“For saving your life,” Reaver added. “Again.”
I slowly rose to my feet and turned to Poppy. She was pressed against the wall, staring at her hands. The mottled shadows were gone from her skin.
“Oh, my gods,” she rasped.
“It’s all right.” I stepped over the burnt stone. “It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not.” She jerked her head toward me. “Don’t…come any closer.”
A sharp ache pierced my chest. “Poppy, my Queen, I have to.”
“Even she knows you need to stay away from her,” Reaver commented, picking himself up. “So, try listening to her, you idiotic fuck.”
“You need to shut the fuck up,” I snapped at him.
Shoving his hair back from his face, he turned to me. “You know what almost happened, right? Or are you living in a realm of delusion? She let loose a bolt of eather—pureeather,” Reaver said, like I didn’t have a clue. “Maybe that would’ve knocked some sense into you. But more likely, it would’vekilledyou.”
My head snapped toward him as I felt a surge of essence once more coming from Poppy. I braced myself, but she gave no indication of tapping into it as she slid down the wall.
The draken moved faster this time, putting himself between us again. He gripped my shoulders, his bright-blue eyes filling with the glow of eather as smoke wafted from his nostrils. “You need to stand down.”
I knocked his hands off me. “You should listen to your own advice.”
“You’re acting like you can fixthat.” He pointed at her. “All you’re going to do is get yourself killed. And then I’ll have to deal with her”—he pointed in her direction again, and so help me gods, I was about to break that finger—“afterward.”
Taking a deep breath, I stepped back. “Fine.”
Reaver sighed. “Thank the gods—”
Spinning, I kicked him in the chin. “Fucker.”
Reaver slid across the floor with a growl. Ignoring him, I turned back to Poppy as she pulled her legs to her chest. Trembling, she buried her face against her knees. Fuck. My heartcracked, my legs as unsteady as a newborn foal’s. There was no way my heart could feel any more pain.
“You need…to leave.” Her words were muffled, sounding frail, but I still heard them loud and clear.
“Like I said. Even she knows you need to get out of here,” Reaver griped.
I ignored him. “I’m not leaving you, Poppy.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” the draken exploded. “Fucking listen to me. You need to find that wolf of yours and stay…” Trailing off, he turned sharply toward Poppy with a curse.
A shudder started in her tense arms and ended at her toes as a wave of icy rage so intense I had to fight the instinctual urge to take a step back rose. That anger…
My skin chilled as I stared at Poppy. It was coming from her, but it didn’t feel like her.
Reaver actually took a step back, his head cocking to the side. “You feel that?”
I didn’t respond. He muttered a curse as we both picked up the sound of pounding boots coming up the hall. I knew who it was, but for some reason, the tension in my body only increased.
A second later, the chamber door swung open as Kieran burst into the room. His presence shocked me. And the fact that he’d come back after I’d assured him that I would take care of Poppy annoyed the fuck out of me.
“Fuck me,” Reaver muttered.
“No, thank you,” Kieran retorted, stalking forward, his gaze trained on Poppy.
“I wasn’t offering,” the draken spat.
Kieran’s steps faltered as he sniffed the air. The sharp inhale that followed was a punch to the chest. After a moment, he looked at me. His eyes widened slightly when he got a good look at my throat. “She do that?”
