Chapter 40
I was deposited in the same room where he’d given me his blood, and then I’d stabbed him. Him. I stared at the damp mark on the wood floor, where the blood had been cleaned up.
Him.
I needed to stop referring to him that way. He had a name. A real one. I may never say it when and how he wanted, but I needed to stop thinking about him as if he were Hawke or somehow nameless.
His name was Casteel. Cas.
This was where he had saved my life and the chamber where I then attempted to take his.
He succeeded.
I failed.
My gaze flicked to where Kieran stood by the door, eyeing me as if he expected me to make a rush for the window and throw myself out of it. He arched a brow at me, and I looked away.
He had left, to do the gods only knew what, leaving Kieran as a sentry. Well, I did know he’d done something. After he’d left, a dozen or so servants filled the brass tub in the bathing chamber with steaming hot water, and another placed a fresh pair of black breeches and a tunic on the bed.
A part of me was surprised that he’d brought me back here and not to the cells. I wasn’t sure what that meant or if it should matter if it did mean something.
My thoughts still reeling from everything, I didn’t know anything at the moment, and he hadn’t answered any of the questions I’d asked on the way back. Say, for example, was Atlantia still an actual place?
Because as far as I knew, it had been all but leveled during the war.
Then again, everything I thought I knew was turning out to be false.
I rubbed my hand over my cheek as I glanced at Kieran. “Does Atlantia still exist?”
If my random question caught him off guard, he didn’t show it. “Why would it not?”
“I was told that the Wastelands—”
“Were once Atlantia?” he cut in. “They were once an outpost, but that land was never the entirety of the kingdom.”
“So, Atlantia still exists?”
“Have you ever been beyond the Skotos Mountains?”
The corners of my lips turned down. “Do you always answer a question with a question?”
“Do I?”
I shot him a droll look.
A faint grin appeared and then slipped away.
“No one has been beyond the Skotos Mountains,” I told him. “It’s just more mountains.”
“Mountains that stretch so far and wide that the very tops are lost to the deepest mist? That part is true, but the mountains don’t go on forever, Penellaphe, and the mist there may not contain Craven, but it’s also not natural,” he said, and a shiver danced over my shoulders. “The mist is a protection.”
“How?”
“It’s so thick, you just don’t see anything. You think you see everything.” A strange light filled his pale blue eyes. “The mist that blankets the Skotos Mountains is there so anyone who dares pass through will want to turn back.”
“And those who don’t turn back?”
“They don’t make it through.”
“Because...because Atlantia is beyond the Skotos?” I asked.
“What do you think?”
What I thought was that talking to Kieran was an exercise in patience and energy, two things I was running low on.
“Are you going to bathe yourself?” he asked.
I wanted to. My skin was not just dirty, it was also chilled, and I was still wearing his bloodied shirt.
But I also wanted to be difficult because I was so freaking confused by everything, and as he had warned, I was tired. “What if I don’t?”
“That’s your choice,” he replied. “But you smell of Casteel.”
I jolted at the sound of his name. His real name. “I am wearing his shirt.”
“That’s not the kind of smell I’m talking about.”
It took a minute for me to get what he was referencing. When I did, my mouth dropped open. “You can smell…?”
Kieran’s smile could only be described as wolfish.
“I’m going to bathe.”
He chuckled.
“Shut up,” I snapped, gathering up the new clothing and hurrying into the bathing room. I closed the door behind me, annoyed when I saw there was no lock.
Cursing under my breath, I looked around and found several hooks on the wall. I hung the tunic and breeches there. I quickly stripped and stepped into the bath, ignoring the twinge of pain in a very private area as I sank into the lavender-scented water. I didn’t allow myself to think about anything as I got down to scrubbing off my blood and…and his. My stomach turned over as I used the bar of soap to wash my hair. When suds ran down the back of my neck, I dipped under the water and held myself there.
I stayed until my lungs and throat burned, and white spots sparked behind my closed eyes. Only then did I break the surface, gasping for air.
What was I going to do about him? About everything?
A strangled, hoarse-sounding laugh escaped me. I didn’t know where to even begin to start figuring out this mess. I’d just learned that the kingdom of Atlantia still existed, and that seemed like the least crazy thing to have discovered. Gods, I still didn’t even understand how I’d gone from learning who he truly was, stabbing him in the heart, to then willingly falling into his arms.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I dragged my hands down my face. I couldn’t blame the bite, even though it had some kind of arousing effect, just like his blood had. And who, by the way, would’ve ever thought that would feel good?
But damn, it had…
I shivered as a tight curling motion bloomed low in my stomach.
That was the last thing I needed to think about right now if I had any hope of figuring out what I needed to do.
And I needed to come up with some kind of plan and quickly because even though he didn’t seem to hold my attempt to kill him against me, I wasn’t safe here. I wouldn’t be safe anywhere with his people. They hated me, and if half of what he and Kieran claimed about the Ascended and what they’d done was true, I couldn’t blame them, even though I’d done nothing to them. It was what I represented.
Still, it was too much to believe that the Atlantians were the innocent party, and the Ascended were the violent tyranny that had somehow managed to turn an entire kingdom away from the truth.
But…
But I’d never seen any of the third and fourth sons and daughters who were given to the gods during the Rite.
I could never understand how those like Duke Teerman and Lord Mazeen had received a Blessing from the gods.
But never once had I seen an Ascended lift a single finger to fight the Craven, the one thing the people of Solis feared more than death itself.
The one thing they’d do anything and believe anything to remain safe from.
He had claimed that the Royals used the Craven to keep the people in check, and if that were true, it worked. They gave up their own children to keep the beasts at bay.
It had to be true.
Worse yet, others must be involved in this. The Priests and Priestesses. Close friends of the Court, who hadn’t Ascended. My parents?
Gods, I couldn’t lie to myself any longer.
What had happened with him was proof enough. His blood had healed me, not turned me. His kisses had never cursed me. And so far, neither had his bite.
The Ascended were vamprys—they were the curse that had plagued this land. They used fear to control the masses, and they were the evil hidden in plain sight, feeding off those they had sworn to the gods to protect.
And my brother was now one of them.
Pulling my knees to my chest, I wrapped my arms around my legs. I closed my eyes against the burn of tears, resting my cheek against my knee. He couldn’t be like the Duke. The Duchess wasn’t too bad. Neither was the Queen, but—
But if they were feeding on children, almost draining innocent people and creating Craven, they were no better than the Duke.
I pressed my lips together, fighting back tears that wanted to break free. I’d cried enough today, but Ian… Gods, Ian couldn’t be like them. He was kind and gentle. I just couldn’t believe that he would do those things. I couldn’t.
And then there was me. If it was all a lie, then I would never be given to the gods. What had they planned for me? Why did they make me the Chosen and link all these Ascensions to me? Was it my abilities? I thought about what he had said after I’d taken his pain. He knew something.
Something he needed to tell me.
I wasn’t safe here, and I surely wasn’t safe among the Ascended. If I did manage to escape, how could I go back to them, knowing what I knew now? How could I stay and allow him to take me to Atlantia when I would represent a kingdom who had slaughtered untold numbers of their people, who had enslaved their Prince to use him to make more vamprys?
How could I stay with him?
No matter what I felt for him, I could never trust him, and what I felt for him was also something I could no longer pretend didn’t exist. I loved him.
I was in love with him.
And even if by some small chance I’d been able to move past the fact that he had come to Masadonia with the intention of taking and using me as a bargaining tool, I could never get over the blood that had been spilled because of him. I could never forget that Rylan and Vikter, Loren and Dafina, and so many others were dead, either by his hand, by his command, or by what he represented. I could never trust what he claimed when it came to us.
What had he claimed about us, though?
He had led me to believe that he had feelings for me. That I was anything but someone he needed to protect as Hawke, and needed to use for his own means as a Prince of Atlantia. He’d been intrigued from the start because I wasn’t who he expected me to be, which apparently, was an immoral, spoiled supporter of the Ascended. He’d been kind and interested because he needed to discover all he could about me, and maybe because he was drawn to me. But what did that truly mean?
What happened in the woods may have proven that he was attracted to me, and that wasn’t a farce, but lust was not love, it was not loyalty, and it was not long lasting.
Neither as Hawke nor as Casteel had he claimed anything regarding us.
The reality was jarring, and it hurt. It sliced deep because he’d made me feel warm, but it was reality, and it had to be dealt with.
I mulled over the options in my head. Escape. Find my brother because I had to know if he was the same and then…what? Disappear? But first, I needed to figure out how to escape.
The wolven could track me, and he…
Escaping him would be nearly impossible.
But I had to try, and there had to be a way. Maybe when my head didn’t feel as if it were full of cobwebs, I would know what to do. Weary, I let my thoughts drift. I must’ve dozed off somehow, still curled up against the tub, because the next thing I heard was my name being called.
“Penellaphe.”
Jerking my head up, I blinked rapidly as Kieran’s face came into view. What the…?
“Good.” He was kneeling on the other side of the tub—the tub that I was completely naked in! “I was worried you were dead.”
“What?” I threw a hand over my chest and pressed my legs together as much as I possibly could. I didn’t even want to think about what he could see beneath the line of water. “What are you doing in here?”
“I called out your name, and you didn’t answer,” he replied, tone as flat as a board. “You’ve been in here for a while. I thought I should make sure you were alive.”
“Of course, I’m alive. Why wouldn’t I be?”
One eyebrow rose. “You are surrounded by people who tried to murder you, in case you’ve forgotten.”
“I haven’t forgotten. I doubt any of them are hiding in the bathwater!”
“One can never be too sure.” He made no attempt to stand and leave.
I stared at him. “You shouldn’t be in here, and I shouldn’t have to explain that.”
“You have nothing to fear from me.”
“Why? Because of him?” I spat.
“Because of Cas?” he said, and I blinked, hearing the nickname for the first time from someone other than him. “He would be annoyed to find me in here.”
I wasn’t sure if I should feel good to hear that or more annoyed.
A ghost of a smile appeared. “And then he’d be…intrigued.”
My mouth opened, but my mind took that and leapt with it. I had nothing to say. Absolutely nothing, but I thought about what I had read about the wolven and the Atlantians. There was a bond between some of them, and while not much was known about what that bond entailed, I was confident that a Prince was of the class that wolven would be bonded to. I wanted to ask, but considering I was in a tub and naked, now wasn’t the time.
Kieran’s gaze dropped, moving down my arms to the curve of my stomach and thigh. “Among my people, scars are revered. They are never hidden.”
The only scar he could see was the one along the side of my waist. At least, I hoped. “Among my people, it’s not polite to stare at a naked woman in a bathtub.”
“Your people sound incredibly boring.”
“Get out!” I shrieked.
Chuckling, Kieran rose with nearly the same grace and fluidity that he moved with. “The Prince wouldn’t want you sitting in cold, dirty water. You should probably finish up your bath.”
My nails were digging into the skin of my legs. “I don’t care what he wants.”
“You should,” he replied, and I gritted my teeth. “Because he wants you even though he knows better, even though he knows it will end in yet another tragedy.”
Chapter 41
After quickly drying off and changing into clean, dry clothing, I did everything in my power to forget that the brief conversation in the bathing chamber with Kieran had happened.
The breeches were a little tight, causing me to wonder if they had belonged to a child, but they were clean and soft, and I wasn’t complaining. The long-sleeve tunic was made of heavy wool and reached my knees. The slits in the sides ended at the hips and would’ve made for easy access to my dagger.
But I hadn’t seen my dagger since the stables, and based on what I’d done with the last one…
I winced.
I doubted I’d have access to one anytime soon, which made escaping difficult. I needed a weapon, any weapon, but what I wanted was the dagger Vikter had given me.
I added that to my plan that wasn’t quite a plan. At least, not yet.
Kieran left shortly after I came out of the bathing chamber, locking the door behind him. I doubted he went very far. Was probably standing outside the door.
I started to braid my still-drying hair, but remembered the mark on my neck and let the strands hang loose. I then roamed the room aimlessly. There was no avenue of escape. I couldn’t even fit through the window. Was I going to be kept here until whenever time he deemed fit for me to leave?
Sighing, I plopped down on the bed. It was soft, so much thicker than the straw mat in the cell. I lay down, facing the door as I curled on my side.
What would happen when he returned for me? Would his seeming acceptance of my attempted murder change? Everything he’d said about the Ascended may very well be true, but he was still the Dark One, and he was just as dangerous. He’d said so himself.
There was a lot of blood on his hands.
With how thinly my nerves were stretched, I didn’t think I would doze off again, but that was exactly what happened. It had to be…it had to be the still-tender bite and its effect. Because one moment, I was alert, staring at the closed door. The next, I was out, slipping into a deep sleep where I did not dream. I wasn’t sure what woke me at first. It wasn’t my name being called. It wasn’t words at all.
It was a faint touch on my cheek and then on the side of my neck, just above the bite. My eyes fluttered open. The room was dim except for the sconces and the single oil lamp on the nightstand, but I still saw him.
He sat on the edge of the bed, and there was a dipping motion in my chest at the first sight of him, like always happened. I imagined it always would, no matter what I knew about him.
At least, he’d found a shirt.
And had bathed somewhere, because his hair was damp, curling against his temples and ears.
Dressed in all-black, he cut an imposing, striking figure, and I no longer saw his attire that of the uniform of a guard. I saw the Dark One. I glanced down at the sleeve of the dark tunic I wore and then to my curled leg, where I expected to see the black breeches. Instead, I saw a threaded quilt draped over my legs. Unsettled, I lifted my gaze to his.
He didn’t say anything. Neither did I. Not for a long time. His fingers remained on my throat, above the mark. After what felt like an eternity, he removed his hand and asked, “How are you feeling?”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. A giggle burst free.
His head cocked to the side as a half-grin appeared. “What?”
“I can’t believe you’re asking me if I’m okay when I stabbed you in the heart.”
“Do you think you should be asking me that question?”
Yes? No? Maybe?
The grin deepened. “I’m relieved to hear that you care. I’m perfectly fine.”
“I don’t care,” I muttered, sitting up.
“Lies,” he murmured.
He was right, of course, because without realizing what I was doing, I reached out with my senses to see if he was in physical pain. He wasn’t. What I’d done earlier had worn off. I knew this because I felt the anguish that always brewed just below the surface. There was something else there, though. I’d felt it before. Confusion or conflict.
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“I’m fine.” Pulling my gift back, I looked down at the quilt. It was a faint yellow and old. I wondered who it belonged to.
“Kieran said you dozed off in the bath.”
“Did he tell you that he came into the bathing chamber?”
“Yes.”
Surprised, my gaze shot to his.
“I trust Kieran,” he said. “You’ve been asleep for several hours.”
“Is that not normal?”
“It’s not abnormal. I guess I’m…” He frowned as if something had just occurred to him. “I guess I’m feeling guilty for biting you.”
“You guess?” My brows lifted.
He appeared to mull that over and then nodded. “I believe so.”
“You should feel guilt!”
“Even though you stabbed me and left me to die?”
I snapped my mouth shut as my stomach churned with nausea. “You didn’t die. Obviously.”
“Obviously.” There was a teasing glint to his eyes. “I was barely winded.”
“Congratulations,” I muttered, rolling my eyes.
He chuckled.
Annoyed, I shoved the quilt off my legs and scooted to the other side of the bed. “Why are you here? To take me back to the cell?”
“I should. If anyone other than Kieran knew you had stabbed me, I would be expected to.”
I stood. “Then why don’t you?”
“I don’t want to.”
I stared at him, hands opening and closing at my sides while he remained seated on the bed. “So, what now? How is this going to work, Your Highness?” Satisfaction surged when I caught the way his jaw tightened. “You’ll keep me locked up in a room until you’re ready for us to leave?”
“Do you not like this room?”
“It’s far better than a dirty cell, but it’s still a prison. A cage, no matter how nice the accommodations are.”
He was quiet for a moment. “You would know, wouldn’t you? After all, you’ve been imprisoned since you were a child. Caged and veiled.”
There was no denying that. I’d been kept in both comfortable cages and bare ones. The reasons were different, but the end result was the same. Folding my arms, I looked at the small window, to the night sky beyond.
“I came here to escort you to dinner.”
“Escort me to dinner?” Disbelief widened my eyes as I focused on him once more.
“I feel like there’s an echo in this room, but yes, I imagine you’re hungry,” he said, and my stomach took that exact moment to confirm that was true. “And we’ll discuss what will happen next when we have some food in our stomachs.”
“No.”
His brows lifted. “No?”
I knew I was being difficult over something not worth it. Just like I had been with Kieran. But I was not going to be at anyone’s beck and call. I wasn’t the Maiden any longer. And things were not okay between us just because we had a temporary loss of rationale in the woods. He’d betrayed me. I’d tried to kill him. He still planned to use me to free his brother. We were enemies, no matter the truths.
No matter that I loved him.
“You have to be hungry,” he said, pausing as he stretched out on his side, supporting his cheek with his fist. He couldn’t look more comfortable if he tried.
Or more alluring.
I shook my head. “I am hungry.”
He sighed. “Then what’s the problem, Princess?”
“I don’t want to eat with you,” I told him. “That’s the problem.”
“Well, it’s a problem you’re going to have to get over because it’s your only option.”
“See, that’s where you’re wrong. I have options.” I turned from him. “I’d rather starve than eat with you, Your Highness—” I squeaked, almost coming out of my skin when he suddenly stood in front of me, moving so fast and so quietly I nearly missed it. “Gods,” I muttered, pressing my hand to my pounding heart.
“That’s where you’re wrong, Princess.” His eyes glowed a fiery amber as he glared down at me. “You don’t have options when it comes to your own well-being and your own foolish stubbornness.”
“Excuse me?”
“I won’t let you weaken or starve yourself because you’re mad. And I do get it. I get why you’re upset. Why you want to fight me on everything, every step of the way.” He took that step toward me, and my spine locked up as I refused to back away. His eyes burned brighter. “I want you to, Princess. I enjoy it.”
“You’re twisted.”
“Never said I wasn’t,” he retorted. “So, fight me. Argue with me. See if you can actually injure me next time. I dare you.”
My eyes widened as I lowered my arms. “You’re…there’s something wrong with you.”
“That may be true, but what is also true, is the fact that I will not let you put yourself in unnecessary danger.”
“Maybe you’ve forgotten, but I can handle myself,” I shot back.
“I haven’t forgotten. I won’t ever prevent you from lifting a sword to protect your life or those you care about,” he said. “But I won’t let you shove that sword through your own heart to prove a point.”
Part of me was awed—still shocked that he wouldn’t stop me from fighting. The other half was infuriated that he thought he could control any part of me. As a whole, I let out a small shriek of frustration. “Of course, you won’t! What good am I to you dead? I imagine you still plan to use me to free your brother.”
A muscle along his jaw flexed. “You are nothing to me if you’re dead.”
I sucked in a sharp, stinging breath that scorched my lungs. What in the world had I expected him to say? That he wouldn’t want me dead because he cared? I knew better.
I had to know better.
“Come. The food will grow cold.” Without waiting for my response, he grabbed my hand. He started walking, but I dug in my heels. His head cranked toward me, the grip on my hand firm but not painful. “Don’t fight me on this, Poppy. You need to eat, and my people need to see that you have my protection if you have any hope of not finding yourself spending your days locked in a room.”
Every part of my being demanded that I do just what he claimed he enjoyed. It wanted me to fight him every step of the way, but common sense prevailed. Barely. I was hungry, and I needed to be at my strongest if I planned to escape. Plus, I needed his people to see that I was off-limits. If eating dinner with him like we were the closest friends would provide that, then I needed to deal.
So that was what I did.
I let him lead me out of the room, and I wasn’t even surprised when I found Kieran waiting for us. Based on the hint of amusement in his features, he must have heard at least half of our argument.
Kieran opened his mouth.
“Don’t test me,” he warned.
Chuckling under his breath, Kieran said nothing as he fell into step behind us. We took the same stairs we’d sped down hours earlier, and I tried not to think about my mad dash in the woods. What had happened when he caught me.
But a heatwave hit my veins nonetheless.
He glanced down at me, a questioning look in his gaze that I ignored while praying he couldn’t sense where my thoughts had gone.
As soon as we entered the common area, Kieran slowed his pace so he walked directly behind me. I knew that was no unconscious act. Descenters lined the walls, their faces pale as they whispered to one another, their eyes following us. I recognized some of them who’d stood in audience outside the cell. I saw Magda. There was no pity in her eyes now. Just…speculation.
I lifted my chin and straightened my spine. The Ascended might very well be evil incarnate, and an untold number of people in Solis may be complicit, but what they did to me proved that they were no better.
We rounded the corner, and my gaze lifted—
“Oh, my gods,” I whispered, I stumbled back as my free hand flew to my mouth. I bumped into Kieran.
His hand landed on my shoulder, steadying me as I stared at the walls of the hall. I couldn’t move. I could barely breathe as horror choked me.
Now I understood the pale faces in the common area. Bodies lined the walls, arms outstretched, and spikes of bloodstone nailed through their hands. Some had received a reddish-brown stake through the center of their chests, others through the head. Some of them were mortal. Some were Atlantian. A half a dozen of them on either side. I saw Rolf and the man I had rendered unconscious, and I saw…
I saw Mr. Tulis.
My knees weakened as I stared up at him. He was dead, face a ghastly gray color. He was mortal, but a stake protruded from his still chest nonetheless.
All he’d wanted was to save his last child. He’d been given an opportunity to do so. He’d escaped, and now…now he was here.
Not all of them were dead.
One still breathed.
Jericho.
I locked down my senses before I could reach out and see what kind of pain he was in. His shaggy head hung as his chest rose in ragged, uneven breaths. Bloodstone pierced his palms, but the final fatal spike was thrust through his throat. Crimson colored the front of his bare chest, his pants, and pooled on the floor below him.
“I promised you they’d pay for what they did.” He didn’t sound or look smug. He didn’t sound proud. “And now the others know what will happen if they disobey me and seek to harm you.”
Bile crept up my throat. “He’s…he’s still alive,” I whispered, staring up at the wolven.
“Only until I am ready to end his life,” he commented, dropping my hand. He strode forward without another look back. Two men opened the large wooden doors to the Great Room, and he entered, stalking toward the center table where several covered dishes waited.
I thought I might be sick.
Kieran’s hand squeezed my shoulder. “They deserved no less.”
Had they?
Even Mr. Tulis, who’d most likely delivered the fatal blow to me.
“Go.” He urged with his hand. Somehow, I got my feet moving as I walked past the bodies pinned to the wall like butterflies.
In a daze, I didn’t realize that I was seated to the right of him at the table, typically a place of honor. Kieran took the chair next to me. Numbly, I sat there as servants unveiled the platters of food while the rest of his entourage followed suit, seating themselves at the table. I recognized Delano and Naill, oddly relieved to see that they were okay. They had defended me, and I didn’t want to think about the reasons behind it.
Laid out before us was a feast. Stewed beef. Roasted duck. Cold meats and cheese. Baked potatoes. All of it smelled wonderful.
But my stomach churned as I sat there, unable to move. Kieran offered me some of the beef, and I must’ve agreed because it ended up on my plate. Then came the duck and potato. He was the one who broke off a hunk of cheese and placed it on my plate as he reached for his glass, seeming to remember that it was one of my weaknesses.
I stared down at my plate. I didn’t see the food. I saw the bodies outside the room as conversation was slow to start but soon picked up and became a steady hum. Glasses and plates clinked. Laughter sounded.
And there were bodies nailed to the walls outside the Great Room.
“Poppy.”
Blinking, I looked up at him. His golden eyes had cooled, but his jaw was hard enough to cut glass.
“Eat,” he ordered in a low voice.
I reached for a fork, picking it up and spearing a piece of meat. I took a bite, chewing slowly. It tasted as good as it smelled, but it settled too heavily in my stomach. I scooped up some of the potatoes.
A few moments passed, and he said, “You don’t agree with what I did to them?”
I looked over at him, unsure of how to even answer the question—if it was even a question at all.
He sat back, glass in hand. “Or are you so shocked, you’re actually speechless?”
Swallowing the last bit of food, I slowly placed the fork on the table. “I wasn’t expecting that.”
“Can’t imagine you were.” He smirked as he lifted the glass to his lips.
“How…how long will you leave them there?”
“Until I feel like it.”
My chest twisted. “And Jericho?”
“Until I know for sure no one will dare to lift a hand against you again.”
Becoming aware that several of the men around us had stopped talking and were listening, I chose my next words carefully. “I don’t know your people very well, but I would think that they have learned a lesson.”
He took a drink. “What I did disturbs you.”
I knew that wasn’t a question. My gaze shifted back to my plate. Did it disturb me? Yes. I think it would unsettle most. Or at least, I hoped so. The blatancy of the kind of violence he was capable of was shocking if not entirely surprising, further separating him from the guard I knew as Hawke.
“Eat,” he said again, lowering his cup. “I know you need to eat more than that.”
I bit back the urge to tell him I was capable of determining how much food I needed to consume. Instead, I opened my senses to him. The anguish there was different, tasting…tangy and almost bitter. The urge to reach out to him hit hard, causing me to curl one hand in my lap. Had what happened between us caused this? Was it what he’d done to his own supporters? It could possibly be both. I reached for my drink, closing my eyes, and when I reopened them, I found him watching me through thick lashes.
I could tell him that it did bother me. I could say nothing at all. I imagined that perhaps he expected one of those two things from me. But I told him the truth. Not because I felt like I owed it to him, but because I owed it to myself.
“When I saw them, it horrified me. That was shocking, especially Mr. Tulis. What you did was surprising, but what disturbs me the most is that I—” I drew in a deep breath. “I don’t feel all that bad.”
Those heavy lids lifted, and his stare was piercing.
“Those people laughed when Jericho talked about cutting my hand off. Cheered when I bled and screamed and offered other options for pieces for Jericho to carve and keep,” I said, and the silence around us was almost unbearable. “I’d never even met most of them before, and they were happy to see me ripped apart. So, I don’t feel sympathy.”
“They don’t deserve it,” he stated quietly.
“Agreed,” Kieran murmured.
I lifted my chin. “But they’re still mortal—or Atlantian. They still deserve dignity in death.”
“They didn’t believe you deserved any dignity,” he stated.
“They were wrong, but that doesn’t make this right,” I said.
His gaze drifted over my face. The muscle had stopped ticking. “Eat,” he repeated.
“You’re obsessed with ensuring that I eat,” I told him.
One side of his lips kicked up. “Eat, and I’ll tell you our plans.”
That got several other people’s attention. Hoping my stomach didn’t revolt, I started eating instead of picking at my food. I didn’t dare look at Kieran, because if I did, I would be looking outside the Great Room to the hall.
“We’re leaving in the morning,” he stated, and I almost choked on the chunk of cheese I’d taken a bite of. None of those around me seemed at all surprised.
“Tomorrow?” I squeaked, torn between panic and hope. I would have a better chance of escaping out on the road than I would here.
He nodded. “As I said, we’ll be going home.”
I took a healthy drink from my glass. “But Atlantia is not my home.”
“But it is. At least, partly.”
“What does that mean?” Across from me, Delano spoke for the first time.
“It means it’s something I should’ve figured out sooner. So many things now make sense when they didn’t before. Why they made you the Maiden, how you survived a Craven attack. Your gifts,” he said, lowering his voice on the last part so only I and those immediately around us could hear him. “You’re not mortal, Poppy. At least, not completely.”
I opened my mouth and then closed it, not quite sure I heard him correctly. For a moment, I thought something was lodged in my throat. I took a drink, but the sensation was still there.
Delano’s jewel blue eyes sharpened. “Are you suggesting that she’s…”
“Part Atlantian?” he finished for him. “Yes.”
My hand trembled, sloshing liquid onto my fingers. “That’s impossible,” I whispered.
“Are you sure?” Delano asked him, and when I looked at him, I could see the shock in his eyes as his gaze moved over me, stopping and lingering on my neck.
“One hundred percent,” he answered.
“How?” I demanded.
A faint smile played across his full lips. His gaze too lowered and stopped…on my throat.
On the bite that I realized was barely hidden under the strands of hair. My blood. He knew after…tasting my blood?
Delano’s eyes went wide as he sat back, staring at me like it was the first time he’d ever seen me. Forgetting about the Hall, I looked at Kieran. I saw none of that. He arched a brow at me. This wasn’t news to him. “It’s rare, but it happens. A mortal crosses paths with an Atlantian. Nature takes its course, and nine months later, a mortal child is born.” Kieran paused and ran his thumb over the rim of his chalice. “But every so often, a child of both kingdoms is born. Mortal and Atlantian.”
“No. You have to be mistaken.” I twisted in my seat. “My mother and father were mortal—”
“How can you be sure?” Hawke cut me off—no, not Hawke. Casteel. The Prince. “You thought I was mortal.”
My heart lurched against my chest. “But my brother, he’s an Ascended now.”
“That’s a good question,” Delano tacked on.
“Only if we’re working off the assumption that he is your full, blooded brother,” he said, and I gasped.
“Or that he even has Ascended,” someone commented.
The glass started to slip from my fingers—
His reflexes were lightning-quick. He caught the glass before it could hit the table. Placing it down, he then covered my hand, lowering it to the table. “Your brother is alive.”
My heart had stopped. “How can you be sure?”
“I’ve had eyes on him for months, Poppy. He hasn’t been seen during the day, and I can only imagine that means he is an Ascended.”
Someone cursed and then spat on the floor. I closed my eyes. Part…part Atlantian? If that was why I was the Chosen and was the source of my abilities, then had the Duke and the Duchess known? The Queen? I opened my eyes. “Why would they keep me alive if they knew?”
His lips thinned. “Why do they keep my brother?”
I jolted, my entire body freezing. “I can’t do that. Right? I mean, I don’t have…the, uh, parts for it.”
“Parts?” Kieran coughed. “What have you been filling her head with?”
The Prince slid him a bland look. “Teeth. I do believe she means these.” Curling his upper lip, he ran this tongue over one fang, and my stomach dipped and twisted in a mixture of pleasure and unease. “They don’t need that. They just need your blood for them to complete the Ascension.”
If I wasn’t sitting, I likely would’ve fallen over. I wanted to refute his claim, but I couldn’t come up with one good reason for why he’d lie about this. There was nothing to gain from doing so. I bent slightly in my chair, wondering if it was possible that I was having a heart attack.
“I’m curious, Cas. Why must we go home?” Kieran asked, and I swore his voice rose with purpose. “When we will be going farther away from where your brother is held.”
“It is the only place we can go,” he replied, those golden eyes remaining fixed on me. “Did you know that an Atlantian can only marry if both halves are standing in the soil of their land? It’s the only way for them to become whole.”
My lips parted as a hush descended over the entire room. Still reeling from the whole half-Atlantian thing, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. That he was saying…
That damn dimple appeared in his right cheek and then in his left. Casteel Da’Neer, the Prince of Atlantia, smiled fully as he lifted our joined hands and said, “We go home to marry, my Princess.”
* * * *
Also from 1001 Dark Nights and Jennifer L. Armentrout, discover The Prince, The King, and The Queen.
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The Prince: A Wicked Novella
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She’s everything he wants….
Cold. Heartless. Deadly. Whispers of his name alone bring fear to fae and mortals alike. The Prince. There is nothing in the mortal world more dangerous than him. Haunted by a past he couldn’t control, all Caden desires is revenge against those who’d wronged him, trapping him in never-ending nightmare. And there is one person he knows can help him.
She’s everything he can’t have…
Raised within the Order, Brighton Jussier knows just how dangerous the Prince is, reformed or not. She’d seen firsthand what atrocities he could be capable of. The last thing she wants to do is help him, but he leaves her little choice. Forced to work alongside him, she begins to see the man under the bitter ice. Yearning for him feels like the definition of insanity, but there’s no denying the heat in his touch and the wicked promise is his stare.
She’s everything he’ll take….
But there’s someone out there who wants to return the Prince to his former self. A walking, breathing nightmare that is hell bent on destroying the world and everyone close to him. The last thing either of them needs is a distraction, but with the attraction growing between them each now, the one thing he wants more than anything may be the one thing that will be his undoing.
She’s everything he’d die for….
* * * *
The King: A Wicked Novella
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From #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout comes the next installment in her Wicked series.
As Caden and Brighton's attraction grows despite the odds stacked against a happily ever after, they must work together to stop an Ancient fae from releasing the Queen, who wants nothing more than to see Caden become the evil Prince once feared by fae and mortals alike.
* * * *
The Queen: A Wicked Novella
Coming July 14, 2020
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The King must have his Queen....
Bestowed the forbidden Summer’s Kiss by the King of the Summer fae, Brighton Jussier is no longer just human. What she is, what she will become, no one knows for sure, but that isn’t her biggest concern at the moment. Now Caden, the King, refuses to let her go, even at the cost of his Court. When the doorway to the Otherworld is breached, both Brighton and Caden must do the unthinkable—not just to survive themselves, but also to save mankind from the evil that threatens the world.
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THE BISHOP by Skye Warren
A Tanglewood Novella
TAKEN WITH YOU by Carrie Ann Ryan
A Fractured Connections Novella
DRAGON LOST by Donna Grant
A Dark Kings Novella
SEXY LOVE by Carly Phillips
A Sexy Series Novella
PROVOKE by Rachel Van Dyken
A Seaside Pictures Novella
RAFE by Sawyer Bennett
An Arizona Vengeance Novella
THE NAUGHTY PRINCESS by Claire Contreras
A Sexy Royals Novella
THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT by Darynda Jones
A Charley Davidson Novella
CHARMED by Lexi Blake
A Masters and Mercenaries Novella
SACRIFICE OF DARKNESS by Alexandra Ivy
A Guardians of Eternity Novella
THE QUEEN by Jen Armentrout
A Wicked Novella
BEGIN AGAIN by Jennifer Probst
A Stay Novella
VIXEN by Rebecca Zanetti
A Dark Protectors/Rebels Novella
SLASH by Laurelin Paige
A Slay Series Novella
THE DEAD HEAT OF SUMMER by Heather Graham
A Krewe of Hunters Novella
WILD FIRE by Kristen Ashley
A Chaos Novella
MORE THAN PROTECT YOU by Shayla Black
A More Than Words Novella
LOVE SONG by Kylie Scott
A Stage Dive Novella
CHERISH ME by J. Kenner
A Stark Ever After Novella
SHINE WITH ME by Kristen Proby
A With Me in Seattle Novella
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TEASE ME by J. Kenner
A Stark International Novel
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Table of Contents
Book Description
Book Description
About Jennifer L. Armentrout
Also from Jennifer L. Armentrout
Acknowledgments from the Author
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
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Special Thanks