Casteel’s head whipped toward me. “Absolutely not.”
“That won’t work on me,” I stated, putting my fork down.
His eyes narrowed as essence pulsed through them. “Want to bet?”
“It would be a boring bet because you would lose,” I countered.
“Oh, man,” Delano murmured, fully halfway down in his chair now.
“Mother and Father are fighting,” Emil remarked under his breath. “Again.”
I frowned at him, then shook my head.
“We already discussed this, Poppy,” Casteel said from between clenched teeth.
“We discussed me going there to kill Kolis,” I corrected, catching how Malik’s brows shot up. “Not going there to see what’s happening.”
“Actually,” Kieran drawled, “I’m pretty sure we covered that, too.”
“Not really,” I argued. “I’m talking about popping in and out before he even knows I’m there.”
Kieran turned a bland look on me. “Does the length of time matter?”
“Well, I mean…” My eyes narrowed. “It doesn’t, but—”
“I’m so glad our conversation really left a lasting impression on you,” Casteel cut in.
“It did, but—”
“You know what it means when you use the wordbut,” he said.
“I understand what words mean, Casteel. But that conversation took placebefore,” I said. “It’s not like he’ll immediately know which Primal god is there. It will take him a few moments,” I said, unsure whether I was right or not. I had no idea how I felt to other gods. “There’s a difference between him sensing just one of us versus all three. I would leave quickly, and it will take me maybe half a minute to get there—”
“What?” Tawny lowered her glass.
“She can shadowstep,” Reaver answered, eyeing the fish on my plate. “Move through and between the realms using eather.”
Tawny blinked as I picked up my glass. “I’m going to pretend that made sense.”
“Samesies,” Emil murmured.
“It’s something gods can do,” Perry explained. “We do the same to a lesser extent when we want to…move fast.”
I continued once the impromptu lesson was over. “We have to do something, Casteel. Your father is there. So is Thad. We cannot wait any longer.”
Kieran’s inhale was audible. “Poppy,” he began. “You’re—”
“Do not say I’m the Queen, and therefore, should not be endangering myself,” I cut in, lifting my plate and extending it past Tawny to Reaver. “You should know better.”
“Technically, since you are the Queen, you should not be endangering yourself,” Kieran replied. “But this is…different,” he said, speaking the last word with a heavy emphasis only Casteel and I understood.
I stiffened. “It’s not.”
“It is,” Casteel said quietly. His chest rose as he took a breath.
I took a deep breath, but it didn’t help with the irritation. I placed my drink on the table before I did something reckless and childish, like throw it at one of them. “Actually, you’re both right. It is different.”
“Glad you’re using common sense,” Casteel remarked.
