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November 28 - December 12, 2025
My first. My guard. My friend. My betrayer. My partner. My husband. My heartmate. My everything.
“My Queen,”
What a pretty little flower. What a pretty poppy. Pick it and watch it bleed. Not so pretty any longer.
“‘With the last Chosen blood spilled, the great conspirator birthed from the flesh and fire of the Primals will awaken as the Harbinger and the Bringer of Death and Destruction to the lands gifted by the gods. Beware, for the end will come from the west to destroy the east and lay waste to all which lies between.’”
“I love him,” I whispered. Kieran paused by my legs. “Are you just now figuring that out?”
“I love you, Penellaphe. You. Your fierce heart, your intelligence and strength. I love your endless capacity for kindness. I love your acceptance of me. Your understanding. I’m in love with you, and I will be in love with you when I take my last breath and then beyond in the Vale.”
“But I have no plans to enter the Vale anytime soon. And I will not lose you. Ever. I love you, Princess, and even if you hate me for what I’m about to do, I will spend the rest of our lives making up for it.”
Casteel. My husband. My heartmate. My savior.
“You are the foundation that helps me stand. You are my walls and my roof. My shelter. You are my home.”
tried to eat Kieran.” “He won’t hold it against you.” “I tried to eat Kieran while I was naked.” “That’s probably why he won’t hold it against you.”
“Because I did lose you, Poppy. I felt your heart stop. The imprint on my palm started to fade. I was losing you, and you are my everything.”
“If you think that what I did was a shock, then you need to understand that I will do anything and everything for my wife.” Casteel’s gaze latched on to his father’s. “No risk is too great, nor is anything too sacred. Because she is my everything. There is nothing greater than her, and I do mean nothing.”
“Not about anything. Not even when you don’t want me to worry. I know you’re strong and so resilient it’s fucking unbelievable, but you don’t have to always be strong with me. It’s okay to not be okay when you’re with me,” he said, and my breath caught. “It’s my duty as your husband to make sure you feel safe enough to be real. You don’t have to pretend that you’re okay with everything that has happened, Poppy.”
“When you look at me like that, every good intention I had of letting you enjoy your first shower disappears with each passing second,”
“The problem? If I get inside of you right now, I don’t think I can control myself.” He stopped in front of me and dipped his head. His lips brushed the shell of my ear as he slipped a finger under the strap of the slip. “I’d have you up against that wall, my cock and fangs so deep inside you that neither of us would know where one began and the other ended.”
“You’re beautiful.” Casteel’s voice was like a balmy summer night. “And you’re mine.”
I knew exactly what those two things were. This was simply the truth. I was his. And he was mine.
“Are you…are you still being thorough?” I asked, my voice husky. “Yes. I think I missed a spot.” He kissed the space above the old scar. “I think I see many more spaces I missed. And you know me, I’m a perfectionist. I also wouldn’t want those spots to feel left out. Do you?”
Casteel stared down at me for a moment. “You’re utterly unique, Poppy. You know that, right?”
“Not only can she defend herself,” he repeated, “she needs to be able to defend herself. And that is why she will be allowed to do so, whether she is our Queen or our Princess.”
“Just like I see you for who you are. My Queen.”
do not want to be party to forcing you into yet another role you did not ask for nor desire. I will not replace the veil you loathed with a crown you hate. If you do not want to take the Crown, I will support you,” he swore, and the intensity in his words captured me. The irrevocable oath he was making. “And if you decide you want to take what is yours, claim the throne, I will set this entire kingdom on fire and watch it burn if that ensures that the crown sits on your head.”
“But I love you more.” Flecks of gold burned brightly in his eyes, churning restlessly. “Do not underestimate what I would or would not do to ensure your happiness. I think you know this by now. There is nothing that I wouldn’t do, Poppy. Nothing.”
“You are worthy of me, Cas. I need you to know that.” “With you in my arms, I feel worthy,”
“I’m living because of you, Cas, and I mean that both literally and figuratively. You think you’re not worthy of me? In reality, I sometimes wonder if I’m not worthy of you.”
“Her name is Penellaphe. And if you get my wife’s permission, you may call her that. If not, then you may call her Princess. Whatever rolls more respectfully off your tongue. But what you will never refer to her as is the Maiden. Do you understand me?”
Most men wouldn’t know logic if it smacked them in the face.”
could live on the taste of you. I swear to you.”
“I could spend an eternity on my knees before you,”
“You have me. You will always have me.”
“Yours.” Stark need shone through the slits of his eyes. “Now. Forever. Always.”
We became twin flames, burning bright and uncontrollable, lost to the fire.
“My Queen,” he murmured, lashes sweeping up as his eyes met mine. And that connection—the one tied to my heart and soul was just as life-changing. “I guess I will have to stop calling you Princess.”
“You will bow before your Queen.” Casteel eyed the Atlantian coolly. “Or you will bleed before her. It is your choice.”
“I knew you were a second daughter, one who shared the blood of the gods.”
“Can I share something with you?” Willa leaned in, touching my arm. A faint charge of energy danced over my skin. “You weren’t the only one seeking sanctuary that night. He was in need of shelter—one that could bear the weight of his desires, his love, and his pain. And he found it. He may have given you freedom, but you have given him more than you could ever know.”
“But what is written in bone is different, and what is not believed should not be ignored.”
know you’re the Queen of my heart.”
“I wish we weren’t about to have this meeting because I really want to fuck you on this table right now.”
I wasn’t the Maiden. I wasn’t a Princess or even a Queen. I was a god. And I was so over this.
“It is I who is lucky to have been found by your son and to have become his.”
And then I fought like a god.
It was King Jalara’s head. “Fuck,” the Revenant groaned. I took the ruby crown Delano handed me. “I want you to deliver that to her. Let her know that I have his crown. It’s mine now. I want you to thank her for me, for teaching me to fight like a god. Tell her that was for Ian.”
“Now this is the really important part. I need you to make sure she understands that I’m coming for her. That I will burn every Revenant that stands between her and me. I will strike down every Ascended who defends her. I will topple every castle she seeks to hide in. Make sure she understands that her survival hinges on Casteel. She will release him, or she will see each and every one of her cities leveled. If she touches him again, I will destroy her precious Malec, and I can. I know where to find him. He lives. For now. And if she kills Casteel? If anyone kills him?” I tilted my head,
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“Make sure she knows that I am the Chosen, the One who is Blessed, and I carry the blood of the King of Gods in me. I am the Liessa to the wolven, the second daughter, the true heir, owed the crowns of Atlantia and Solis. I am the Queen of Flesh and Fire, and the gods’ guards ride with me. Tell the Blood Queen to prepare for war.”
