Chapter 17: The Crown of Gilded Bones: Chapter 17

Upon his return, I figured Casteel was relieved to learn that I hadn’t needed to stab anyone.

Or maybe not.

I think he liked it when I stabbed people.

Especially him.

He’d returned with a bottle of wine and a platter of sliced meats and cubed cheeses. There were also small blocks of milk chocolate, and I might’ve shoved three chunks into my mouth all at once. I’d changed into one of Casteel’s old cream-colored tunic shirts, much like the one he wore now. He’d helped me roll up the too-long sleeves. The tunic covered more than a slip would or that indecent nightgown had. Even though there was much to discuss, the full stomach, wine, and what he’d done in that shower all worked against that. I ended up falling asleep as Casteel took the platter into the sitting room, and was only half-aware when he rejoined me in bed, curling his long body around mine and gathering me close.

I slept the kind of deep sleep where even dreams didn’t follow. I woke at some point, the gray light of dawn beginning to find its way into the room, and sleepily made use of the bathing chamber. When I returned to the bed, Casteel immediately wrapped his body around mine. I didn’t know how long I slept that time before I woke again, my eyes fluttering open to soft lamplight. Shifting under the light blanket, I brushed up against a leg.

“Good evening,” Casteel drawled.

I rolled onto my back and looked up.

Casteel was sitting propped against the headboard, dressed in black breeches and a white shirt similar to the one I wore. He was thumbing through a leather-bound book. “I took it upon myself to unpack the bags we brought with us and hang your clothing in the wardrobe. Kirha—Kieran and Netta’s mother—dropped off some additional clothing she believed would fit you and recommended a seamstress, even though I like the idea of you having limited clothing options.”

I wasn’t even remotely surprised to hear the last part. “What time is it?”

“It’s close to eight at night.” He glanced over at me. “You’ve slept for almost twenty-four hours.”

Dear gods, it’d been a long time since I’d slept that long. “I’m sorry—”

“Don’t apologize. You needed the rest. So did I,” he said. “Though I was starting to get a bit lonely over here.”

“How long have you been…?” My eyes started to narrow as I stared at the book he held. It looked awfully familiar. “What are you reading?”

“Your favorite book.” His eyes slid to mine knowingly, and I jerked upright. “You know, I have this theory about Miss Willa Colyns.”

“I can’t believe you still have that damn journal.”

“She mentions something here, in chapter twenty-three, that got me thinking.” He cleared his throat. “‘Andre was the most uninhibited of all my lovers—’”

“You do not need to read it to tell me your theory.”

“I disagree,” he replied. “‘He was quite shameless in his search of pleasure as he was with his willingness to give, but his most impressive seduction was not his manhood.’” He looked over at me. “You do remember what manhood means?”

“Yes, Casteel. I remember.”

He smirked as he returned to that damnable journal. “Where was I? Oh, yes. Something about his manhood.”

“Why do you like saying that word so much?”

“Because you like hearing it.”

“I do not.” I shoved my hair back from my face.

“Stop interrupting me. This is a very important observation,” he replied. “‘But his most impressive seduction was not his manhood. It was the dark, wicked kiss of our kind, one he was all too eager to bestow in the most scandalous locations.’”

I realized what Casteel was getting at. The dark, wicked kiss of our kind. But my mind got stuck on the bestowing the kiss in the most scandalous locations part. Casteel hadn’t bitten me in that very scandalous location in the shower, but he’d drawn blood.

“I do believe that Miss Willa was either Atlantian or of Atlantian descent. Perhaps even one of another bloodline,” he noted. “I wonder if she still lives. If so, I also wonder if she’s planning for a volume two.” He paused. “You look very flushed, Poppy. Was it the wicked bite part? Or would you like to hear more about Andre?” He glanced back at the journal. “‘While partygoers celebrated the birthday of some young lady, Andre coaxed me out into the gardens, where he and his confidant, Torro, celebrated me.’”

I bit down on the inside of my lip, words fizzling out on the tip of my tongue. They…celebrated her? They?

Casteel continued, “‘Torro took me from behind, his thick hardness already taking me to bliss while Andre knelt before me, his mouth closing over my—’”

“That’s enough.” I shot forward, snatching the book from his hands. I got the book but didn’t make it very far.

Casteel folded an arm around my waist, pinning me and the journal to his chest. “You shouldn’t have stopped me there.” His eyes warmed. “Miss Willa was in for a very exciting evening in that garden. They were about to be joined by one not-very-innocent Lady.”

“I don’t care—wait.” Curiosity got the best of me. “What? The…the four of them? Together?”

He grinned as his other hand slid down my back. “Oh, yes.” His palm glided over my rear, which had become exposed in my rush to grab the journal. He cupped the flesh, sending a shivery wave of awareness through me. “Four of them. Together. Lots of manhoods. Lots of scandalous lady parts.”

“Lady parts?” I choked on a laugh.

He nodded as he dragged the edge of his teeth over his bottom lip. “How are you feeling?”

“I feel…uncomfortably curious,” I admitted. I had questions. Like how did that even work?

Casteel’s brows flew up. His surprise was like a burst of cool wind on my skin, and then something spicy and lush landed on the tip of my tongue. “Poppy,” he purred, his eyes deepening to a warm honey color. “I was talking about how you felt after getting some sleep.”

“Oh.” Heat swept through my entire body. Scrunching my nose, I planted my face in his chest. “I feel fine.” And embarrassed.

His laugh rumbled through me as his arms tightened. “I’m glad to hear that. I’m glad to hear both of those things.”

“Oh, my gods,” I muttered. “Please forget that I said I was curious.”

“Unlikely.”

“I dislike you.”

“That’s a lie.”

“I know.”

Another deep laugh came from him, and I smiled because I loved that sound. How deep and real it was. “We’ll talk about your uncomfortable curiosity in great detail later, but you need to get off me and change into something that makes it less easy for my manhood to find its way to your lady parts.”

I lifted my head from his chest. “You’re holding me to you.”

“True.” His arm eased off me, and I started to rise when he lightly smacked my rear. I let out a little squeak, and those damn dimples appeared in both of his cheeks.

I stared down at him. “That was very inappropriate.”

“It was, wasn’t it?” He didn’t feel even a hint of shame.

Still flushing to the roots of my hair, I started to move but stopped. Tension crept into my muscles, a contrasting mixture of reluctance and determination.

“What?” Casteel’s gaze searched mine. “What is it?”

“I…” It was hard to explain what I felt. It was a mixture of several things. I shifted onto my knees between his legs. “I almost don’t want to leave the bed. Things…everything feels different here. Like nothing outside of this place exists or matters. And I know…” I looked over to the latticed door, to the night beyond. “I know when I do, I’ll have to face all the things that do matter.” My gaze fell to the journal I held against my chest. “That probably makes me sound like an immature child.”

“No. Not at all. I get what you’re feeling.” He folded his fingers under my chin, lifting my gaze to his. “When Malik and I went to the caverns, it was our way of escaping.”

“What were you two escaping?” I asked. He’d never expounded on that.

“Malik and I stumbled into many conversations.” A wry grin formed. “Ones that were probably more like arguments between our mother and father. My parents love each other fiercely and have always had the same goal in mind—to provide a better life for all who call Atlantia their home. To make sure that everyone is safe and well cared for. But their methods of achieving that goal don’t always line up.”

I thought about that. “Ruling a kingdom and actually wanting what is best for the people you’re responsible for cannot be easy.”

“No, it’s not,” he agreed. “My father has always had more of an aggressive mentality toward achieving that goal.”

One of his father’s more aggressive ideas was to send me back to the Queen of Solis in pieces. “And your mother truly doesn’t have the same ideology?”

“I think my mother has seen enough war to last her four lifetimes,” he said. “Even when Malik and I were both too young to fully understand the problems Atlantia faced with the ever-decreasing land and the threat of Solis just beyond the Skotos Mountains, we could feel the heaviness that sat on our father’s shoulders, and the sadness that wore on our mother. She is an incredibly strong woman. Just like you. But she worries greatly for the people, and some days, the sadness overshadows the hope.”

“Do you know if your mother loved Malec?” I asked. According to Casteel, it was rare for Atlantians to marry without love between the two, but his mother’s marriage to the original King didn’t sound like it had been a happy one. Part of me hoped she didn’t love him, considering how the marriage had turned out. But she’d given her son a name so strikingly similar to her first husband’s that I had to wonder.

Casteel appeared to think it over. “She never really talked about him. Malik and I used to think it was out of respect for our father, but he isn’t the type to be affected by another who is no longer a part of her life. I think she loved him, Malec, and as crazy as this will sound, I think Malec loved her, too.”

Surprise shuttled through me. “But he had numerous affairs, right? And didn’t you say it was rumored that he and Isbeth were heartmates?”

Casteel nodded as he twisted a strand of my hair between his fingers. “I think Malec was in love with being in love, and he was constantly chasing that feeling instead of nourishing what he already had.” He dragged his thumb over the hair he held. “If the rumor of Malec and Isbeth being heartmates is true, it could’ve been the first time he stopped searching and paid attention to what was in front of him.”

My brows knitted. “All of that sounds incredibly sad and also hopeful. I mean, that if your mother did love Malec, she was still able to find love again. To open herself like that once more. I don’t know…” I held the journal close to my chest. “I don’t know if I could do that.”

“I would never give you a reason to, Poppy.”

My heart melted in my chest and then froze. But what if I was immortal? It seemed utterly incomprehensible to think that I would outlive Casteel, but we really had no idea what I had Ascended into. And while it would take several lifetimes for Casteel to begin even showing signs of aging, he would. And I…I didn’t want to think about spending my future without him, no matter how much of one we shared together. There were the heartmate trials, but the gods slept. There was also the Joining, but I had no idea if that worked in the opposite direction, linking his lifespan to mine.

And I didn’t even know why I was thinking about any of this when we had no idea what I was or what kind of lifespan I would even have. What had Casteel told me once before?

Don’t borrow from tomorrow’s problems?

I needed to start living that way.

“But when Malik and I went to the caverns,” he continued, thankfully unaware of where my thoughts had gone, “we were able to pretend as if none of the conversations happened. The heaviness and sadness didn’t follow us there. Nothing outside of that place existed.”

“But you were young boys then.”

“That doesn’t matter. The feeling still remains, some hundred years later,” he said, and my stomach dipped at the reminder of how old he was—how old I would one day become. “This bed—this room—can become our version of the caverns. When we’re in here, nothing outside it matters. This will be our peace. We deserve that, don’t we?”

My breath caught, and I nodded. “We do.”

His gaze softened as he slid his thumb across my bottom lip. “I wish we could stay in here forever.”

I smiled faintly. “I do, too.”

But we wouldn’t—we couldn’t. Because a moment later, a knock sounded on the door. I rolled off him, standing.

Casteel sighed as he rose, too. He stopped to drop a kiss on my cheek. “Be right back.”

A moment later, I heard Kieran’s voice. Placing the journal on the nightstand, I roamed into the bathing chamber, quickly taking care of my personal needs but not bothering to do much with my hair. I checked my eyes in the mirror before I left, finding that they still had the silvery-white sheen behind the pupils. My stomach took a small tumble at the sight, but I reminded myself that I was still the same.

Mostly.

Casteel was entering the bedchamber when I returned, carrying a fresh platter of food and a new bottle of what appeared to be some sort of sweet wine. One look at the hard line of his jaw, and I immediately knew that whatever news Kieran had brought wasn’t good. I sat on the bed. “What happened?”

“Nothing major.”

“Really?” I watched him come to me.

“Yeah. It’s just my father. He apparently decided to change his mind when it came to waiting for us to come to him. He wants to talk with me.”

I relaxed as he popped the cork and poured a glass of wine. “Then you should talk to him. He’s probably just concerned.”

“Does it make me a bad son if I say I don’t care?” He handed the glass to me.

A wry grin formed as I pulled my legs up, crossing them. I took a sip. The wine tasted of sugared berries. “A little.”

“Oh well.”

I tipped toward him. “I know that you do care, though. You love your parents. You haven’t seen them in the gods know how long, and you haven’t had a chance to talk to either of them under any normal circumstances. Go talk to your father, Cas. I’m fine.”

“Cas.” He bit down on his bottom lip as he planted his fists on the bed and bent over. “I’ve changed my mind about you calling me that.”

“You have?” I lowered my glass.

He nodded as he leaned in, brushing his lips across mine. “Because hearing you say it makes me want to get my mouth between your thighs again, and that need is quite distracting.”

Heat flooded my veins. “Sounds like that’s your problem.” I grinned. “Cas.”

“Gods,” he said, the word rumbling out of him. He kissed me quickly, nipping at my bottom lip as he withdrew.

Kieran appeared in the archway as Casteel straightened. He’d changed since he left us, having donned fawn-colored breeches and a sleeveless, white dress shirt that he had tucked in. “Did you actually get some rest, or did you spend hours asking Cas question after question?”

“I slept,” I told him as I plucked a chocolate-glazed strawberry from the tray. “After asking a few questions.”

“A few?” Kieran snorted.

“Yes, only—” Words failed me as Casteel caught my wrist. He lifted my hand, closing his mouth over my finger.

A wicked trill flooded my veins. His tongue swirled over my skin, catching the melting chocolate. Air caught in my throat as the edge of his fang pricked my skin when he drew back. I felt the languid tug of his mouth all the way through me.

The gold of his eyes turned to a heated honey. “Tasty.”

Tension coiled deep inside me as I stared at him. A wolfish half-grin appeared.

“Did you two forget I was here?” Kieran asked. “Holding a conversation with you two? Or trying to.”

I sort of did.

“Not at all,” Casteel remarked. “Poppy did have a very relaxing evening. We did some light reading.”

Light reading?

“Is that so?” Kieran’s brows rose.

Wait.

“Yes, from Poppy’s favorite journal, written by a Miss Willa—”

“He was reading that,” I cut in, picking up a piece of cheese. “I woke up, and he was reading—”

“You know, the one I found her with on that window ledge? The scene was about a very dark sort of wicked kiss on a very inappropriate area,” Casteel continued while Kieran stared at us blankly. “And foursomes.”

Slowly, I looked up at Casteel. Oh, my gods. My eyes narrowed as I debated throwing the cheese in his face. I didn’t. Instead, I ate it rather aggressively. He was lucky I loved cheese.

“Foursomes?” Kieran repeated, his gaze shifting to me. “I imagine you had a lot of questions about that.”

“I did not,” I snapped.

“I don’t believe that for one second,” Kieran stated, a half-grin forming. “You probably asked how it was possible.”

I had totally been wondering that, but those words never once passed my lips.

“Would you like to explain it to her?” Casteel asked.

“That won’t be necessary,” I cut in as Kieran opened his mouth. “I have a vivid enough imagination, thank you very much.”

He looked a little disappointed.

Casteel’s laugh teased the top of my head as he fished out another strawberry from the bowl of fruit and offered it to me. “I am very intrigued by this imagination of yours.”

“I’m sure you are,” I muttered, taking the berry. “Want to know what I’m imagining now? I’m currently entertaining myself with images of kicking both of you in the throats.”

Kieran’s gaze swept over me, and still only in Casteel’s shirt, I was sure I appeared as threatening as a sleepy kitten. “Now I’m also intrigued,” he commented.

I rolled my eyes as I shoved a piece of melon into my mouth. “Whatever,” I muttered around the fruit as Kieran dipped out of the room.

“I won’t be gone long. Kieran will be here—and I know you don’t need a guard,” he added before I could say anything. “But he insisted, and it makes me feel better to know that someone else will be here. You should try to get some more rest. I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt.”

I swallowed the urge to tell him that I didn’t need a bodyguard. “Okay.”

His eyes narrowed on me. “That was a surprisingly quick submission.”

“Submission?” I arched a brow as I took a drink of the wine. “I wouldn’t call it that.”

“You wouldn’t?”

I shook my head. “I hate the idea of having a babysitter, but a group of people did try to kill me earlier, and we have no idea if there are more of like mind. So I would call my quick agreement common sense.”

The dimple appeared in his right cheek. “Common sense. That must be a new thing for you.”

“I’m really imagining kicking you in the face now.”

He chuckled, kissing me quickly once more. “I won’t be gone long.”

“Take as long as you need.”

Casteel touched my cheek and then left. I exhaled heavily as my gaze flicked to my half-full glass. I leaned over the platter of food, placing the glass on the nightstand. As I ate a few cold strips of grilled chicken breast, nothing but silence came from the living area. What was Kieran even doing out there? Probably just standing by the archway, arms crossed and looking as bored as ever.

Rolling my eyes, I sighed. “Kieran?”

“Poppy?” came the response.

“You don’t have to stay out there.”

“You’re supposed to be resting.”

“All I’ve done today is rest.” I popped a piece of cheese into my mouth. “But you lurking on the other side of the wall is not at all restful.”

“I’m not lurking,” he replied dryly.

“You’re standing just out of sight, keeping watch. I don’t know if there could be a better example of lurking than that,” I replied. “Or I could come out there. Not sure how relaxed I would be in…” I grinned as Kieran appeared in the doorway. Walking over to the corner of the room, he dropped into the chair and looked at me. I gave him a little wave. “Hi.”

“Hi.” He stretched out his long legs, loosely crossing them at the ankles.

I stared at him. He stared at me. I picked up the small plate from the platter. “Cheese?”

A faint grin appeared as he shook his head. “You’re going to make this weird, aren’t you?”

“I offered you cheese.” I placed the plate back on the bed. “How is that making anything weird?”

“You waved at me.”

I crossed my arms. “I was being polite.”

“The fact that you’re being polite is also weird.”

“I am always polite.”

Kieran lifted his brows, and I didn’t need to read his emotions to sense the incredulity.

“I was going to offer you the last of the chocolate, but you can forget about that now.”

He laughed as he leaned back. “So, what are you more uncomfortable with right now? The fact that you tried to feed from me, or that I saw you naked—though I saw a lot more than that—?”

“You really don’t need to bring any of that up,” I stated, glaring at him.

“Or is it the Primal notam?”

“I’m regretting inviting you in here,” I muttered. “Honest? All of it makes me a bit uncomfortable.”

“You don’t need to worry about how you were when you woke up,” Kieran told me. “It happens.”

“How often have you really had someone try to eat you upon waking up?”

“You’d be surprised.”

I opened my mouth to ask for details but then closed it, thinking it was probably a road I really didn’t need to travel right now. “I don’t know what to think about any of this.”

“It’s a lot. A lot has changed for you in a very short period of time. I don’t think anyone would know what to think.”

I peeked over at him, wanting to know how he felt about the whole thing, but I really wanted to know if we had somehow communicated without speaking. “I—”

“Let me guess,” he said. “You have a question.”

I frowned as I crossed my arms over my chest.

“What?” He glanced over at me.

“Nothing.” I exhaled heavily. A moment passed. “Kieran?”

“Yeah?”

“I have a question.”

He sighed, but there was a slight curve to his lips. “What is your question, Poppy?”

“How do you feel about the notam?”

He was quiet for a moment and then he asked, “How do I feel about the notam? What do my people think? They are amazed. They are awed.”

“Really?” I whispered, picking up one of the pillows and hugging it to my chest.

“Yes.” He rose and made his way to the bed, sitting so we were shoulder to shoulder. “So am I.”

I could feel my face heating. “Don’t be. It makes me feel weird.”

He grinned as he dipped his chin. “I don’t think you understand why we feel…honored to be alive when a descendant of the gods is present. Many of my kind are not old enough to have lived among them. Alastir was one of the only few, and well, fuck him, right?”

I grinned. “Yeah. Fuck him.”

He smiled. “But the children of the gods have always held a special place with the wolven. We exist in this form because of them. Not because of the Atlantians.”

I squeezed the pillow tightly as I wiggled down onto my side, remaining silent.

“My ancestors were wild and fierce, loyal to their packs, but the kiyou were driven only by instinct, survival, and pack mentality. Everything was a challenge—for food, mates, pack leadership. Many didn’t survive very long, and the kiyou were on the brink of extinction when Nyktos appeared before the last great pack and asked that they protect the gods’ children in this realm. In return, he offered them human form so they could communicate with the deities and have long lifespans.”

“He asked and didn’t just make the kiyou wolven?”

“He could have. He is the King of Gods, after all. But he made it clear that the agreement was not servitude but a partnership between the kiyou and the deities. There cannot be equality in power if there is no choice.”

He was right. “I wonder why Nyktos asked for this partnership. Was it because he is the only god who can create life? I imagine being given a mortal form was like creating new life. Or perhaps because he is the King of Gods?”

“Probably all those reasons, but also because he is one of the few gods that can change forms,” he said.

“What?” I didn’t know that.

He nodded. “He was able to take the shape of a wolf—a white one. You haven’t seen much of Atlantia, but when you do, you will see paintings and statues of Nyktos. He’s often depicted with a wolf either at his side or behind him. When the wolf is behind him, it symbolizes the shape he can take, and when the wolf is beside him, it represents the offer he made to the kiyou.”

I let that sink in, and of course, my mind went to one place. “And yet I can’t shift into anything.”

“You’re really hung up on that, aren’t you?”

“Maybe,” I muttered. “Anyway, did some of the kiyou refuse?”

Kieran nodded. “Some did because they did not trust the god, and others simply wanted to remain as they were. The ones who took his offer were given mortal form and became wolven. We were here before an Atlantian ever was.”

It made me wonder why a wolven didn’t rule then, especially considering that they were viewed as equal to the elemental Atlantians and the deities. Were other wolven in positions of power like Jasper? Like…Alastir had been? “Has a wolven ever wanted to rule Atlantia?”

“I’m sure some had the desire to, but that pack instinct from our ancestors remains inside of us. We prefer to watch over our packs to this day. A kingdom is not a pack, but several wolven are Lords and Ladies and oversee smaller cities and villages,” he told me, shifting onto his side and resting his weight on an elbow so we were facing each other. “The Lords or Ladies in Atlantia are often land or business owners. They’re not all from an elemental line. Some are wolven, some are half-mortal, and others are changelings. They aid in ruling alongside the Queen and King. There are no Dukes or Duchesses, nor do titles necessarily stay within families. If land or a business is sold, the title and its responsibilities transfer with it.”

Hearing all of this was a stark reminder that I needed to learn a lot about Atlantia, but I wasn’t exactly surprised to hear that they had similar class structures, and I felt safe assuming that this was another thing the Ascended had copied. I was, however, surprised to hear that the titles transferred. In Solis, only the Ascended were considered nobility or of a ruling class, and they held the position for life—which was basically an eternity.

“Discovering what you are doesn’t mean we no longer respect the Queen and King,” Kieran said after a moment. “But you…what you are is different to us. You are proof that we came from the gods.”

I tilted my head. “Do some need a reminder of that?”

Kieran grinned. “There will always be people who need to be reminded of history.”

“Explain,” I stated.

His pale eyes warmed. “Every so many decades, an arrogant, young, elemental Atlantian demands a bonding or behaves as if he or she is better than all the others. We’re more than capable of reminding them that we consider everyone equal, but at the end of the day, we are not in service to anyone.”

I smiled at that, but it faded. “But there’ve been issues between the wolven and Atlantians of late, right?”

“A lot of it is the land issue. We lost so many of our people during the war, but our numbers are growing. Soon, it will be a problem.”

“And the other issues? They have to do with Casteel’s parents still ruling?”

“No one is comfortable with that, but we can sense that something has to give. Our land issues. The uncertainty about the Crown. The Ascended and Solis. I know that may sound strange, but it’s a part of our instincts that remained from the time when we were kiyou. We can sense unrest,” he said, and I listened intently, wanting to understand what was causing the division between the wolven and the Atlantians. “And things that have happened have aided in that sense of unease.”

“What things?”

“From what I heard from my sister and father, there have been a few unexplainable incidents. Crops destroyed overnight, sheared and trampled. Homes inexplicably catching fire. Businesses vandalized.”

Stunned, I lowered the pillow to the space between us. “Other than the fires, none of that sounds exactly unexplainable. Those aren’t natural incidents.”

“True.”

“Has anyone been injured?”

“Not seriously.”

Yet went unsaid. “Casteel hasn’t mentioned any of this.”

“I don’t think he—”

“Wanted me to worry?” I finished for him, irritated. “That is going to need to change.”

“In his defense, a lot has happened.”

I couldn’t argue with that. “Does anyone have any idea who is behind this or why?”

“No. And it is bizarre.” Kieran sat up. “Everyone who lives in Atlantia believes in community, the strength and power in that.”

“Obviously, someone doesn’t believe in the strength and power of community,” I remarked, and he nodded. We hadn’t even had time to discuss what happened in the Temple. “Do you think Alastir was involved in any of that?”

“I don’t know.” Kieran exhaled heavily. “I’ve known that wolven my entire life, and I never expected him to do what he did. I haven’t always agreed with him. Neither has my father. But we always thought he was a good man.” He dragged a hand over his head and then looked at me again. “But if he and the others acting on his belief believed they were protecting Atlantia, I don’t understand how damaging crops and businesses would help their cause.”

My gaze fell to the teal-colored pillow, and I forced my grip to loosen. It didn’t make sense to me either, but those actions created unrest. It would ultimately come down to what a person believed they could achieve through the disruption. Thinking of the Ascended, it seemed all too clear to me. The people of Solis lived under constant hardship, and it made them easier to manipulate and control. Alastir had basically been staging a coup, and that would have been easier to carry out if the people of Atlantia were unhappy. But with Alastir and the others gone, could there still be more out there who sought to create strife in Atlantia, and saw me as a threat? Casteel and Kieran had to believe there was a chance. That was why Casteel had handed me the dagger before he left to get food, and was why Kieran sat here now.

What the Duchess had said to me in the carriage and what Alastir had claimed resurfaced like a wraith determined to haunt me.

Kieran reached over, tugging gently on a strand of my hair. “What are you thinking about?”

I let go of the pillow. “Did Casteel tell you what the Duchess said to me before I killed her?”

“No.”

That surprised me, but I didn’t think it had anything to do with Casteel not wanting Kieran to know. There really hadn’t been time for them to talk. “She said that Queen Ileana would be thrilled when she learned that I married Casteel and that I would be able to accomplish what she had never been able to do. That I would take Atlantia.”

Kieran frowned. “That doesn’t make sense.”

“But it does, doesn’t it? Being a descendant of the gods means I usurp the throne without force. I take Atlantia.”

“Yes. You are the rightful ruler,” he said, and I swallowed hard, almost reaching for the wine glass again. “But I don’t see how that helps Solis at all.”

“I don’t either, but that is what she said, and…”

“And you think there’s something to that because of the shit Alastir said to you?” he surmised.

I said nothing.

“Listen to me, Poppy.” He leaned over so we were eye-to-eye and there was barely any space between us. “Every single one of us who lives within Atlantia is a potential threat to the kingdom. Our actions, our beliefs? Any of us could tear the kingdom apart. You being a descendant of the gods doesn’t make you more of a threat to the kingdom than anyone else. Only you control your actions. Not your blood—not your bloodline. Alastir was wrong. So was the Duchess. And the fact that you didn’t turn into a vampry when Casteel Ascended you should be evidence of that. And if you take the Crown, you’re not taking it in the name of Solis.”

“I can’t say that’s evidence of anything when we have no idea what I’ve become,” I pointed out, but what he said made me think of what I’d told Casteel earlier. “I have another question for you.”

He leaned back. “Of course, you do.”

“When we were waiting outside the Temple of Saion and Emil was speaking to us, I thought something in response to what he said.”

“You wondered if Alastir’s plan had failed,” Kieran finished for me. My breath caught as I stared at him. “But you said that out loud, Poppy.”

I stilled. “No, I didn’t.”

The corners of his lips turned down. “Yes, you did.”

“I didn’t,” I insisted, my heart thumping. “I only thought that, Kieran. And I heard you respond.”

He didn’t move or speak for a moment, and then he drew his legs up as he leaned forward. “I was in my wolven form.”

“I know.”

“I didn’t speak that answer. I…”

“You thought it.” I sat up. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you. And that wasn’t the only time that happened,” I said, and then I told him about Delano. “Somehow, we communicated…telepathically.”

“I…” The shock Kieran felt was like ice water. “Can you feel my imprint—my mark, like you did with Delano?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t tried.”

“Can you?” When I nodded, he sat up, his knee pressing against mine. “Then try it.”

Eager to figure out if I could, I inhaled deeply and focused on Kieran. The feel of his shock was still there, cool and slippery, but I pushed past that. The center of my chest hummed, and I felt it then, the invisible pathway that pushed past emotions and thoughts. It was like a cord connecting us, one invisible to the eye, and it fed back an earthy, woodsy sensation, one that reminded me of… “Cedar.”

“What?” Kieran blinked.

“You feel like cedar.”

He stared at me. “I feel like a tree?”

“Not really. I mean, that’s just what your…imprint or whatever feels like to me. Something rich and woodsy, connected to the land.” I shrugged. “That’s the only way I know how to explain it.”

“And what did Delano feel like? A featherlight sapling?”

A laugh burst from me. “No. Not a sapling. He felt like…I don’t know. Like spring.”

“And I feel woodsy.”

“I’m beginning to think I shouldn’t have said anything.”

One side of his lips kicked up. “I kind of like it, though—the rich and woodsy part.”

I rolled my eyes as I leaned back against the pillows. “I’ve never been able to feel any of that before. Or hear thoughts.”

“Before you ask, no, I cannot read your thoughts. Not then or now. I only heard that one,” he said, and I had been about to ask that. “It may have happened because you were experiencing a strong emotion.”

Just like when I had summoned the wolven without realizing it.

“To be quite honest, I’m glad I can’t. I imagine your mind to be a constant cyclone of questions, one fighting the other in a deathmatch to see which one has the honor of being asked.”

I frowned at him. “That was kind of rude.” Then I pitched forward, startling Kieran. “Can we try it now? See if I can do it on purpose?”

“Do you know how to do it?”

“No,” I admitted, holding the teal pillow to my chest again. “But I think it has to do with that imprint—the singular pathway. I think I just need to follow that. I mean, that’s something new, so it would make sense that it would be the way,” I explained while Kieran stared at me as if I spoke in a language he didn’t understand. “Okay. Just give me a second to concentrate.”

“You sure you only need a second?” he quipped.

“You sure you don’t want to find yourself staring down at the hilt of a dagger protruding from your chest?”

The wolven grinned at me. “That would make it hard to test out whether you can do this on purpose or not.”

I shot him a look.

He laughed softly. “Go ahead. See if you can do it.”

Drawing in a shallow breath, I opened my senses to read Kieran. I tasted the sugary sweetness of amusement on my tongue, and then I…I reached further, finding that earthy, woodsy sensation. I latched on to the cord. Kieran?

“Yeah?”

I jerked back, my eyes widening. “You heard me?”

He nodded. “It almost sounded like you spoke out loud, but I know you didn’t, and it…it sounded like a whisper. Try it again. See if I can respond to you.”

I focused on him, feeling the freshness of curiosity replacing the amusement. I connected to that pathway even quicker this time. Kieran?

The strangest thing happened, and I wasn’t sure if it had happened before and I hadn’t realized it, but I felt him—felt his mark brush against my mind like a woodsy, balsam-scented breeze. You have a healthy obsession with stabbing people.

Gasping, I gave a little jump. “I do not!”

A wide grin broke out over Kieran’s face. “You heard, then?”

“I did.” Dropping the pillow, I smacked his arm. “And I don’t have a healthy obsession with that. I’m just surrounded by people who have an unhealthy obsession with annoying me.”

He chuckled under his breath. “It must be the notam. It’s the only thing I can think of. It makes sense. Sort of.”

My brows lifted. “What does sort of mean? Could the deities communicate with the wolven like this?”

“Not that I know of,” he said, looking at me so intently that it felt like he was trying to see into my mind. “But how do you think Nyktos communicated with the kiyou? They wouldn’t have understood language. Not the spoken kind. He communicated directly with their minds.”