The War of Two Queens (Blood and Ash 4)

An image came to me suddenly, birthed of the churning colors. Two young men. Shirtless and with their pants rolled up to their knees as they waded through murky water. Laughing. They were laughing as they bent, dipping their hands into the water as they grabbed for fish. Even though their frames were leaner, and their skin wasn’t yet marked by their lives, I knew at once that it was Casteel and Kieran. A memory of them as young men—perhaps right before Casteel’s Culling or just after.

Casteel jerked upright suddenly, a squirming fish between his hands. “Thought you were an expert hunter,” he taunted.

Kieran laughed, shoving him, and somehow, they both went down in the water and the fish swam free.

The image crumbled and faded like smoke. I caught brief flashes of other images, the pictures coming in and out too quickly for me to make sense of them, no matter how hard I tried. And then I saw fire.

A bonfire.

The night sky, full of twinkling stars, heady, intoxicating music, and churning, twisting shadows. The beach—the one at Saion’s Cove. I latched on to the memory. Driven by curiosity, I opened my senses wider, following the dancing stars and smoke until I saw…me.

I saw me on the beach, wearing that stunning cobalt blue gown that almost made me feel as beautiful as I did when Casteel looked at me in that way—the one that carried the heat and weight of his love. And I was in Casteel’s arms, leaning against his chest.

My pulse pounded, and in the distant recesses of my mind, I knew I should close down my senses, find a way out of Kieran’s memory. But I couldn’t.

I…I didn’t want to as I watched Casteel lower his head to my neck and saw his hand under the wispy folds of the gown, his fingers sliding between my thighs. My breath caught as I saw myself responding to his touch, moving my hips in tight circles. The image of us was as decadent as it was scandalous—lush and wanton and free.

Everything had felt free on that beach.

And Kieran…he hadn’t just seen me watching him and Lyra. He’d watched. The spiciness of arousal filled my throat. My veins. My stomach tumbled in a way that reminded me of standing too close to the edge of a sheer cliff because that wasn’t the only thing I saw…or felt in Kieran’s memory. I saw Casteel nipping at the skin of my throat and lifting his gaze as he pressed his lips there to soothe away the sting. He’d watched, too, and that throbbing in my pulse hit my chest, my stomach, and—

“So nosy,” Kieran murmured.

Losing my hold on the memory, my eyes flew open, and I peeked up at Kieran. His eyes were closed, the lines of his face relaxed. His full lips were parted in a slight, barely-there grin.

“Should’ve known you’d be nosy,” he continued, but he didn’t sound mad. He sounded amused, and as if he’d just woken up.

Dimly, I was aware that he no longer held my hand. I held his and his arm, just below where my mouth moved against his skin.

Thick lashes lifted, and heavily hooded blue eyes met mine. “There’s so much silver in your eyes.” He touched the side of my face with just the tips of his fingers. “I can barely see any green.”

My senses were open, and under the taste of his blood, there was something smoky—something I wasn’t sure had to do with the past or the present, and I knew I should’ve closed down my senses before this. I did so then and thought…

I thought I should stop. It was enough. The dryness in my throat was gone. The gnawing ache in my belly had vanished. Every sense felt heightened but also relaxed. Sated. I imagined Kieran had to know I’d taken enough, but he didn’t stop me. Slowly, I realized that he wouldn’t. Kieran would prevent me from taking too much from Casteel, just as he had before. But now? Just like Casteel, he’d let me feed and feed.

And a tiny part of me wanted to keep feeding. To drown in his earthy taste. But I couldn’t. I didn’t want to weaken him. I lifted my mouth from his arm. “Thank you,” I whispered.

Kieran’s chest rose with a deep breath. “You don’t need to thank me, Poppy.”

My heart was still thrumming. So was my body. I felt flushed, like the sweater I wore was almost too thick. Not as hot as it had been with Casteel, when I had ignited and caught fire. This was different. More like the pleasant haze seconds before falling asleep.

I still held Kieran’s arm, and I didn’t know what provoked me to speak what I saw. If it was the blood or the feeling of being lighter, warmer, and less empty. “I saw your memories. I forgot that could happen.” I watched his face closely. “I saw you and Casteel when you were younger—”