I turned back to Reaver before Casteel could reply, my heart lurching. Not wanting to give up, I pulled against his hold. “Let me try again.”

  His gaze flicked behind me. A heartbeat later, Casteel’s arm went around my waist.

  “Reaver,” I whispered.

  He turned his gaze back to Jadis.

  The cold dirt walls blurred as Casteel led me away. When we reached the entrance to the desolate chamber, I couldn’t help but look back.

  Reaver sat before Jadis, his chin touching his chest as he pressed his hand to the rough stone of the entombed draken. He looked…lost and defeated, his shoulders trembling.

  As Casteel walked me into the hall beyond the earthen chamber, there was no stopping what I’d refused to allow myself to think before—to fear. That there was no undoing the harm the Blood Queen had inflicted upon the daughter of the first draken.

  CHAPTER 22

  CASTEEL

  Poppy stood just inside the narrow hallway of our new quarters, fidgeting once more with the buttons of her robe. She would snap them off if she kept it up.

  “While you wait for me,” I said, “you should investigate the bathing chamber. I think you will find something of interest.”

  Interest sparked in her eyes, but it was dull. I hated to leave her after what’d happened in Ironspire, but there were a few things I needed to tend to.

  I placed my hand on her lower back and pressed a quick kiss to the corner of her lips. “I’ll be back shortly.”

  Poppy’s gaze flicked behind me as she nodded. Closing the door, I ran a weary hand over my face.

  Fuck. I really needed to shave.

  Dropping my arm, I turned. My gaze immediately locked on eyes as familiar as mine.

  Kieran leaned against the wall at the end of the hall, arms crossed over his chest. He didn’t speak until I reached his side.

  “Should I get Tawny?” he asked.

  “She’s not ready to see anyone,” I said. Tension gathered in my shoulders as I looked back at the closed doors. Her reluctance to end the Ascended was expected, but her hesitation to see Tawny? Knowing how important she was to Poppy, I didn’t get it.

  “I noticed she didn’t seem too keen on doing so.”

  “Her anxiety spiked again when I mentioned visiting with her while we were at Ironspire,” I said, turning back to him.

  “I felt that when you brought Tawny up while we ate.” Kieran tipped his head back against the wall. “She’s been through a lot, and I have no clue about half of it.” His gaze slid to mine before darting away. A moment passed. “So, I assume the generals will be conveniently unavailable until tomorrow?”

  It was annoying how well he knew me. “Sounds about right,” I said, knowing Poppy would be pissed if she knew about this. But like Kieran had said, she had been through a lot. She needed time to settle.

  There was a beat of silence. “You need to feed.”

  “That’s why you’re here.”

  A brow rose.

  “Not from you.” I scratched my fingers through my hair, not even allowing my mind to go there. “I’ll handle speaking with the generals and everything.” That everything included speaking with our…what had Poppy called it? Our Shadow Council.

  His gaze returned to mine. “I can handle that.”

  “I know.”

  He eyed me for a moment before nodding. Yet again, it really fucking annoyed me how well he knew me. Because I didn’t have to say a word. He could sense the tension thrumming beneath my skin and the edginess coiling tightly in my gut, stretching every nerve.

  “Then will you feed?”

  Exhaling slowly, I gave him a bland look.

  “Yeah, I know me repeatedly asking that is annoying as fuck, but I also know you’re reluctant to feed on anyone but her.”

  “I’ll feed,” I said. “I shouldn’t be gone too long, but someone needs to be near her until I return.”

  “You okay with me being that someone?”

  Tension spread to my neck and then my jaw. “She’s not a threat to herself or others. So, yes.”

  Kieran’s lips twisted into a strained smile. He shook his head and let out a dry, cutting laugh.

  Anger rose, bitter and noxious. “I say something funny?”

  “Absolutely fucking not,” he shot back and then stretched his neck to the side.

  “Good,” I bit out, the essence stirring.

  A muscle started ticking in his clenched jaw as he eyed me. He’d sensed the rise of eather in me.

  I pushed the shit down as irritation at him, at me, at Poppy—at all of us—for being in this fucking situation grew. There was another reason I wanted to talk to him. “I haven’t said shit to her about what happened.”

  He inhaled sharply. There was no need to elaborate.

  “I just want to make sure we’re on the same page,” I continued.

  Kieran pushed off the wall and started to turn toward the Solar and the doors to the antechamber. The moment he faced me, I recognized the stubborn, wide-legged stance for what it was. “So, are you planning to not say anything?”

  “What’s there to say?”

  He stared at me, his nostrils flaring. “Don’t play that shit with me.”

  I smirked, my stance mirroring his. “Who’s playing, Kieran?”

  “You.” He stepped forward, ignoring the look on my face that surely warned him to shut the fuck up. “There’s a whole lot of shit to be said. And you know what else?”

  “No, but I have an unfortunate feeling you’re going to tell me.”

  “There’s also a whole lot of shit that needs to be thought about,” he said, just like I knew he would. “Something you clearly haven’t done.”

  “And what is it you think I haven’t thought about?”

  Kieran didn’t hesitate. The bastard never did. “The same damn thing I told you to ask yourself—why she asked me to make that promise and not you.”

  Ice trickled through my veins. He had to be fucking kidding me. As if every moment I didn’t spend thinking about Poppy, Kolis, and the kingdom wasn’t spent on that very fucking question. It was eating me up. It’d damn near consumed me while we were at Ironspire, and she said she knew she could come to me. The lie I spoke had tasted bitter. “I’m not having this conversation with you.”

  “Why?” Kieran demanded. “Because you don’t want to admit to yourself—”

  “Because I don’t want to knock your fucking ass through a wall,” I said. “And then have to explain it to Poppy, who would be pissed.”

  “Will knocking my ass through a wall get you to pull your head out of your ass?” Kieran challenged. “Because if so…” He spread his arms wide. “Have at it. I’ll tell Poppy it was an accident.”

  The ice in my veins spread to my chest. The offer was almost too tempting. “Kieran.”

  “Come on,” he pushed, and I felt the summery heat of his power brushing against my skin. A faint golden sheen appeared beneath his flesh. “Do it. I’ll even let you get the first couple of hits in.”

  The laugh that left me caused the light from the sconces in the hall to flicker. “She just woke up.” I stepped toward him, leaving only a few inches between us. “And even if she isn’t saying shit, you know she’s overwhelmed. I’m not going to add to that.”

  Kieran’s mouth snapped shut.

  “And contrary to my actions, I do have restraint.” I held his stare. “But you also know more than anyone that it only lasts for so long.”

  The silver aura behind his pupils pulsed as he stood there silently. His power retracted, and the golden sheen faded from his skin. Figuring he’d gotten the message, I stepped back.

  I was wrong.

  “Do you really think she won’t notice this shit between us?”

  Not a single part of me thought that. Poppy was very observant—annoyingly so.

  “You won’t be able to keep this from her,” he said, his voice low. “She’ll notice—”

  “She’s not going to notice shit because you and I aren’t going to act as if there is any shit between us.”

  Kieran’s laugh was less biting this time. “Are you kidding me? Someone blind, deaf, and half-dead would notice that things aren’t right. And she’s already asked.”

  He had a point. And she had asked.

  “Then we’d better get our shit together,” I said with a tight-lipped smile. “But if you can’t handle it, you have the room closest to the Solar. If you prefer not being in the Solar, you’ll still be able to hear if anything happens.”

  Kieran snorted. “With Poppy awake, I pity any idiot who attempts to make a move against her.”

  “As do I,” I replied. “But I’m not worried about the typical idiot. Kolis is out there. He could still be a wraith, or he could have a physical form now. Either way, he can project his whatever the fuck it’s called.”

  “His vellá,” Kieran said.

  Of course, he remembered that. For a moment—just a second—the normalcy was a relief.

  I ruined that in the next breath. “Can you handle it?”

  “I can handle it,” he gritted out.

  “Perfect.” I moved back. “Now, if you don’t mind, I need to go find the fucking generals.”

  “Murin is beyond the city’s Rise.” He paused. “I believe he’s holding afternoon training if that is what you’re looking for.” His gaze met mine. “And that’d better be what you’re looking for.”

  Tension continued building in the muscles of my back. Because he knew what I was like when I was wired too tightly. He knew what I needed. Fight. Fuck. Or pain. One of the three in excess worked. But since the kind of fucking it took was out of the question, that left the other two. So, I knew what he was getting at. And it was like a fucking punch to the gut.

  “I’m past that point in my life,” I bit out, holding his stare. “I know who I am.”

  “I would hope.”

  “You should.” I rolled my shoulders back. “After the generals, I’m going to feed on someone who is hopefully not fucking Emil.”

  “That may be a problem.”

  I briefly closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “Why?”

  “Naill and Perry are both on patrol, and Hisa is with Lizeth,” he shared, smirking. “Emil is the only one in Wayfair you trust enough.”

  Fuck me.

  I pivoted.

  “Cas.”

  Every muscle in me locked, forcing me to stop.

  “I won’t say anything to her.” He paused. “For now.”

  My hands fisted at my sides.

  “But as you know, my restraint only goes so far, too,” he said, his voice low. “I know you don’t want to put this shit on Poppy and make her feel guilty, but I don’t know how the fuck you think she’ll feel when you do finally get around to dealing with this if you keep it from her.”

  I inhaled, tasting the bitter chalkiness of ash as I stared ahead. Yeah. I didn’t want to put that on her. But if she learned that I knew? If she realized what it had caused? It would break her heart.

  “So, I suggest you get on with it,” Kieran said. “Because I’m not going to let you do this to her—to us.” The breath he took was shaky. When he spoke again, his voice had turned coarse. “I won’t let you do this to yourself.”

  POPPY

  The sky looked…different.

  My hands rested on the balcony’s smooth stone railing as my gaze traveled the endless expanse. There weren’t many clouds.

  But there were stars.

  Thousands of them blanketed the sky like diamonds had been scattered across it.

  It would’ve been beautiful if not for how wrong it was, considering it was only late afternoon and several hours from what should have been dusk.

  It had to be another sign of the imbalance in the realms—one that would continue to worsen as long as both Casteel and Kolis were in the mortal realm.

  Gods. That wasn’t an outcome we had even remotely considered when we brought Malec to the Bone Temple.

  I should be more disturbed than I was, but it paled in comparison to what I’d experienced in the Continents and what I’d seen carved into Reaver’s features when he realized I couldn’t wake Jadis.

  Anguish.

  Gods, I could still hear it in his voice.

  My hands trembled against the railing. Why hadn’t my touch worked?

  Like before, there was no answer.

  I swallowed against the knot that had lodged itself in my throat since Ironspire. The desperation I’d felt when I willed Jadis to wake reminded me of the little girl in Saion’s Cove who had passed. Except I’d been able to bring her back. Could it be that Jadis was…no longer alive? That would explain why my touch had no impact.

  No, I told myself. Nektas had sensed that his daughter was still alive. So, it wasn’t that. I’d just failed to reach her.

  Hopefully, Seraphena would know what to do. Nektas would have to ask her instead of waiting for me, right?

  There was only a hint of the sea in the air as I drew in a deep breath and looked over my shoulder.

  Right now, I figured Kieran was setting a time to meet with the generals while Casteel went to feed—something he could’ve done inside our chambers, but I could tell he believed I wasn’t ready to see anyone.

  That assumption wasn’t entirely unfounded. But it was more that I wasn’t ready to see one person in particular.

  Tawny.

  My stomach twisted, and I still had no idea why. It was so unlike me. Tawny meant the world to me, as did our friendship. What I was feeling just didn’t make sense.

  Pulling my lip between my teeth, I lifted my gaze. From this part of Wayfair, I could see an even larger portion of the Garden District and Croft’s Cross. I looked to where the range of the Elysium Peaks rose against the vivid-blue, star-swept sky, casting a shadow over part of the city and the thick forest below.

  What had Ian called it? The Dark Elms? I didn’t think that was their official name. I recalled them being called the Royal Elms, but Ian’s name for them made a lot more sense. As a child, I’d been afraid of the forest because I’d never seen the sun penetrate the canopy.

  And likely because Ian had once told me that the souls of those who passed on but feared judgment haunted the forest.

  A faint smile tugged at my lips as the memory of Ian holding my hand as we walked rose, but it faded as my stomach dipped. For some reason, I suddenly thought—no, I believed—that what Ian had said about the forest was true.

  Shaking my head at another thought that made no sense, I looked up. White-tipped water rushed down the jagged face of the bluff in the Cliffs of Sorrow.

  Shivers tiptoed down my spine as I stepped back from the railing, unsure of what unnerved me so much about them. They had never bothered me when I was a child. I’d obviously been more afraid of the woods below them. Maybe it was because I now knew that the story Ian had once written to me about hadn’t just been another of his fantastical tales.

  Sotoria was real. And she was…

  My skin prickled with unease as the thought trailed off. She was what? Tipping my head back, I closed my eyes and tried to find the lost thought. It felt important. Monumental. But trying to remember it was like grasping at shadows.

  Frustration made my skin itchy, so I gave up. I was getting nowhere while standing there with my eyes closed. Turning, I walked back into our more permanent and much larger quarters.

  The King’s Solar took up nearly the entire top floor of the eastern wing, with only four chambers outside the quarters meant for stewards or Ladies in Wait. I guessed they were empty now. Could Tawny be moved there? Perhaps Delano and Perry could take one of the chambers. Or Vonetta once she arrived. And if Vonetta took one, did that mean Emil would be staying with her? A wry grin tugged at my lips. I wasn’t sure how Kieran would handle that. Casteel seemed to think Emil would get himself killed, but I wasn’t so sure.

  My stare trailed over the spacious room that had clearly been designated for meetings. In the center of the first chamber—the Solar the quarters had been named after—was a rectangular table made of light, cream-colored wood, large enough to seat at least ten. It sat on a slightly raised platform framed by marble pillars flecked with gold, and each end faced doors that opened to balconies.

  I’d never explored this area of Wayfair when I lived here. All I knew of this space was that neither Isbeth nor Jalara had occupied these rooms. Instead, the King’s Solar had been used for visiting high-ranking members of society—mortal, high-ranking members.

  My gaze lifted to the reason for that. The dome above was glass, as were the ceilings of the other rooms.

  I drifted into the next chamber, one I quickly saw was filled with ivory-colored couches and armchairs adorned with golden accents. They’d been placed around low-to-the-floor tables trimmed in gold. The ceiling was slightly lower here, divided into smaller glass panes.

  Running my fingers over the velvety backs of the chairs, I continued forward, feeling like I was walking through someone else’s living quarters, where gold was clearly a theme in the décor.

  And the dining chamber was no exception. Gold accented the round dining table and chairs made of the same light-colored wood as the massive table in the Solar. It also framed the windowed dome above. At least the King’s Solar wasn’t drenched in crimson like many of the chambers in Wayfair were.

  Between the lack of crimson and all the glass, I had to think this section had been built when Atlantia ruled the realm. Possibly even before that. Knowing that Atlantians had once occupied this wing made me feel a little more comfortable.

  I pushed open a set of double doors trimmed in gold. “Goodness.”

  My hands fell to my sides as my wide-eyed gaze locked on the canopy bed on another raised platform. It was absurdly large, wide enough to fit at least four or five people, and so long I had to wonder exactly how tall the person—or small army—this bed had been constructed for was.

  Opaque curtains had been tied back against the posts, revealing a mound of pillows at the head of the bed and neatly tucked blankets. It looked soft, and I had to resist the urge to dive headfirst into the heap of pillows.