“They’ve been instructed not to,” Hisa explained. And then quickly added in a rush, “Not in a way that suggests they are not allowed, but in—”

  “I understand,” Poppy interjected, smiling at Hisa’s back. “Thank you.”

  I sensed Kieran’s nearness as Hisa led us down one of the northern halls lined with closed doors trimmed in gold—doors I suspected had been recently painted ivory to cover the crimson.

  “The generals are also in attendance,” Hisa advised, her steps slowing.

  “Sounds good,” I told her, realizing we weren’t going to the chamber where we’d met with the generals last time.

  Hisa stopped in front of a set of double doors toward the end of the hall, knocking once before pushing the doors open to reveal a large, circular chamber likely not used by the Blood Crown during the day due to its tall windows.

  Placing a hand on Poppy’s lower back as we entered, I scanned the chamber, taking note of the smaller antechambers on either side. Mostly empty settees and armchairs surrounded an oval table in the center of the space. Chairs scratched over the stone floor as their occupants pushed back and stood to face us, murmuring greetings. All the generals we’d met with before were present. So were Naill and—

  “Poppy!” a familiar voice exclaimed. A second later, Netta rushed out of the antechamber, nearly knocking her brother aside.

  My lips lifted into a grin as Kieran shot his sister a glare.

  Netta streaked past me like I was nothing more than an old, worn boot, her tight braids streaming out behind her. She threw her arms around Poppy, causing her to stagger back several steps.

  “Wow,” I muttered. “Don’t mind me. I’m just invisible.”

  “You and me both,” Emil said under his breath. “But you’re not sleeping with her.”

  Tilting my head, I peered at him as Delano coughed quietly. Emil’s stare met mine. I arched a brow. “Come again?”

  Emil seemed to realize what he’d said and immediately pivoted on his heel, heading toward a serving table where decanters, pitchers, and glasses had been laid out.

  I turned back to Poppy. Netta still had her in a fierce hug, lifting her onto the tips of her boots. My lips flattened. “Please don’t break my wife, Netta.”

  “Shush it,” Netta replied, and I caught Poppy’s muffled giggle.

  Gods, that sound…

  It was light and infectious. My grin was looser when I looked up, catching General Aylard’s stiff posture as he stood between the dark-haired La’Sere and General Murin. He watched Netta and Poppy with an air of impatience and something akin to disgust.

  Resisting the urge to peel Netta off Poppy before the damn wolven snapped a rib was as hard as not giving in to the desire to snap Aylard’s neck. I forced my legs to move past them. After everything, Poppy needed this. Her ribs would be fine, and Aylard could go fuck himself.

  I made my way to where Kieran stood by the end of the table. “Thad?”

  He’s in his chambers, he replied through the link. He’s injured.

  I stiffened, now understanding why he’d been so late returning. How badly?

  He’ll recover.

  Before I could question him further, he said, How’s Poppy?

  A muscle in my jaw ticked, and I debated not answering him. But even I wasn’t that big of a dick. I found her at the Cliffs of Sorrow.

  His head cut toward me and then went to where Poppy stood with his sister. What the fuck was she doing there?

  Trying to see if she felt connected to them.

  Kieran exhaled slowly. Makes sense that she would. A moment passed. Did she?

  I shook my head.

  Not sure if that’s good or bad.

  Neither was I.

  Kieran pulled his gaze from her. Your father has returned, too.

  My head swung toward him, but before I could question him, Poppy spoke. “We apologize for keeping you all waiting.”

  “We’re glad you finally…decided to join us,” General Aylard replied. “We were worried there would be another long absence.”

  I started to step forward, my hand dropping to the hilt of a dagger, but Poppy’s smile stopped me. It was sharp, like the blade strapped to my chest, and the eather stirred inside me, responding to the rise in hers.

  “I’m sure,” she said. The uncertain girl from before, the one who was worried about what Seraphena would think of her, was gone. A Queen had spoken. A Primal god held Aylard’s stare until he backed up, and Netta moved to stand behind her, her arms crossed as she eyed Aylard with open dislike. Please, don’t throw the dagger, her voice came through the link. He’s not worth the effort.

  Smirking, I lowered my hand as Sven stepped forward with a smile. “We haven’t been waiting that long, Your—” He caught himself. “Penellaphe.”

  “Thank you. I do hope the rest of you weren’t as concerned as Aylard,” Poppy said, sending the general a pointed look.

  Aylard’s throat bobbed on a swallow.

  Poppy’s smile increased.

  Beside me, Kieran sighed and then gestured toward the table. “Shall we sit?”

  With a nod, Poppy started to go but stopped and turned back to Sven instead. “Have you found anything of use in your research?”

  “Not yet, but Perry’s still looking,” he answered.

  “Please let us know if there is any way we can assist.”

  “Of course.” Sven bowed his head.

  Poppy walked toward us with a smooth, predatory grace that all eyes in the chamber followed. She was unaware of both things, but her next actions? She knew exactly what she was doing when her shoulder skimmed Aylard’s armored one, forcing him to take a step back. Grinning, I pulled out the chair at the head of the table.

  “My Queen,” I murmured.

  With a roll of her eyes directed at me, she sat. The others followed suit, with Kieran taking the chair on her left and me to her right. Netta sat beside her brother, but neither Emil nor Delano took a seat, leaving two open as they moved to stand beside Naill.

  Eyeing the empty seats for a moment, I leaned back and shifted my attention to the generals as Poppy cleared her throat.

  “We were told Thad returned,” she said.

  “He has,” Sven replied from where he sat between Aylard and Damron, a slight frown pulling at his brow. “I assume Reaver did not advise you of his condition?”

  Poppy stiffened beside me. “No, he did not. Was Thad injured?”

  “He was,” Kieran answered, shifting closer to Poppy. “But he will recover.”

  Worry bled into her features. “What happened?”

  “General Da’Neer will be able to go into better detail when he rejoins us,” Lizeth offered, and I felt the faint splash of Poppy’s surprise sneaking past her shields, quickly followed by woodsy relief.

  No sooner had she finished speaking than the sound of footsteps drew my gaze to the closed doors. Two pairs. A knock came, and Emil opened them.

  My brother was the first to enter, his white linen shirt tucked into dark trousers that seemed to hang from his tall frame. My gaze lifted to his face. The shadows beneath his eyes weren’t as stark as they had been, but with his hair pulled back into a knot at the nape of his neck, there was no way I didn’t see how lean his face had gotten. I’d noticed it yesterday, and he’d fed at some point, but I doubted it had included much food. He wasn’t taking care of himself.

  The second set of steps ground to a halt. I slowly moved my stare to the man behind my brother.

  My father had shed his armor, opting for the plain black uniform of a common soldier. His sandy-blond hair was longer than I recalled, damn near reaching his chin. When our eyes met, the first thing I thought was how much he looked like Attes.

  “Valyn?” Poppy called quietly, leaning forward in concern—

  I frowned and focused on her. It wasn’t concern I was picking up from her. It was the coolness of shock, nearly equal to what my father was feeling.

  I reached out to her through the link. Is something wrong?

  Poppy’s brows knitted as she still stared at my father. I exchanged a glance with Kieran. Clearly, he had no idea what was going on.

  Malik dropped into the seat beside me. “This is awkward,” he murmured.

  Awkward was an understatement when it came to how things were between my father and me after learning what my parents knew when it came to Isbeth. But this? This was something else. Poppy continued staring at him.

  Malik leaned toward me, his voice low. “I don’t think now is a good time to bring up the Ascended.”

  “Figured,” I replied, watching our father. He still hadn’t moved.

  Then Malik cleared his throat. “Father?”

  As if coming out of a trance, he blinked rapidly and shifted his gaze to his daughter-in-law. “I apologize. Was a little caught off guard.”

  “No need to apologize,” I assured him. “It’s understandable.”

  “It’s good to see you,” he replied, his stare darting back to me. “Both of you.”

  Those three words were loaded.

  Emil cleared his throat. “Would anyone like something to drink?”

  Several hands lifted as Sven looked at him and said, “If there is wine, then the answer is yes—always yes.”

  “There is wine,” Emil replied, turning to the serving table. Playing host, he quickly handed my still-standing father a glass and then served Sven.

  “Water,” I called, glancing at Poppy. She nodded. “Three of them,” I said.

  My father seemed to recover and began walking toward the seat beside Malik. “I hope I didn’t keep everyone waiting too long.”

  “Not at all,” I said as he sat.

  “What does everyone know so far about the…situation in Pensdurth?” my father asked as Emil placed water in front of Poppy, Kieran, and then me.

  “We know you encountered a sizable force outside the city that Thad was sent to assist with. I would’ve thought he’d make quick work of the opposition, but we were told he was injured.”

  “Nearly half the forces were dealt with when Thad showed,” Father answered. Poppy cringed, knowing dealt with meant they’d been burned alive. “The remaining army fled toward Pensdurth.”

  Surprise flickered across La’Sere’s face as Emil placed what appeared to be wine in front of Netta without her asking. “You allowed that?”

  “Trust me when I say that was not our plan, but we didn’t have a choice,” Father replied. “Should have expected what happened, but hindsight is twenty-twenty, or so they say.”

  “Exactly what happened?” Murin asked.

  “You need to know something first to understand why we didn’t expect it,” Father said, reaching for his glass. “My regiment was tasked with making sure Bram’s division crossed the Blood Forest without any losses. That turned out to be easier than expected.”

  Surprised, I raised a brow. “Really?”

  My father nodded. “We encountered less than a dozen Craven, and they were…well, they had clearly been turned quite some time ago. It was no issue to deal with them.”

  “That is a surprise,” Poppy stated slowly. “I know parts of the Blood Forest are thinner, like the section we traveled through when we left Masadonia,” she said, glancing toward me. “But the section between Carsodonia and Pensdurth is thick.”

  “Most of it is,” Father confirmed. “But the southernmost point closest to the coast is thinner. That is the route we took.”

  “Really?” She sat back. “I was always told…” She trailed off and pressed her lips together. “I see that was another lie.”

  “The lies regarding the Blood Forest served a purpose,” Malik stated. “If people believed that there was no easy avenue of escape, they’d be less likely to attempt such a thing.”

  “It was a successful lie,” Poppy said, sipping her water. “How did you all discover the route?”

  “We spent much time scouting the Blood Forest,” Kieran answered. “Fun times.”

  Poppy snorted before directing her attention to my father. “Please, continue.”

  “As the soldiers fled, and before our regiment could give chase, Craven swarmed us,” he said, his grip tightening on his glass. “Hundreds of them.”

  “Hundreds?” Poppy whispered. Aylard paled, and Damron swore.

  My father nodded as Malik reached forward and picked up a circular, onyx-hued paperweight.

  “How many Craven do we suspect are in the Blood Forest?” Netta asked.

  “No one knows exactly,” Malik said when Poppy looked at him. “The Blood Crown didn’t keep detailed records, but I once heard thousands were speculated.”

  “That’s…” Netta took a long gulp of her wine. When she set her glass down, Emil refilled it. “Problematic.”

  “Very much so,” my father agreed, “especially since these were…fresh. Very quick-footed.”

  “Fresh?” Poppy set her glass down. “Do you think they were turned after the battle at the Bone Temple?”

  “I’m nearly a hundred percent confident of such, which I will explain shortly,” he advised. “Thad assisted the best he could with the Craven but left it mostly up to us.”

  “How many losses did we incur?” I asked, resting my elbow on the arm of the chair.

  “About fifty,” he said, glancing toward me.

  “Fifty trained soldiers lost to the Craven?” Aylard questioned.

  My father looked across the table as Malik rolled the paperweight on his palm. “I’m surprised it wasn’t worse.”

  “We crossed paths with some Craven on our journey here,” Aylard started. “We suffered no—”

  “How many Craven did you encounter at once?” Poppy interrupted. “Ten? A dozen. Maybe two at most?”

  “Never more than a dozen at a time, if that,” Damron said, her blue eyes narrowed on Aylard.

  “And have you ever dealt with a swarm of them?” Poppy pressed. “Coming at you all at once with the same goal in mind. To feed?”

  Aylard stiffened. “Well, no—”

  “I have. The first time, I got the scars you always stare at,” Poppy stated, and I ran my fingers over my lips to hide my grin as La’Sere shifted uncomfortably in her seat—probably wishing she hadn’t sat beside the imbecile. “So have Casteel and Kieran. As have Naill, Emil, and Delano. And now Valyn has learned the kind of destruction a horde of them can wreak,” she continued. “If you had, then you would know that only losing fifty is a miracle.”

  Aylard’s jaw tightened, and his shoulders stiffened, but he wisely stayed quiet.

  Poppy turned back to my father, who didn’t even attempt to hide the smile that crinkled the skin at the corners of his eyes.

  “After we dealt with the Craven, I made the call to stay with Bram’s regiment in case there was another swarm,” he shared as Malik’s paperweight scraped the wood. “Not to mention, his division needed support. The half that fled to Pensdurth outnumbered ours, but we believed they were mortal. They were in the sun, after all.”

  “I’m assuming they weren’t?” I said, glancing at Malik’s hand. Scrape, scrape, scrape went the paperweight.

  “Some were.” He shifted in his seat. “Before the Craven swarmed us, we were engaged with several who ran and struck them down.” He paused. “They did not stay dead.”

  “Revenants,” Poppy said.

  “I have no idea how many of them were that, or how many Thad got.” He lifted his glass. “It took less than half a day to cross the remaining distance to Pensdurth’s Rise.” He looked over at Poppy. “The city had gone silent.”

  Poppy sucked in a sharp breath. Sensing my confusion, she said, “Any quiet city or village we encountered on our way to Carsodonia was never good.”

  “As in nearly every mortal had been turned Craven or captured for feeding,” Kieran elaborated. “You think the fresh Craven were citizens of Pensdurth?”

  “We do,” he confirmed. “We met combatants near the Rise. That’s when Thad was injured.” A muscle ticked in his temple. “By a spear.”

  “A spear?” I repeated. Malik’s hand stopped moving. “I was unaware such a weapon could pierce a draken’s flesh.”

  “Normally, it can’t.” My father set his glass down as Malik began rolling the paperweight between his palm and the surface again. “However, these were spears that appeared to have been designed solely to take out a draken. They were ten times the size of a normal one.”

  “How badly was Thad injured?” Poppy demanded, her hands pressed against the table.

  “It got him in the chest, just below the shoulder. He was able to make a controlled landing, but we couldn’t get it out immediately.” My father grimaced as Malik continued to roll that fucking paperweight, and it kept scrape, scrape, scraping— “Eventually, we did, and that’s something I do not care to repeat.”

  I reached over and smacked my hand down on Malik’s. His stare lifted to mine. I raised my brows as I removed my hand, one finger at a time.

  Holding my glare, Malik matched my speed and slowly lifted his fingers.

  “What caused the delay?” Kieran asked as Father immediately snatched the paperweight without even looking at it.

  My lips twitched when Malik slumped back, eyeing our father’s hand. It reminded me of the countless times he’d done that when one of us was annoying the other.

  Father’s next words obliterated all thoughts of the fucking paperweight or the many toys he’d taken from us in the past. “We were delayed in doing so because after Thad was struck, we were greeted at the Rise.”

  “Kolis?” Damron asked.

  “Varus,” he said.

  “Who?” Kieran frowned.

  “A god,” my father bit out. “A rather full-of-himself god.” Pausing, he looked over at Aylard. “And yes, an actual god.”

  Aylard motioned for Emil to refill his glass.

  “I do not believe he is the only one there,” he said.

  “How many do you think there are?” Poppy asked, and I wondered why she thought my father could answer that.

  “If I had to wager a guess?”

  She nodded.

  “I wouldn’t be surprised if there were as many as were in my regiment,” he said, meeting her stare before looking away.