“Something big went down.”
“Are you hearing anything I’m saying to you, Delano?”
“I’m selectively hearing what you’re saying.”
“Well, selectively hear this.” I held his gaze. “Nothing is going on between us. He just has something to do. That’s all.”
“Sorry. I didn’t hear that.”
“Delano.” My fingers stilled. “Enough.”
He stiffened, hearing the warning in my tone. His eyes flashed an intense winter-blue. Wolven never liked being told what to do. Or being told no.
“Fine.” Delano pushed himself up. “All I’m going to say—”
“Is goodbye.”
“Is that you two had better fix thatnothingbefore she wakes and knows herself,” he said, meeting my glare. “Because the last thing she needs to deal with is you two being pissy with each other.”
Pissy? My lip curled in a tight, cold smile as I watched him leave. As if what was going on between us was just us beingpissywith each other. His eyes met mine as he quietly closed the door instead of slamming it like I knew he wanted to. My smile immediately disappeared.
My attention shifted back to Poppy, my mind the fucking definition of troubled. I scanned every inch of her features, searching for hints that something—someone—else was lurking beneath the faint freckles and creamy skin.
Eather throbbed intensely in my chest. My grip tightened on the arm of the chair, fingers sinking through the upholstery as I thought ofhimbeing inside her. Doing what? Talking to—
The memory of her believing I’d called her weak, and how she’d stared at me as if I were someone else resurfaced. She’d seen someone who scared her.
Was that what he was doing? Telling her shit? Making her see things? Rage clawed its way through me, and I felt the wood under the upholstery crack.
Sucking in a sharp breath, I blinked to see fine dust sifting through the air, falling from the…trembling ceiling.
Fuck.
I needed to calm myself.
Taking a deep breath, I briefly closed my eyes and concentrated on the essence rushing through me. I approached it like I would if pulling back a compulsion, cutting off the flow of power. It took a few seconds longer than it should have—and I’d had a lifetime of knowing how to handle the essence in my blood. How Poppy had managed to gain such control was beyond me.
I told myself that Reaver would find someone who would know what to do and could help us. I had to believe that. I had no other choice.
Once I was sure I wouldn’t bring the whole damn castle down on top of us, I opened my eyes. Thankfully, Poppy remained still.
I lifted my hand from the ruined section of the chair and stretched my fingers, staring at the missing pointer finger. I calmly considered what I knew about the true Primal of Death, which was nothing. The gods, Rhain and Rhahar? The ones we were told were gods of death? At that moment, I couldn’t recall anything about them that might tell me how Kolis could get inside Poppy’s mind. I doubted even Kieran would’ve been able to come up with something.
Kieran.
Something that felt a lot like acid burned in my gut and chest. “Why?” I uttered as I stared at Poppy. “Why would you ask him to do that?”
There was no answer.
At least, none that came from her.
My jaw locked as I fisted my hand. Never in a thousand years would I have believed I’d lay hands on Kieran like that. Sure, we got mad at each other—more times than I could recall, actually. As Delano would say, we gotpissywith each other. And we’d exchanged blows more than a few times, especially when I was doing everything I could to escape the memories of being held captive. But I’d never gone after him like that.
And all those times before had never involved Poppy—had never involved hurting her.
My jaw started to ache, and I shook my head. I knew Kieran wouldn’t want to hurt her. Fuck. I’d heard it in how he begged her not to ask. Iknewthat.
But, fuck…
