“Secrets?” My brows lifted. I knew people were waiting for us, but I had to ask. “My…horse has been keeping secrets?”
“Thebloodsteedhas been keeping secrets,” she corrected, sending me a quick glance. “I guess I never noticed it—or maybe it’s more like I never felt it—until now.” She smiled as Setti nudged her hand—she’d stopped petting him. “The essence.”
“The eather?” Kieran questioned. “In Setti?”
She nodded. “I’m guessing neither of you feel it?”
“Uh.” My gaze briefly met Kieran’s. “No.”
“Setti isn’t a horse—well, he’s not a normal one anyway,” she said.
The reins slipped from Kieran’s fingers. “Are you saying he’s…”
“He’s not just named after Attes’svellám. HeisAttes’svellám.” She straightened the strap along his cheek, and fuck if Setti’s ears didn’t flicker at the mention of the Primal god. “I don’t know how or really why, but Setti’s a bloodsteed.”
I stared at her for what felt like an hour. Yeah, I was shocked as shit to hear that, but I didn’t try to refute what she said. First, it was likely thevadentia. And secondly, Setti had always seemed damn near…
I shook my head in disbelief. “How is this possible? I’ve had him since he was a colt.” My gaze crawled over his shiny coat. “Raised him.”
“I…I don’t know.” Poppy frowned as rubbed the back of her neck. “I don’t think he always appeared as a colt.”
My brows shot up. “What?”
“It’s hard to explain because it doesn’t really make sense to me,” she admitted. “But I think he chose to appear as a colt when you found him at Elian estate.”
“What the fuck?” I murmured.
Poppy ducked her chin as she grinned. “I guess only Elian would’ve known. And Attes. But I don’t know how or why.”
“It has to be magic,” Kieran murmured. “How many times in battle, large or small, has Setti remained standing, unscathed, while others were struck down?”
“Too many to count,” I said. “And here I thought it was just my horsemanship keeping him alive.”
Setti let out a quick, forceful burst of air.
My eyes narrowed on the horse.
“Didn’t you say he started following you all when you saw him in the pasture?” Poppy asked Kieran. He nodded, and she came to my side. “Maybe he sensed that you’re a descendant of Attes’s bloodline, and that’s why he followed you.”
“Maybe,” I said.
“Maybe?” Kieran laughed. “There is no way that you coming across the bloodsteed of the Primal god you’re descended from is a coincidence.”
Yeah, I didn’t think it was. But I had no fucking idea what to think about the fact that my horse wasn’t mine and wasn’t entirelynormal. Fuck. I had no idea what kind of reveal would come next. That my father wasn’t who he said he was?
I almost laughed at that.
“We should probably get going,” Poppy said quietly. When I looked down at her, she seemed too calm about this.
But she was right.
I adjusted her cloak, making sure it hid her features, then led Setti out into the aisle. Gripping Poppy’s waist, I lifted her and swung up behind her.
Fuck if it didn’t feel different riding Setti now, but as Poppy relaxed into me, and we rode out of the stables and crossed the moonlit courtyard, it felt damn good having her with me, feeling the warmth of her body seeping into mine.
Our party of five was quiet as we passed through the inner Rise’s side gate. We took the most direct route to Stonehill, traveling across the narrow bridge, its worn planks creaking as the shadow of the western slope of the Elysium Peaks swallowed its length. The less glamorous bridge had been used for deliveries anderrandsthe Blood Crown hadn’t wanted to draw attention to.
The night was quiet as we skirted the Garden District and took the road cradling the coast. Poppy told Kieran and me how she believed her ability to read emotions had strengthened as she stared east, where the Sun Temple’s diamond-encrusted limestone walls glittered like starlight.
