Eythos suddenly turned. Our gazes connected with such intensity that I couldn’t mistake that he was looking at me. That he saw me. Tiny bumps broke out across my flesh.
“But know this,” he said. “Itistoo late. Do not ever forget that.”
The gold-streaked shadows reached Eythos before I could respond. Eyes falling shut, he tipped his head back as the wisps drifted up his sides. His sigh was the last thing I heard before the swirling gold swept over me, carrying me into the silence.
THE CAVERNS
Poppy
Something pulled me from the nothingness, tugging at me until soft, dappled sunlight pierced the darkness.
I blinked until my surroundings came into focus. Wisps of steam disappeared between the gently swaying lavender-hued blossoms hanging from the fragile branches blanketing the ceiling of the cavern Casteel had once brought me to.
I’ll be waiting here. Always.
My breath snagged in my chest as I remembered Cas’s promise. I spun toward the bank of the pool, stirring the water into a frothing riot. Heart thumping, I searched the shadows clinging to the lilac-smothered walls. They were empty. I faced the earthen steps and the cavern’s misty entrance. They, too, were empty.
Stepping back, I turned toward the outcropping of rocks, this time peering into the darkness where the water deepened and flowed into more caverns and tunnels that eventually led to the sea.
I was alone, but I knew Cas had…called me here. It had been he who had pulled me from the emptiness of sleep. He must’ve been looking for me—dream-walking—because…
A frown pulled my brows together as I drifted farther into the pool, the warm breeze toying with the strands of hair framing myface. Stomach dipping, I stopped where the water lapped over my waist, and white-tipped, foamy bubbles teased the swells of my breasts.
Cas would be looking for me because I wasn’t with him. He was in Carsodonia, and I had been in Pensdurth. My hand went to my throat. The skin there was still smooth. The memory of Kolis’s fangs tearing into me sent a cold shudder snaking down my spine again as I looked down, where the bone dagger had been plunged deep into my chest. There was a new scar there, a faded pink line between my breasts about an inch and a half long, just below my heart.
I lowered my hand to the scar, feeling the jagged skin beneath my fingertips. My gaze went to my waist as I remembered the burning sting of Kolis’s essence.
I’d been wounded, gravely so, and nearly drained of all my essence. I’d felt death reaching out for me, and Cas…he would’ve felt that, too. Iknewthat. And he wouldn’t have been able to get to me.Ihad made sure of that.
Closing my eyes, I breathed through the shredding sensation in my chest. I also knew he must have been going out of his mind with fury and desperation, because when I woke up to discover that he’d been taken from me, I’d been panicked and enraged. I lost control. And knowing Cas like I did, he would’ve been pushed to the brink.
Possibly even over it.
My stomach turned as I reminded myself that Cas hadn’t been alone. Kieran was with him. So were his father and brother. And his friends: Vonetta, Delano, Emil, and Naill. They would’ve kept him level. That’s what I kept telling myself, even as a tiny voice in the back of my mind whispered that none of them would be able to stop Cas. Maybe before, but now, after my Ascension and the full effects of the Joining? Not even Kieran would be able to stop him.
Unease started to unfurl, but I tamped it down. There was nothing I could do about any of that right now. I was…asleep, possibly even in stasis. Drawing in the humid air, I called for him,tohim.
I’m here. I’m waiting for you. I’m here. I’m here. I’m—
The air in the cavern suddenly shifted, stilling.
My eyes snapped open as I tilted my head back. The lilacs had stopped swaying, and the fine hairs on the nape of my neck lifted. Tiny bumps erupted over my skin as awareness throbbed deep in the center of my chest. I dragged in a stuttered inhale, catching the scent of pine, decadent spice, and something new. Something I couldn’t place. But it didn’t matter.
I spun, sending the water into a spraying and fizzing frenzy as I searched the bank. My mouth parted, but his name faded from my lips.
The bank of the pool was empty, but I…I couldfeelhim. His stare. Like always, it was as powerful as a caress, and it was drifting over my face, tracing the slope of my shoulders, and then moving lower. A heady flush bloomed up my throat as the tips of my breasts pebbled under the heaviness of the stare that could only belong to Casteel.
He was here.
I’d never been more certain of anything in my life.
Drawing my lower lip between my teeth, I scanned the bank, slower this time. My eyes moved over the lilacs and the deep shadows clinging to each branch as I turned slowly toward the pool’s steps.
Water rippled around my hips, tickling my skin as I stilled. My eyes locked on the mouth of the cavern. The delicate blossoms had withered on the slender branches and were twisted and taut, hanging suspended in midair as they recoiled from the opening—from the darkness that had replaced the cloudy mist that had been there before.
The fine hairs all over my body stood up even more. There was…somethingin those shadows. I took another step forward. The water dropped to my thighs, sending tiny bubbles spinning across the surface. My breath snagged in my throat as I felt the touch of his stare slipping to where the water frothed. A tremor coursed through me as the scent of pine and lush spice increased, settling against my bare skin like satin. My thighs trembled as a sharp aching pulse spiked through me.
The shadows clinging to the cavern walls peeled away, whispering over the damp stone as they slid toward the place where the darkness gathered in the opening, seeming to pulse and expand. They solidified and thickened, becoming a deep charcoal gray as they drifted forward—
