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October 4 - October 7, 2025
“I can try to get word to Nektas, but with most of the draken here and not knowing which gods have awakened, he’s guarding the Queen and King.” “I’m sure they’re capable of caring for themselves,” I argued. “Besides, Poppy is their Liessa.” “They are capable.” Reaver crossed his arms over his bare chest. “And whether she is the Liessa of my kind does not apply to Nektas.” One side of his lips curled up. “The same goes for me.”
“Seraphena and Nyktos are…” He paused. “They are family. So are their sons. Our bond with them is greater than magic.”
Since Poppy woke Nektas with a simple touch, he believed Poppy could do the same for his daughter. I wasn’t sure how I felt about Poppy getting hands-on with a possibly crazed, self-entombed draken,
If Isbeth never planned to sacrifice Poppy, why did she still need her? And need her to Ascend? What did she want? What does Poppy have to do with Kolis?” Reaver didn’t answer. I looked at him. “Is it because he knows she could end him?” “Possibly,” he murmured and looked away. The corners of my lips turned down. “Possibly? What kind of answer is that?” Reaver’s gaze met mine. “The only one I can give.”
I’ve always sensed you, it whispered. You’ve always sensed me. And I am here. In the darkness? I’ve been with you since birth. That didn’t sound right. I’ve had all your firsts. What the void whispered couldn’t be true. It is. With your first breath, you woke me. When your eyes first opened, I saw again. Your first words spoken echoed in my thoughts. Your first steps taken brought strength to mine. I’ve always been with you.
He looked to be made of pure gold, from the tips of his glistening hair to the soles of his feet. His skin glowed like precious metal, and the way the light hit his features sent an unsettling mixture of awe and apprehension through me. Some sort of primitive instinct warned this wasn’t his true nature. It was artificial. As if he had taken on the appearance as a disguise, stealing it from someone else.
Fleeting views of breathtakingly beautiful people with luminous silver eyes glowing with Primal essence. Expressions of either pity or venomous scorn accompanied by smothering…shame—so much shame that it coated my skin and left me feeling as if I’d never be able to wash it away. I briefly saw a man’s scarred profile, his well-shaped lips curving up and causing a dimple to appear—a smile distinctively familiar to me.
I was a Primal. The one those who’d come before feared. I was the Harbinger and the Bringer the Ancients had dreamed of before the dawn of man. The Primal of Life and Death. I knew that. What I was. But not who I was. And I knew those two things were vastly different.
Still, I felt it. Watching. Waiting. I wasn’t alone.
The streaked darkness was changing, the filaments turning from silver to crimson as the center of the mass thickened, taking on the shape of a…man. My eyes widened as he appeared like a wraith, becoming solid as he drew closer, growing tall, shoulders broadening. The dancing specters glided to the sides, their wispy forms twining with one another like lovers. The crimson-pierced shadows swirling around the cage moved inside the golden-bronze flesh of his chest. I tracked them up his neck and over the proud, hard curve of his jaw, then up the arched bones of his cheeks to curl at the corners of
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His eyes snapped open, and the flecks of crimson brightened as they swirled through his irises. “I can help you, so’lis.” I flinched, my stomach turning at the endearment, even though he spoke it softly, gently. So lovingly. I knew that word. I had been comforted by it at one time. “I know you. I’ve always known you, my pretty flower.” He smiled again, holding my stare. “All you have to do is let me in.”
“I can take away all that fear.” It vanished with his words as pain spiked, replaced by a deep sense of restlessness as I moved silently through the halls under Wayfair, the veil hiding my scars. I was alone as I drifted like I imagined lovesick spirits did, afraid to pass on. I was so… “I can make it so you’re never lonely again.” With each passing heartbeat, the pain became pressure in my skull. I was in a room with dark mahogany paneling, my palms flat against a desktop, the white gown pooled at my hips. I could feel the aching clench of my jaw as I stood perfectly still, even though I felt
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“You will never feel such heartache again.” He vanished from above me as the first stone hit me, tearing open my skin where I stood under the sun—all my fears becoming realized. I would never be accepted. Would never be seen for who I was. “I will always see you.”
The harsh truths and fear that I would turn out just like her. Bitter. Destructive. It was all so much. Too much. And it didn’t stop. All the painful moments of my life kept coming in startling clarity. Gods, it was unbearable. I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t relive those moments. And, gods, I knew there were more. More heartbreak. More loss. Even harsher truths. Worse times. I didn’t want to go through it again. I was weak.
I would always know his voice. And he would never ask me to trust him. A faint tingle drew my gaze to my left hand. Through the undulating mist, I saw the shimmery gold swirl of an…imprint.
He had been the end of every beginning. True Death. But now, he was the great deceiver. The thief of life and joy. The Conspirator, a manipulator who preyed upon weakness and fear. The very first and very last murderer. A monster not by design but by choice.
Their source. My head lifted, and through strands of hair, my eyes locked with crimson orbs as the Primal mist coiled around his legs. He knelt before me, his fingers brushing the hair back from my face in a gentle sweep that ended sharply. He fisted the strands, jerking my head back and forcing my spine to arch.
“I didn’t need your permission.” Cold realization slammed into me, and that revelation echoed back through time. Death never did. I should’ve known. “And you, so’lis,”—his other hand flattened against my breastbone, sending a wave of revulsion through me—“you still haven’t learned that.” Searing agony erupted from the center of my chest, igniting icy flames that engulfed my entire body. The pain was ungodly in its intensity, robbing me of the ability to even scream as the darkness rushed forward, reached for me. For us.
Since I began to sense emotions, I’d learned that Kieran was particularly good at shielding his. Not that I hadn’t already known that.
He was going through the same turmoil I was. But I didn’t want my emotions to add to his already heavy load. It was difficult to push my concerns down when I was so worried, but Kieran had always been there for me. And right now, he needed me. So, I got myself together for Kieran’s sake.
“She’ll need to feed. A lot.” “Emil is on standby for you.” I rolled my eyes. “I’m curious why it has to be him when others are available.” “Because it amuses me.” “Asshole,” I muttered.
“And we’ll both be there for her. Together. We’ll help her remember.” He inhaled slowly and then nodded. “Yeah, we will.”
“And how do you know I spoke with Reaver?” “I know everything.”
“The whole needing-a-vessel thing… You know what that means?” My smile vanished. “Isbeth wasn’t sacrificing shit.” “I’m sure you’ve already thought this”—Kieran’s gaze lifted to mine—“but what did she need Poppy for then?” “I have wondered that.” I reached for the glass. “And I have no idea.”
“Tell me you’re not seeing what I’m seeing.” I blinked just to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating. “Well…” “There’s no way, Cas,” he said, his voice turning sharp and strained. “None. That, right there.” He jabbed a finger in the direction we stared. “Is impossible.” It should be. But it wasn’t. Because we were both looking west, watching the sun rise above the Stroud Sea, where it should have been setting by day’s end—not rising now. “What the fuck?” Kieran whispered.
Beware, for the end will come from the west to destroy the east and lay waste to all which lies between.
“I can tell you’re waking up.” He paused for a moment. “I can feel your confusion—taste it. I don’t think it’s as strong as what you feel from others, but it’s real. Unbelievable, right?” A low, rough laugh left him. “Kieran and I think it’s an unexpected byproduct of the Joining.” Kieran.
I knew I was powerful, but…so was he. I could sense the eather coursing through his veins. It reminded me of mine, but there was more to it. My head cocked as I inhaled deeply. His scent was amazing. Like pine, spice, citrusy snow, and power. There was also something wild and animalistic, but also something else. An element that had been in generations of those who carried his blood. Something old. Something infinite. I needed to be careful.
“And what are we?” My spine straightened as I inhaled his scent once more. “You…you are the end, but I’m the beginning and the end.” Eather flared weakly in my chest, and the nape of my neck tingled faintly. My head lowered. “We are…Primal gods.”
Yet there was an undeniable familiarity to the curve of his arms and the pressure of his chest against my back. It was as if some part of me knew him. Trusted him.
Your name is Poppy. You’ve probably already gotten that.” A brief, wry grin appeared. “My name is Casteel, but I…I love it when you call me—” “Cas—” The word burst from me, coming from somewhere deep within. “That’s correct,” he said softly, the aura behind his pupils intensifying at my sharp inhale.
It was like closing a door. All at once, his pain disappeared, leaving only the feeling that I should be surprised by how easy it had been. Like I had struggled to do it in the past. But why would I have struggled with something so simple? I was a Primal god.
“Weak,” I whispered as the beautiful man across from me watched. “You’ve always been so weak and fragile,” he whispered. “I love that about you.” “W-what?” A tremor ran through me. “I’m…not weak.”
Honest to gods, it was the very last thing I should be paying attention to. I could almost hear a weathered voice telling me to focus. The voice that belonged to… I couldn’t remember.
My heart immediately sped up as I saw the man. It was like something had unlocked the part of my mind that held unwanted memories, because I recognized the pale, ivory skin, the fair hair, and the black, bottomless eyes. I remembered everything about him. The Duke of Masadonia. Duke Teerman.
I stared at the hand missing a finger, adorned with a golden swirl. Neither of those two things made sense. Teerman had no such imprint. I glanced up, and my lips parted. The Duke was no longer there. He stood only a handful of feet from me. Gone was the pallid skin, replaced by warm, golden-bronze flesh.
Eather pulsed. He sighed. “I guess we’re doing this, aren’t we?” I launched myself at him.
Somehow, I ended up straddling him, the softest part of me pressed to the hardest part of him. My mind went blank for a moment as I thought I picked up the sound of approaching footsteps. I wasn’t sure because I was stunned by the feel of him beneath me. I liked it. A lot.
“Princess?” He lifted his head. “I can smell your desire.” My entire body flushed hot, and my ears burned as the footsteps drew nearer. Our mouths were so close that his lips brushed mine when he spoke. “I can practically taste your lust. Honeydew,” he murmured.
My breath snagged in my chest as a sudden memory rose: a cold night under crimson leaves, his body hot and hard behind mine, his hand between my thighs. A warm, shivery sensation radiated from my core, so intense that it silenced everything, even the throbbing pain in my head. Even the hunger. I remembered. We’d been in the Blood Forest with others, though I’d known him by a different name then. There were guards. But that hadn’t mattered. Another shudder raced through me. He had been the first to give me pleasure with his touch. He’d been my first for everything.
“Whatever you do,” he said, raising his voice. “Do not open that door, Kieran.” I jolted. The image of a large, fawn-colored wolf came to mind. He was…a wolven. I silently mouthed the name, feeling that it meant something, too. It was as if he was important to me. To us—
I suddenly realized that something wouldn’t allow me to think his name past the initial acknowledgment—like the one currently on top of me.
The wolven trailed off. “Fuck.” “Yeah,” the one above me said, and the gruff way he spoke caused me to still beneath him. “Let me handle this.” His eyes closed, and his features tensed. “Please.” My heart twisted sharply as a gap of silence fell. Eventually, one word came. “Okay.” I had a feeling it had taken nearly everything he had to say that.
A ragged breath left him. “I love you, Poppy.” And I lo— My heart constricted as pain exploded in my temples. His voice. His words. Despite the aching head, I knew I’d heard him say them before. And regardless of my chaotic thoughts, I knew he meant them. Always and forever—
As my gaze met his, I had the violent and blood-soaked urge to sink my fangs into his throat. Not to feed. But to kill. Yes.
He guided me to his throat. My nose brushed his skin as I breathed in his scent. “You need to feed, Poppy.” He cupped my cheek. “Please.” That one word from him. It undid me. I could no longer stop myself. My breath danced over his pulse. A heartbeat passed, and then I sank my fangs into the vein.
Brown walls and the slow, steady rocking of a…ship. I saw myself holding a journal bound in red, and I realized I was seeing one of his memories. He was between my thighs, his eyes heated, and his lips glossy as he grinned up at me, a deep dimple in his right cheek.
He trembled as I moved against him, his cock hitting that spot with each roll of my hips. He was breathing heavily, his entire body tense and hard against mine as a quaking inferno built within me, ready to burst. And when it did, the release was intense and overwhelming, crashing over me in pounding waves of ecstasy as I took what I needed. And kept taking. I knew he would give me everything until his body grew limp—until there was no seed or blood left in him to give. And I would take it all. Pleasure spun itself up once more.
My body locked. I didn’t want to take it all because I…I loved him. I loved Casteel. All at once and without warning, I remembered myself.
My lips parted, and a cold chill slithered through me as the pain ramped up in my head. I wanted to tell him there was something wrong with me, but the coldness invading me was spreading. The crimson haze returned, clouding my thoughts and edging out reason.
