The War of Two Queens (Blood and Ash 4)

“Saw him once. He got rid of the infection.” I lifted the remaining fingers on my left hand.

“Only once?”

“He made it sound like it was a risk to me to do so,” I told him between mouthfuls.

“You believe him?”

“Don’t know,” I admitted, my stomach souring. Still, I kept eating. “You?”

He rubbed his chin. “He says he can secure us a ship. That we can be smuggled on and make our escape that way.”

“Is that so?” I went to the hearth, refilling my bowl only because the sooner I was back to normal, the sooner I could care for Poppy’s needs. “And you trust him that much—trust him with Poppy’s safety?”

“There are only a handful of people I trust with her safety, and he sure as fuck isn’t one of them,” Kieran replied. “But he helped us get you out. He hasn’t tried to leave, and he could’ve alerted the guards we saw when we were scoping out shit. He didn’t. He’s risking a lot, and he knows what will happen if he’s caught.”

I thought it over. “I don’t think he’s going to betray us.”

Kieran nodded.

“But he’s a huge liability,” I said, lifting the stew-heavy spoon to my mouth.

“The Handmaiden.”

“If she really is his heartmate, she’s leverage that can be used to control him. Probably already has been.”

“Only if Isbeth knows,” Kieran countered. “Do you really think she’d still be living and breathing if Isbeth did?”

“Yes.”

He frowned. “Why do you think that?”

“I’m about to blow your mind.” I finished off the remaining stew, setting the bowl beside me. “Millicent is Isbeth’s daughter. Her father is Ires. She’s Poppy’s sister.”

Kieran’s lips parted, and a long moment passed. “What in the actual fuck?”

“Yeah.” Folding an arm over my stomach, I dragged a hand down my face. “If I hadn’t seen Millicent without the paint on her face, I wouldn’t believe it. But it’s true. She’s damn near the spitting image of Poppy.”

“The fuck?” Kieran whispered, straightening.

I would’ve laughed, except none of this was funny. “And there’s no doubt in my mind that Malik knows that.”

Kieran gave a slow shake of his head as his hand fell to the table beside the daggers. “But she’s a Revenant,” he said, and then gave me a brief rundown of how and why the third sons and daughters could become Revenants.

It all kind of made sense, considering how mortals had been created.

“She’s something like a Revenant,” I said, sharing what Millicent had told me. That did nothing to clear up any confusion because what the Handmaiden had said was about as clear as the soup in that pot.

“Gods,” he uttered. “Have you told Poppy?”

“I didn’t want to unload that on her when she was so exhausted. Once she wakes up and feeds…”

“Shit.”

“Yeah.”

“That’s going to mess with her.”

The muscles in my shoulders cramped. “It will.”

He ran a hand over his head, where his hair had grown since the last time I saw him.

“Wait. Did Poppy tell you that there was more to that prophecy? What Tawny told her?”

“She told me bits of it—fuck. The first-and-second-daughter parts? Didn’t even connect when Poppy said it. Fated for the once-promised King?” I looked toward the hall. “If Malik speaks the truth about her being his heartmate, it makes sense.”

“And doesn’t because Poppy isn’t going to remake any realms.”

I nodded. “You know, Millicent even called herself the first daughter. She also referred to herself as her mother’s failure.”

“Failure at what?”

“I don’t know, but I’m thinking it’s what Isbeth plans.” I pushed away from the counter as more of what Millicent had shared with me cleared in my mind. “She told me she planned to remake the realms.” I went to the window, pulling the blinds back a little to see thin wisps of mist-strewn night.

Kieran turned in his chair. “Yeah, we heard that. One of the Priests in Oak Ambler said it was Poppy’s purpose.”

Closing my eyes, I let the blinds fall back into place. I recalled jumbled words spoken by Millicent and the Blood Queen, some slipping past me before I could make sense of them. “Millicent said that to remake the realms, you had to destroy them first. And I think that’s how Isbeth failed with Millicent. She would’ve had to go through the Culling—Ascend into her godhood. I don’t think Millicent survived it.”

“And you think Isbeth made her into one of those things as a way to save her?” Kieran sounded incredulous. “You think she cares that much?”

“I think she loves Poppy in her own twisted, fucked-up way. I think that’s why she also didn’t touch me this time around.” I faced Kieran. “And I think she probably loves Millicent in that same demented way of hers. After all, the death of one child propelled all of this into motion, didn’t it?”

“Shit.” Kieran looked up at the exposed beams of the ceiling. “So, what? You think Millicent was her first, and Poppy was her second attempt at creating something she thinks will destroy the realms?”