Total pages in book: 401
Estimated words: 390373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1952(@200wpm)___ 1561(@250wpm)___ 1301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 390373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1952(@200wpm)___ 1561(@250wpm)___ 1301(@300wpm)
Kieran said nothing. He saw what I did. She sat with her knees tucked tightly against her chest, her toes curling against the stone floor. She didn’t even seem aware of Kieran’s arrival.
“I see her.” I swallowed. “She’s beautiful.”
“For fuck’s sake.” Reaver sounded like he wanted to throw both of us into a wall headfirst. “Do you not smell the stench of death?”
Kieran swallowed. “I do,” he acknowledged. “It’s not like anything I’ve smelled on her before. But she is a Primal of Death now.”
“No, shit,” snapped Reaver. “But that smell? That stale yet sweet scent? That’s not coming from her.” Reaver dragged the back of his hand over his mouth. “When I felt her wake, she wasn’t the only thing I felt. I sensed that he was near.”
Cold air poured into my chest. “He?”
“The true Primal of Death. Kolis,” he spat.
My ears buzzed as I went completely still.
“I came here to warn you, but the closer I got to this chamber, the stronger the feeling became. I can still feel him. It’s like a godsdamn frozen fist squeezing my chest,” he bit out, thumping his balled hand on his chest. “I don’t know how, but when she spoke earlier, and when she laughed? I could hear him. And that can only mean one thing. He’s here. And somehow, he’s inside her.”
What Reaver said was on repeat in my mind. He’s inside her. My muscles cramped as I forced myself to stand still. A storm of violence brewed inside me.
“How?” Kieran asked, his voice ragged. “How can that even be possible?”
“Kolis has been freed.”
“We already know that.” Kieran’s voice hardened.
“Look, neither of you has ever known a true Primal god or seen what they are capable of—especially the true Primal of Death.”
“And you have?” Kieran demanded.
“Unfortunately.”
The way Reaver answered caused my hands to fist.
“That doesn’t tell us how something like this could happen.” Kieran’s voice thinned.
“I don’t know how it’s possible,” the draken admitted, looking at me. “You thought he had something to do with the dead Ascended. Maybe that was him…feeding, which somehow gave him more power. More strength. Or maybe he’s always been in her or connected to her.”
“No.” I shook my head, every part of my being rebelling at the idea. “He hasn’t. I would’ve sensed that.”
“You don’t want to see what is right in front of you,” Reaver shot back. “And I get it. I do. But you’re smarter than this. Or so everyone claims. He’s in—”
“Do not speak those words again,” I said, my voice low. “If you do, I won’t be responsible for my actions.”
Reaver clamped his mouth shut.
For about five seconds.
“Casteel—”
“Shut up,” Kieran growled at him, then glanced at me. “Did she get enough blood when she fed?”
Reaver groaned. “It’s like no one is listening to me.”
I shook my head.
Kieran stepped closer to me, his voice lowering. “Do you think it will help if she does?”
Yes.
That’s what I wanted to say as I shifted my stare back to Poppy.
That’s all I wanted this to be.
So did Kieran because I could hear the hope in his voice—could feel it.
But the damn draken was right. I was smarter than that. And so was Kieran. Ignoring what was happening in front of us would not only make us fools but also endanger Poppy.
I shook my head.
“Reaver could be wrong,” he argued. “She may just need blood.”
Reaver growled. “I thought you were supposed to be the more rational one.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Kieran snarled as my gaze sharpened on him. “Or I will shut you up.”
The warning bells were ringing even louder now. “He’s right.”
Kieran’s head cut to me. “What?”
“You are the more rational one.”
He scowled, turning his attention back to Poppy. “All I’m saying is that there is no way for any of us to know what is going on. We shouldn’t jump to conclusions based on…vibes.”
“Vibes?” muttered Reaver.
Kieran ignored him. “We should be operating on what we know about an Ascension. What is needed. Blood.” He shifted, exhaling raggedly as a tart and sour taste gathered in my throat. “That’s being rational.”
The ability to taste emotions was fresh, but I knew what I was tasting, and my wariness grew. He was uneasy—of course, he was. But it was more than that.
Those who didn’t know Kieran like I did often thought he was cold or detached, but that wasn’t the case. He felt everything just as intensely as the next person. And right now, he was worried for Poppy—for us.
But thanks to the Joining, he was picking up the same things from Poppy that I was. And while I had been—as Reaver had put it—a lovesick fool, Kieran had never been that. Between the two of us, he was always far more rational than I was. He was always the first to face the reality of a situation, no matter what emotions he felt. Sure, he felt hope, just like any of us did. Like with Elashya, the wolven he’d loved and lost. He’d hoped she could be cured somehow, but he’d faced the reality of the impossibility.