Kolis was weak—veryweak. That was why the bonds around her wrists held. That’s why he tried what he had to escape instead of fighting. He’d wanted to distract me.
Kolis also didn’t want to feed. It would’ve strengthened him, but it also meant strengthening her—the reverse of when she refused to feed. Both were trying to keep the other weak.
And the third thing I knew without a doubt?
I was going to kill him.
CHAPTER 5
CASTEEL
I stood, leaning against the door with my arms loosely crossed over my chest as I did what I’d been doing for what felt like weeks now.
I watched Poppy.
I watched her sleep, thinking about all the shit that must be going on outside Wayfair’s walls. The battle at the Bone Temple seemed like forever ago, and we’d been in the cell for at least a day. Maybe two. My world had stopped moving, but I knew the realm hadn’t.
I picked up the sound of someone approaching and turned my head to the side. A moment later, a knock vibrated the length of my back. Pushing off the door, I turned and opened it. I knew it wasn’t just Emil who’d returned. My gaze met eyes belonging to the last person I wanted to see. Well, maybe not thelastperson. More like second to last. At the very least, the third to last.
My brother had returned from wherever he’d disappeared to since I last saw him with Millicent.
And he looked like shit.
Malik’s shoulder-length hair was pulled back in a knot at the nape of his neck, all except for the single sandy-brown strand that fell against a cheek that seemed sharper than before. The bruise on his jaw was gone, but the smudges under his eyes hadgotten darker. It looked like he was getting as much sleep as I was.
“What in the actual fuck?” Malik rasped, his gaze moving from me to the cell door.
Lips pressed into a firm line, I glanced at Emil standing behind Delano. The white wolven passed me, leaving a trail of blood. Ears twitching, he kept looking back at the door—theirondoor—he’d managed to score. Three of his claws had broken off. They’d grow back, but my stomach still soured. I lifted my gaze to Emil.
“I couldn’t find Millicent,” he explained, holding up his hands.
“So, you gothim?” I demanded in a low voice.
“Actually, no.” Malik’s posture was as stiff as mine. “I heard he was looking for Millie. I decided to see why.”
“I didn’t tell him anything,” Emil said.
“Much to my annoyance,” Malik added. His gaze flicked to the cell door once more. “I have a lot of questions.”
“And I just need to see Millicent.”
His gaze narrowed on me. “Before you tell me why you’re down here—”
“Wasn’t planning to do that.”
He ignored me. “You’re going to tell me what the fuck is up with your eyes.”
It took me a moment to figure out what he was talking about. My eyes. Of course. He was just now seeing the brighter aura of eather. “It’s nothing.”
“Are you for real right now?”
Crossing my arms, I arched a brow.
“You have strands of eather swirling around your irises, Cas. In case you need a reminder, they weren’t there before.”
“I don’t need a reminder, but thanks. Where is Millicent?”
The taste of his annoyance was prickly and faintly acidic. “Why do you have Poppy down here?”
