“For example?” I asked, thinking I already knew the answer as Kieran glanced at me.
“Certain things make him, as you would say, unhinged,” Attes said after a moment.
“Like…me?”
Attes’s gaze shifted back to her, eather swirling in his eyes. He said nothing.
“Seraphena told me about Sotoria and the Star diamond,” she said. “And about Kolis’s obsession.”
Attes shifted his jaw from side to side. “Yes, you would be one of those things.”
Beneath my fingers, I felt thin fissures forming in the glass.
So, he clearly knows about her past. Kieran’s voice reached me.
Clearly.My mind went to his willingness to endure excruciating pain for her—forSotoria. I had a feeling he knew a lot more.
“But otherwise, he’s incredibly calculating and precise. Always several steps ahead. And he rarely acts without purpose,” Attes continued, now eyeing the untouched glass of whiskeyKieran had gotten for him. “When it comes to…you.” His stare returned to Poppy. “He has always lost control.”
Kieran’s fingers brushed mine as he pried the glass from my hand and placed it on the table.
“In the sense that he becomes unpredictable. Recklessly so,” Attes added, reaching for his glass. “That is the weakness.” His eyes lifted to mine.
“You said there were things?” Poppy questioned, her voice steady, almost like she was unbothered by the topic. But I knew better. I tasted her lemony unease and something thicker, greasier. Slimy. Disgust. I moved my thumb across her hip, knowing it usually soothed her.
“His brother,” Attes said, and Reaver looked up. “Nyktos, and Callum.”
“Explain,” Poppy insisted and then tacked on what I felt was unnecessary, “please.”
“Kolis loved Eythos. Still does. And I know that sounds unbelievable, but it’s true,” Attes explained. “And Callum is tied to…Sotoria.”
“He’s jealous of Nyktos,” Reaver said, turning the apple in his hand. There was little left but the core. “He tried to break him and couldn’t. Then he tried to change him—to shape and mold him. He couldn’t do that either.”
Poppy nodded. “Well, Eythos is long dead, and we have no idea where Callum is—if he’s not with Kolis. And Nyktos…I’m not sure he can enter the realm.”
“He can, but only briefly,” Attes said. I couldn’t help but wonder what the fuck would happen with three Primal Gods of Death in the mortal realm. “The Blood Treaty? It’s off the table at this point. So, all the Primals can. But they’re weakened and have to be careful.”
Poppy wiggled an inch or two closer to me. “I’m sorry about Rhahar.”
Attes smiled at her, and it was blinding.
She cleared her throat. “What were you all talking about before I came in?”
“The supposedly detailed war plan you have concocted,” Attes said, sipping his whiskey. His lip immediately curled.
“Not to your liking?” I asked.
“Tastes like dakkai piss,” he muttered.
I laughed. “Well, you won’t want to drink anything else in this city if you thinkthattastes like piss.”
Poppy wrinkled her nose.
“That’s a shame.” He took another drink, his lips peeling back with the swallow. “So, they have spears that can wound a draken?”
“They do,” Kieran said. “Those would have to be taken out first.”
“I can handle that,” Reaver offered.
