“So, how are you feeling knowing you’re a Primal god? I’m sure you weren’t expecting to end up with an extra dose of eather.”
“I can’t say either of us expected that,” he admitted.
“Do you…feel normal?”
One shoulder lifted. “Pretty much.”
“Really?” I eyed him closely. I’d always found it a bit difficult to know exactly what Kieran was thinking.
“Yes.” He dragged a hand over his head. “At first, I was confused by what’d happened—the near-constant hum of energy in my veins and here,” he said, dropping the hand to his chest. “That was…odd at first. But I’ve gotten used to it. I’m fine. Especially now that I know we’re not false Primals. That was messing with my head.”
“Now that you know you’re not a false Primal, will you try to summon the eather? Or don’t you know how?”
An eyebrow rose. “I haven’t, but I’m sure I can figure out how to summon the essence.”
“You sure about that?” I teased.
“I am a wolven,” he replied dryly. “How do you think I change forms?”
“Oh.”
Kieran laughed, the tone deep and rich. I started to speak when I suddenly felt a chill of unease prickling my neck. It wasn’t as intense as what I’d felt when the Ancients began to Awaken,nowhere near that, but I stilled and held my breath. Could something like that be happening again? No, Holland had said it wouldn’t.
“I think the essence of life is much easier to handle,” he said, pulling my attention back to him. “You would know.”
I bit my lip, thinking of Casteel’s reaction earlier. “You’re right, but just so you know, the essence of life isn’t exactly a walk in the park to control, either. You’ll know the first time you feel that pull. And you have to be careful. With mortals, if life is given…then another is taken in its place.”
He leaned forward. “Are you saying that when all the mortals who died fighting at the Bone Temple were restored…?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know.” Thevadentiahad gone quiet. Typical. “Maybe with both Seraphena and Nyktos intervening, it ensured some sort of balance.”
“Man.” He ran a hand over his jaw. “I hope so.”
“Yeah.” I sighed. “But it’s not just that. Making the choice to bring someone back?” I swallowed. “It’s easy. Too easy.”
“I know.” He reached across the space between us, his fingers brushing my leg as he placed his hand over mine, stopping me from pulling at a stray thread on the hem of the shirt. “I do know.” He squeezed and then dropped his arm. A moment passed. “It’s still easier than controlling the essence of death.”
“Yeah.” I laughed. “Still easier.” I cradled the glass against my chest. “I wonder why the essence split the way it did between you two.”
“Perhaps it’s becauseshe,” he said, his voice dropping in a way that made me grin, “created the wolven.”
“Possibly,” I murmured. That made sense, but I didn’t think that was the only reason. But I had no idea why I thought that. Had to be thevadentia. “Did you see how Cas looked?”
“Kind of hard not to,” he replied, settling in the armchair.
“The shadows in his skin? They matched the marks I saw on the Ancients.”
“I haven’t seen them on you.” He looked at me as he slumped back. “Then again, you haven’t gone full Primal since you woke.”
“Sounds like I went full Primal when I was possessed.”
“You didn’t,” he said, looking away.
Yeah, because he and who knows who else wouldn’t be here if I had.
But Casteel…? “He hadn’t been going full Primal then either.”
Kieran squinted as he took a drink. “You and I will make sure Cas stays level,” he said, somehow knowing where my mind had gone. Maybe his mind had gone there, too.
