“Why didn’t you help Casteel escape?” I asked. “You could’ve at any point.”
“You’ve seen what kind of shape he’s in. He wouldn’t have made it far,” Malik answered through clenched teeth. “His disappearance would’ve been noticed quickly, too. They would’ve caught him, and that wouldn’t have ended well for Cas.”
“You could’ve gotten him out of the city and to us,” Kieran challenged.
“I won’t leave her here,” Malik said without hesitation. “Not even for Cas.”
Kieran’s conflict grew, but mine lessened. Because I could understand that. I’d chosen to save Casteel over my father before I even left for Carsodonia.
“How much longer?” Reaver demanded.
“Not very much,” Malik assured. “But we need to hurry. I ran into Callum minutes before the horns blared, and he hightailed his ass to Isbeth. We got into it,” he said, and I noticed his knuckles then. They were red, the skin angry and ripped but already healing. He’d definitely been in a fight. “Callum was…”
“He was what?” I asked.
Malik glanced at me. “He was just saying some shit about Cas. He’s always saying shit. Still, I got a bad feeling. I was going to check on Cas myself when the mist hit the city, and I saw you all.”
“Do you think he did something?” A cold wind of worry swept through me.
“Anything is possible with that fucker.”
Dread built. Everything looked the same as ten steps back. I began to fear that we’d been played, and I would have to kill Malik in this underground maze.
We rounded a corner, and the scent of musty decay reached us. Damp, torch-lit walls came into view, as well as a long, straight hall with just one cell to the left. A deep, awful growl rumbled from within.
A frayed sort of sound left me. I picked up my pace and then broke into a run, passing Malik.
“Poppy,” Kieran shouted as I rushed through the opening—
Jerking back, I choked on a scream as the creature chained to the wall lunged forward, its arms outstretched. Shock seized me. My feet slipped out from under me, and I went down hard on my ass, not even feeling the impact of the fall.
I barely recognized him.
His skin was ghastly pale, almost like a Craven’s. The striking lines and planes of his face were contorted, lips peeled back, and fangs thicker and longer than I’d ever seen. His eyes… Good gods, they were pitch-black—not a hint of amber visible. And his chest…
A jagged hole mangled the center of his torso, just below his heart. Blood covered his stomach. The floor. I realized it was what had caused me to slip.
“Oh, gods,” I gasped, my heart cracking open.
Casteel snapped at the air, the chains groaning as he pulled them taut. The shadowstone band cut into his throat, but it didn’t stop him from swiping at me and snarling.
“No.” Kieran grasped my shoulders, hauling me clear as his agony pummeled my senses. He stared at the man who was more than just a friend to him. “No.”
My senses opened, reaching out to Casteel as Kieran lifted me to my feet. I came into contact with no wall. No anger or pain. Not even a hint of anguish. There was nothing but a yawning, crimson void of insidious, unending hunger.
No sign of Casteel remained in the thick, red haze of bloodlust.
“He wasn’t like this yesterday.” I shuddered. “That wound—”
“Callum,” Malik snarled, entering the cell. He stuck close to the wall as Casteel whipped to the side, tracking his brother’s movements. His bloodied chest vibrated with sound. “He did this.”
Fury exploded, stirring up the Primal essence. “I want him dead.”
“Noted,” Reaver said from the entrance.
“We need to get him calm.” I started to move closer. “Then we—”
Kieran’s arm came around my waist, pulling me tight to his chest. “There is no way you’re getting close to him.”
Casteel’s attention snapped in our direction. His head tilted as he snarled.
“He’s…he’s too far gone,” Kieran said, his voice hoarse.
My heart stuttered to a painful stop. “No. He’s not. He can’t be.” I rubbed the blood off my palm. The golden swirl was dim in the fading candlelight. “He’s still alive.”
“But he’s in bloodlust, Poppy.” Kieran’s voice was loaded with broken shards of pain. “He doesn’t recognize you.”