I winced at his clipped response, wishing there was something I could say or do. Or perhaps wishing I hadn’t asked the question. “I’m so—”
“You are both needed at Wayfair,” he cut in, his raspy voice low. “Thad has returned.”
CASTEEL
Poppy was quiet as we shadowstepped to the hall beyond Wayfair’s entrance. And she was shielding her emotions. She had been doing that a lot lately.
Once more, I thanked—in other words, cursed—Seraphena for that little piece of advice.
I glanced at Poppy as we walked the long corridor where crimson banners had once covered the windows lining the hall. When I returned to the Solar and found her gone, fear had gripped my heart. I really had thought she’d gone to Pensdurth, even though I tried to convince myself she wouldn’t.
She could be a little reckless, but not like that. Still, there had been a chance. Thank the gods I found her.
I had been trying to give her space, even though it made me feel like I wanted to crawl out of my skin. She needed time to process things without worrying about whatIfelt.
The moment I’d found her at the Cliffs of Sorrow, I was no longer sure that had been the right move.
My mind flashed to when I woke to finding her standing at that damn window. It hadn’t gone like when she’d asked me to take her—something I now didn’t feel entirely comfortable with because her voice had sounded a lot like right before she ended Lady Hawley.
Fuck, it messed with my head to even consider that it might not have been only Poppy I held that night. That it could’ve also been who she used to be—the part of her that kept drawing her to the window and the damn Cliffs. My jaw clenched as we entered the Hall of Gods.
Hisa was waiting for us, standing at the center of the statues with their smooth, featureless faces tilted up to the arched ceiling. Emil and Delano stood behind her, decked out in knee-length, dark-gray tunics similar to the ones Naill had dropped off for me.
“This way,” the commander requested.
I glanced at Poppy. She was staring at the vases between the statues, now filled with some kind of brightly colored wildflowers, and then to the corridor leading to the Great Hall. The two ruby statues honoring the Blood Queen and King had been removed, thank fuck.
Emil and Delano fell into step behind us as we crossed under the rounded entryway of the atrium—the very active atrium. Realizing that this was the first time many of them were seeing Poppy, their Queen, I edged closer to her.
Guards stood at attention as we entered, their postures rigid as they inclined their heads. They had gotten the message not to bow. The mortals? Another story.
Servants rushed alone and in pairs through the large, circular chamber, some carrying empty trays and others freshly washed laundry. They all ground to a halt when they caught sight of us. Quietly spoken conversations ceased, smiles froze, and the eyes of both young and old grew wide.
Even though the servants had been vetted, I was of the mind that trust was rarely absolute. I kept my senses open, quickly sorting through the wave of emotions. Cool surprise gave away to the bubbly sweetness of awe, but there was an undercurrent of bitterness, too. Fear.
And fear either made people incredibly wise or fatally foolish.
Their wariness was expected, but I had a feeling it wasn’t because of who we were. The astonishment ran deeper than deference as if there was some kind of instinctive recognition. I hadn’t paid much attention to their reactions before when I crossed paths with mortals. I couldn’t really ignore it now.
All at once, the mortals seemed to snap out of their daze and dropped to their knees, heads bowing as the hush of the atrium stretched on.
“There is no need to bow before us,” I spoke. “Rise to stand with us and not beneath us.”
The ripple of shock echoed in each face as they shuffled to their feet, hesitant and unsure. Considering how the Blood Crown had demanded reverence, my words were likely the last thing they expected. But it was Poppy’s response—the emotions that filtered out to me through her shield—that caught my attention. It tasted like warm, buttery cake. Approval.
My lips curved up, knowing she liked what I’d said. She didn’t want to be worshipped. And contrary to what some likely believed, neither did I.
“Please, return to your duties,” Hisa commanded in a tone that sounded surprisinglyfriendlyfor her.
The servants exchanged quick glances and then scattered, nearly bouncing into one another as they did. A few lingered for a handful of seconds, their eyes trained on Poppy, before quickly spinning around and rushing off.
“I’m surprised they didn’t approach,” Poppy commented quietly, nodding at the guards in the hall.
“They’ve been instructed not to,” Hisa explained. And then quickly added in a rush, “Not in a way that suggests they are not allowed, but in—”
“I understand,” Poppy interjected, smiling at Hisa’s back. “Thank you.”
I sensed Kieran’s nearness as Hisa led us down one of the northern halls lined with closed doors trimmed in gold—doors I suspected had been recently painted ivory to cover the crimson.
