The War of Two Queens (Blood and Ash 4)

Pulling away from Kieran, I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes. I still saw them, the bodies drained of blood.

“Poppy.” Kieran’s voice was too soft. “They will—”

“I know,” I bit out, stomach churning. They would become Craven. They had to be close to it already.

“We’ll take care of it.” Emil’s hoarse voice reached me. “We’ll cover their bodies and then make it quick. They will find peace soon.”

My mouth felt too wet. “Thank you.”

There was nothing but silence as I focused on shoving the essence—the rage—down. It pushed at my skin, and for the briefest moment, I imagined it erupting, leveling the castle. The city. Even then, that explosion of energy would do little to assuage the fury. I swallowed hard, closing myself down. It wasn’t easy. A tremor coursed through me.

Delano leaned against my legs, his concern gathering around me. Poppy?

“I’m okay,” I whispered, reaching down to touch the top of his head. I took a deep breath, opening my eyes only when I…

When I felt nothing.

“Why did you lie back there? To Delano?”

I stopped at the foot of the circular steps of the Temple of Theon and looked up at Kieran. Back there. In those chambers underground, where Arden had taken his last breath. Back there, where the servants had been fed upon and left to turn into Craven. Back there, where those girls had been left with that message.

Back there had left several marks.

And I had a feeling there would be more that would cut into my skin before the day was over.

“What do you mean?” I asked, noting that Valyn had already climbed the steps, speaking to one of the soldiers. I had no idea where Delano had gone.

Kieran crossed his arms. “Poppy.”

I sighed, looking up at the entrance to the Temple. Valyn had walked ahead and was speaking with Cyr now. The large circular structure only had a few long and narrow windows. “I’m…”

I felt a little sick. Not physically. I was tired. Again, not physically. And I felt like I…like I needed to bathe—no, I needed to shower. To wash away the seconds, the minutes, and the hours of this entire day. I was worried and full of concern as I stared at the smooth surface of the black doors. I was also afraid of what waited beyond. What Vonetta and the others had found.

Most of all, I…I wanted Casteel to be here with me so I could tell him how I felt. To shoulder some of the weight. To receive some of these marks. To make me smile and even laugh despite the horror of the day. To distract me and take away the aching coldness.

“I’ll be okay,” I said hoarsely.

His gaze searched my features. “What they did back there to those girls? That message? It’s all to mess with your head. You can’t let it.”

“I know.”

Except it had. Because it didn’t seem to matter that I wasn’t the one who’d killed the mortals at Massene, the wolven or the draken, the servants or those girls. They still died because of me.

I squinted as the late-afternoon sun glinted off the shadowstone. I looked beyond the Temple to where I could see the golden armor of several of the Atlantian soldiers outside a grand manor. So far, all the estates had been free of vamprys. “Do you think it’s possible that all the Ascended left?”

“I don’t know.” Kieran nudged my arm with his. “But we’re going to need to be prepared in case they’re holed up somewhere.”

“Agreed,” I whispered. “We should head in there.”

“Yeah.” Kieran followed my gaze, exhaling heavily. “We should.”

Opening my senses, I let them stretch out. I tasted the tanginess of sorrow and something heavier, almost like concern. I tasted dread. Kieran wasn’t looking forward to what might await in the Temple. “Are you okay?”

“I will be.”

My eyes narrowed.

A faint grin appeared, a hint of teasing before it disappeared again. We said nothing else as we joined Valyn at the top of the Temple stairs.

“There are tunnels under the Temple,” Valyn announced, nodding at one of the soldiers I recognized as being part of Aylard’s regiment. “Lin was just telling me about them.”

Lin’s throat worked on a swallow. “There was a hidden entryway in the chamber beyond the sanctum,” Lin explained. “It led to a tunnel system underground—a pretty extensive one. There were chambers there.”

I had a sinking feeling those tunnels connected to the ones under Redrock, which led straight out to the cliffs. We had suspected upon our first visit to Oak Ambler that they were using the tunnels to move mortals about without them being seen by others. Which could also mean that the Ascended, if any remained, could use them to travel unseen.

“They were…chambers, Your Highness. But…” Lin trailed off.

“What?” Kieran asked as I opened my senses, tasting…tartness. Unease.