Jadis’s hoarse cries shook her and Seraphena. I stepped back. Casteel did the same, and I knew he felt the same as I did. We didn’t belong here. We shouldn’t be witnessing this.
As Seraphena spoke quietly to Jadis, my gaze went to Reaver.
He remained where he stood, his brow furrowed, lips pressed into a thin line, and hands clenched into fists at hissides. His chest rose with ragged, uneven breaths that bled agony into the air with every exhale.
“Reaver,” Seraphena called, her voice thick with barely suppressed emotion. “I summoned Aurelia. She will be here shortly to take Jadis home.”
The unspoken message was clear. She was asking Reaver to leave.
He looked like he would argue for a moment but then bowed his head, his hair falling forward and shielding his face. With a nod, he turned on his heel. Chest aching, I watched him leave the chamber.
Seraphena’s gaze flicked to us as she rocked the too-small draken pressed against her. She didn’t need to vocalize what she needed. Taking my hand, Casteel led me out, but it felt like some part of me would remain there, with all the parts of Jadis I knew would also stay.
CHAPTER 37
POPPY
We didn’t speak until we returned to the sunlit hall.
There was a knot in my throat. “That was…”
Stopping by one of the windows, Casteel laid the strapped swords on the floor and pulled me into his arms. “Yeah.”
I rested my cheek against his bare chest, feeling his heartbeat. “I wish I could’ve helped her. Took away her pain.”
“I know.” He ran a hand over the back of my head, and we stayed that way until I felt the presence of a draken drawing near.
I looked up to see a statuesque woman wearing a loose, gold tunic and nothing else, carrying something dark in her hand. Her hair was as black and glossy as shadowstone, and her skin was a warm, rich brown. I almost didn’t recognize her since I’d only seen Aurelia in her mortal form once, and that had only been for a few seconds.
Stunning, cobalt-blue eyes met mine as her steps slowed. She bowed her head, then lifted the balled-up black material. “Reaver asked me to give this to you when we crossed paths earlier,” she told Casteel.
He turned and took what appeared to be a shirt.
“That was thoughtful of him,” I said, considering…everything.
“He said something about you all being as prudish as mortals,” she added.
Casteel, the least prudish person I knew, arched a brow.
“Do you know where they are?” I asked.
“I do.” Aurelia started forward but stopped, the lean muscles of her thighs tensing. “She’s not…” Her chest rose with a deep inhale. “It’s bad, isn’t it?”
Wrapping my arms around myself, I wished I could lie. “Yes.” I glanced down the hall we’d come from and then at Casteel, who was scowling at the shirt. “You should prepare yourself for the worst.”
Aurelia closed her eyes, her lips pursed. Then, with a slow breath, she nodded again and turned, her footsteps quiet and quick. Within seconds, I no longer saw her.
“Does Reaver think I’m an adolescent boy?”
I faced Casteel. “What?”
Lifting his brows, he held out the shirt. “I’m bigger than he is, yet he picked out a shirt that wouldn’t even fit him.”
The tunic was…smaller than one would’ve logically chosen. “I’m sure he was in a hurry and grabbed what he could.”
“Uh-huh.” He pulled the shirt on over his head. The stitches stretched along his shoulders, and I swore I heard some pop as he jerked it down over his waist. His hands fell away, and he met my gaze. “I can barely breathe.”
Despite everything, I laughed. “It is tight.”
