Gods, I needed to refocus. What had happened in the Luxe was far more important—
Something else occurred to me then. I’d been in stasis for a long time, and I knew the Ascended could go for extended periods without feeding—just like an Atlantian but not for as long. It varied on how old they were, too. “Have none of the Ascended fallen into bloodlust?”
“They had stockpiles of blood.” Kieran’s upper lip curled, and my stomach twisted.
I didn’t want them to, but my thoughts went to Ian. The idea of him living off bottled blood turned my stomach. I just couldn’t see that. Not Ian. Well, not the Ian I’d known. But he hadn’t seemed all that different when I saw him at Spessa’s End, and Vonetta said he hadn’t been threatening.
“We haven’t destroyed any of them,” he added. “Yet.”
My brows lifted. “Really?”
“Cas figured a bunch of blood-starved Ascended would be even worse to deal with.”
“True.”
“At least one of the homes didn’t have a stockpile in it,” he added after a moment.
A ripple of shock went through me. “Were they just out?”
“I can’t say for sure.”
My mind raced as I considered what that discovery could mean, and I kept coming back to one question. Was it possible for Ascended to survive without feeding?
No answer spontaneously came to me, and I wasn’t sure if that was because I only had somevadentia, or if silence was the answer.
“Are any of the other Ascended homes without any?” I questioned, trying not to get too far ahead of myself.
“I can ask,” Kieran said. “Admittedly, I hadn’t thought of doing so.”
My lips pressed together. What difference would it make? To me, a lot. “Have you heard of any Ascended surviving without feeding?”
“I haven’t,” Kieran stated. In a way, that was answer enough.
But it didn’t mean thereweren’tany. And if some did and survived somehow, could Ian—?
I stopped that avenue of thought, knowing I was likely setting myself up for disappointment. “I’m kind of surprised they are still alive.”
“Cas didn’t want to make the decision regarding what to do with them until you were awake,” he answered. “It didn’t feel right to do so.”
A smile tugged at my lips despite what we were discussing. The fact that I knew Casteel wanted them dead but hadn’t made the call showed how much he valued my input. And that was…well, it meant everything to me.
“Poppy?”
My head jerked up. “Yeah?”
Kieran’s stunning blue eyes, now even brighter with the aura of essence behind them, met mine. “How are you dealing with what happened?”
I sensed he wasn’t talking about what had happened in the Continents.
“With Kolis?” I resumed my pacing. “I don’t know—and I mean that honestly. I don’t remember anything but a sense of having seen or heard something.” I sipped my water. “I have a feeling it’s a blessing I don’t remember.”
“It’s still got to mess with your head,” he said.
Turning my gaze to the window, I drew my lips inward, wincing as I scraped them with a fang. “I haven’t really thought about it.”
“Poppy,” Kieran began, but before he could continue, we both felt Casteel’s presence.
Kieran rose to get the door, and my stomach dipped as he opened it. I peered outside, a mix of excitement and anxiety balling together at the thought of seeing someone out there. The hall was empty, though.
