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)
“And you’ve fed?” Kieran asked me.
I nodded and cleared my throat. “Yeah.”
“Good. That’s good,” he said, his voice wavering and a bit hoarse. He still held me by the shoulders as if half-afraid to let go. His exhale was rough. “You’re sure you feel fine?”
“I do,” I assured him as Casteel sat on a chair, his boots in hand. “I know I don’t remember what I did while under Kolis’s influence…” A heavy weight settled in my chest the moment I said the Primal’s name. I forced myself to take a slow, deep breath. Talking about Kolis didn’t mean I needed to think about how he had seized control of me. “But I want to apologize—”
“No, absolutely not,” Kieran interrupted me, his hands slipping to my upper arms and squeezing. “You have nothing—absolutely nothing—to apologize for.”
“But—”
“There are no buts, Poppy. And there’s nothing more to say about any of that,” he said in a low and firm voice, brooking no argument. “Okay?”
“Okay.” I drew out the word, a little unsettled by his intensity. It left me wondering exactly what I had done or said.
Kieran dropped his hands. Clearing his throat, he looked over at Cas as I stepped back. “If she fed, that means you need to feed. Emil—”
“As I’ve said a hundred times,” Casteel interrupted, “there are others besides Emil.” He picked up his other boot. “And I will. Later.”
“Actually,” I said, my neck tingling again as I looked over my shoulder at Cas. “I think you can feed from Kieran now.” My gaze snapped back to him. “I mean, if that’s okay with you.”
Kieran’s gaze shot to Cas. He had frozen, the boot still in his hands. They both turned their attention to me.
“Shit. I didn’t even think of that until now,” Cas murmured. “That should be…intriguing.”
Kieran shot him a bland look. “And why would he be able to feed from me now?” he asked.
“Because he’s not really an Atlantian anymore,” I said. “And you’re not only a wolven. Which is why you do feel hotter.”
“I get that the Joining gave us some unique traits,” Kieran replied, crossing his arms. “But…”
“It did more than give you unique traits. It changed you,” I told him, surprised that Kieran, who seemed to know everything before anyone else did—to the point where Cas believed there was a changeling in Kieran’s bloodline somewhere—hadn’t realized that. “You do feel different, right?”
His brows knitted. “Yeah, but…”
“But what?” I asked.
“But…” Shifting his weight, he glanced at Cas. “It can’t have changed us so much that my blood would now be useful.”
“It did,” I said, fighting a grin as I told him what I knew about what they had become, leaving out the part that involved the Continents and the Fates. We didn’t have time for that right now. “We’re Deminyen Primals—”
“Deminyen?” Kieran frowned.
“Primal gods not tied to a Court,” I said. “And a Court is—”
“I know what that means.”
“I bet you really don’t know what it means,” I insisted, drawing a grin from Casteel.
Kieran’s brow furrowed as he briefly looked over at him. “I do. But how do you know all of this?”
“Well, you see, that is…a long story. The important thing is that I do know, and you two are Primal gods now.” I fiddled with the buttons on my robe. “You’re a Primal God of Life, Kieran.”
I waited for him to respond, but he only stood there silently, his chest rising and falling rapidly.
Reaching over, I tapped his chest. “Are you all right?”
Blinking slowly, he turned his attention to me. “You’re both serious right now?”
“Yep,” I said, popping the p. “You should be able to summon the eather, too. Have you?”
“No, but I…” Kieran rubbed a hand over his chest and shook his head. “The Revenant that attacked called Cas a false Primal.”
I stiffened. “Like my—like Isbeth? No.”
“How can you be sure?” Kieran insisted quietly.
“Because, even if I wasn’t sure, I would sense if you were something like a demis,” I said, my nose scrunching. “All gods would.”
Surprise flickered across Kieran’s face. “Shit.” He looked at Cas. “She’s actually right.”
“Wow,” I muttered, rolling my eyes.
“We were taught that,” Kieran murmured, his gaze returning to me. “But there’s no way you were taught that.”
“I wasn’t.” I lifted my chin. “I have vadentia.”
A crease formed between Kieran’s brows. “Foresight?”
“Yes,” I said. “Apparently, I got some of that during my Ascension.”
“You?” The skin smoothed out between Kieran’s brows as he stared at me. “You have foresight?”
“Yes.” My lips flattened as I heard Casteel chuckle softly from where he still sat in the chair. “Why do you sound like that’s so hard to believe?” I whipped toward Casteel. “And why do you think it’s funny?”
He held up his hands, the dimple in his right cheek visible.
“Did you just ask why I find that hard to believe?” Kieran asked, drawing my gaze back to him. “Have you met yourself?”