“Where?”
Her gaze slid from mine, and she lifted a hand. “There.”
She was pointing at the Cliffs. My brows drew together. “What do you mean?”
She didn’t respond; she just continued staring at the Cliffs of Sorrow with her arm raised.
She had to still be asleep. Possibly dreaming. And only the gods knew what her mind was showing her after the night we’d had in Stonehill. She’d been quiet from the moment we left the streets that seemed to be owned by death. Tension curled through my limbs. I dipped my head and searched eyes that were now focused on mine. The skin under my hand was warm, andthere wasn’t even a hint of crimson in her eyes. I let out a small breath of relief.
“Come on, sweetheart.” Curling my other hand around the one she still had raised, I lowered her arm. “Let’s go back to bed.”
Poppy gave no indication that she’d heard me. Concern continued to grow as I realized I would have to carry her. Bending, I slid an arm under her locked knees and another around her waist.
The moment I lifted her into my arms, she blinked rapidly and looked around. She started to pull away. “Cas—?”
“It’s okay.” I held her tighter to my chest as her head swung toward mine. “I’m just taking you back to bed.”
“What?” She clutched my shoulders. “I wasn’t in bed?”
“No.” Dipping my head, I kissed her forehead, her confusion gathering with a tartness in my throat. “I think you were sleepwalking.” I reached the bed, keeping my concerns locked down. “Hold on.”
“Sleepwalking?” Her grip on my shoulders tightened as I stepped onto the platform. “I’ve…”
Poppy didn’t finish as I laid her on the bed. Keeping my eyes on her, I swung my legs over to her other side and reclined beside her.
“You’ve never done that before?” I asked, unsure if that was good or bad. I grabbed the blanket and tugged it up.
“I don’t…think so.”
I worked an arm over her waist and pulled her tightly to my front. “Or you don’t remember?”
“I…I remember falling out of bed when I was young after having a nightmare,” she said with a shiver. “But I don’t think that’s the same.”
I didn’t either. “You saw some really messed-up stuff tonight. That’s probably the cause.”
“Yeah,” she murmured, wiggling around until her face was tucked under my chin. “Probably.”
Smoothing a hand up her back, I brushed my lips across the crown of her head. “Go back to sleep.”
“Kind of hard to do,” she said, her voice muffled, “when I’m wondering if I’ll get up again.”
“You won’t,” I promised. “I’ll make sure of it.”
Poppy fell back to sleep soon afterward. I remained awake, hoping I was right about the cause of the strange behavior and that it wasn’t what I feared.
That it had something to do with Kolis.
POPPY
“It is unlikely that the incident in Stonehill has spread beyond,” Casteel said. “But I want the entire city checked, just to be sure.”
The meeting I’d wanted with the generals was happening now at Wayfair, though I wished it was under different circumstances. I looked around the circular chamber on the first floor of one of the castle’s many towers, not too far from the Great Hall. The room was brightly lit, casting a harsh glow across the bare limestone walls and the faces of those seated or standing near the table.
There had been no overly formal greeting when the generals arrived as there had been outside of Massene, and much to my relief, the generals got down to business the moment they arrived. That’s not to say there wasn’t a lot of staring—at me, Casteel, and Kieran.
Most looks held awe, even a little disbelief. This was the first time they were seeing the three of us together since I’d awakened. But I didn’t think it was just our presence that kept drawing everyone’s eyes. Based on how the Atlantians shifted in their seats or on their feet as if full of restless energy, I suspected it was the impact of the eather coursing through the three of us. Even the mortals seemed to feel it. The only ones in the chamber whodidn’tseem impacted were the wolven and the draken.
Speaking of the draken…
