off the sidewalk. My gaze moved over the door, seeing that the sconce’s glass globe was blown, as was the one above the latticed windows.

The door opened before Malik could do it, and Naill walked out.

He pulled a Malik and stumbled to a halt. This time, Poppy stopped him before he could bow.

Naill clasped her hand without hesitation, and the only thing that stopped me from caving into the primitive urge to wrench her away was the knowledge that touch was important to her.

“I can’t even tell you how glad I am to see you,” Naill said, the deep-brown hue of his skin carrying an ashen undertone. “But I wish you were not here.” His gaze lifted to mine. “What’s inside is…”

“I need to see it,” Poppy said.

Exhaling softly, Naill nodded. “You should…” His chest rose sharply. “I would say prepare yourself, but I don’t believe that is possible.”

My jaw hardened as I nodded. He opened the door to a small foyer, and a scent slammed into us all at once. Lilacs—stale lilacs.

Delano’s hackles rose as he froze beside Poppy, his ears pinned back.

Yeah, that was a fucked-up sign if there ever was one.

“You don’t have to come in,” Poppy said to him, and then I felt faint stirrings of eather as their communication moved to something just between them. She finally sighed and moved forward with Delano at her side. Emil and Malik followed us as I lowered my hood, surveying the house’s dark interior.

Shoes had been placed by the door—boots dusty with dirt and a smaller pair of leather flats that were far less dirty.

Poppy tugged her hood down, eyeing the other sets. Two pairs of much, much smaller boots caked in mud.

“Most of the homes here are set up the same,” Malik explained as Naill led us into a tight, dark corridor. “The rooms are one after another. A sitting room—it’s empty. Then the bedchambers. They’re also empty.”

“Kitchen is in the back,” Naill said, pausing. “That’s where they are.”

Candlelight flickered at the end of the hall as we passed another blown sconce. “Are all the homes like this?” Kieran gestured to the shattered glass on the tile.

“From what I’ve seen? Yes,” Naill answered.

I filed that away as Perry stepped into our line of sight, holding what appeared to be a pale-yellow blanket. The expression etched into the brown skin of his face matched the others. It wasn’t often so many Elementals were so shaken.

“Cas.” Perry’s gaze jumped from me to the others, then behind me. He inhaled sharply. “M-my Queen—”