“Please,” Reaver grunted. “Don’t start fighting again.”
We both ignored him.
“Your face.” I could feel the wood splintering as my claws dug in. “Me? Her?”
“Both,” Kieran answered, his gaze moving back to Poppy. “She’s going to be…”
He didn’t need to finish.
Once Poppy woke, was herself again, and learned what she had done, she would be torn up.
And that hurt more than… The promise.
I couldn’t let myself think about that right now. I’d lose my shit again if I did, and that wouldn’t help Poppy.
“Fuck,” breathed Kieran, running a hand over his shoulder and clasping the back of his neck. “What do we do? She needs to feed, and I…” He pressed his lips together. “We can’t leave her like this.”
I let go of the bedpost. The bones of my back cracked as I straightened my spine and turned to where Poppy lay. If not for the smears of blood on her neck, she’d look almost peaceful. But crimson streaks glistened over the dried smudges.
“Nektas will eventually return for his daughter,” Reaver said. “He may know something.”
“And when will that be?” Kieran asked.
“I don’t know.”
“How is that an answer?” Kieran’s frustration turned sharp with a bitter edge of panic. “She needs him.”
“Yes, but so do Sera and Ash,” Reaver shot back.
“Ash?” I frowned.
“Nyktos. Ash is just—it doesn’t matter.” Reaver waved his hand and shook his head. “In case you have forgotten, all the gods have awakened. All of them. Including those loyal to Kolis. And, yeah, they still exist, even though everything possible was done to smoke out Kolis’s loyalists after he was entombed. Most of the draken are here, which leaves both Dalos—the true seat of power for the true Primal of Life—and the Shadowlands largely unguarded. Until Seraphena and Nyktos return to full strength, Nektas will remain there.”
“Great.” Kieran laughed harshly. “If she didn’t get enough blood, she’ll need to feed again. If not…”
He didn’t need to finish. I already knew. She could fall into bloodlust, and that was a complication we didn’t need. But I couldn’t have her at my vein.
My insides turned even colder as reality set in. “We…I can’t let her feed.” I couldn’t look at him. “If she feeds, she’ll get stronger, and if that happens…” I trailed off, letting Kieran think it over.
When he cursed, I knew he got what I was implying.
“Finally, you’re making some sense,” Reaver said.
My head whipped around to face the draken, a sharp hiss of air seeping through my clenched teeth.
Reaver’s eyes narrowed. “You’re so…catty.”
My upper lip curled. “The only reason I’m not paying you back for hurting Poppy is because you brought her back.”
A muscle flexed in his jaw as he shifted his gaze back to her. “The fact that she didn’t try to kill any of us is a good sign, I guess.”
As I backed up, I tossed a pointed glance at his chest.
He huffed. “She still held back.”
True.
If she hadn’t, we’d all be dead. But I still hated seeing her like this, being unable to help or comfort her. But… “It means she’s still in there.”
