“I wish I’d seen that.” Her eyes were wide once more. “I love you so very much.”
I laughed at the utter wrongness of that. “Back to your father? She said the cave cat was where he was always kept.”
“Where he was always kept,” she murmured as I smoothed my thumb along her jaw. “The chambers under Wayfair, down the main hall.” She dipped her head suddenly, kissing me. “She said he wasn’t in Wayfair.”
“She lied.”
Poppy shivered. “Thank you.”
“No need to thank me.” I kissed her. “You think you can find him again?”
Lifting her head, she nodded. “I think so, but getting into Wayfair again…”
“We’ll figure it out,” I assured her. “And we will tackle that daunting list of things you spoke of. Together. Except for killing Isbeth. You want that? It’s all yours,” I said, and she smiled in a way that should’ve concerned me but only made me harden.
“By the way, my list wasn’t even over,” she told me. “There’s more stuff. The Ascended. The people. The kingdoms. Your parents.”
Anger sparked. She’d told me what my mother and father had said about everything. “I really don’t want to think about them at the moment.”
Her gaze lifted to mine. “I am still thoroughly angry with them, but they…they love you. They love both of you. And I think it was that love that became one of the reasons they never spoke the truth.”
“They fucked up.”
“Yeah, they did.”
“Big time.”
“I know, but there’s nothing we can do about that.”
“Don’t be logical,” I told her.
“Someone has to be.”
Reaching down, I squeezed her plump ass and was immediately fascinated by how the silver wisps in her eyes brightened in response. “That was slightly rude.”
“You’ll get over it.”
“Possibly,” I said, loving the small smile that appeared as we teased one another—the normalcy of it. Gods, I would never take it for granted. I hated to ruin it. But I had to. “I need to tell you something.”
“If it’s about your cock being a changeling, I know,” she said dryly. “I can feel it.”
A surprised laugh left me. “Believe it or not, it’s not that.”
“I’m shocked.” She yawned again, snuggling against my chest. “What is it?”
I opened my mouth, watching her. When she blinked, her eyes were slow to open and quick to close again. She was tired, and I doubted that she’d gotten much more sleep than I had over the last several weeks. Not only that, I had taken a lot of blood. She had to be exhausted.
I glanced at the small window. It was dark beyond the opening. Even if the mist was still thick, we wouldn’t be going anywhere tonight. Not with the Craven at the Rise. There was time.
There had to be.
Poppy needed to sleep and then feed. Those were the two most important things. Even more important than telling her about Millicent. And that wasn’t me avoiding telling her about the Handmaiden. I wouldn’t keep secrets from her ever again, no matter how badly I wanted to. Because I knew this would mess her up and was why she needed to be rested and fed. Strong. No one needed to learn this kind of news half-asleep and weakened.
“What?” Poppy asked, her voice barely above a whisper. “What did you want to tell me?”
I dragged my hand up her back and over the thick strands of her hair. I cupped the back of her head, keeping her cheek pressed to my chest. “Only that I love you,” I said, lifting enough to press a kiss to the top of her hair. “With my heart and my soul, today and tomorrow. I will never get enough of you.”
“You say that now…”
“Not in a hundred years.” I looked down at her, seeing a hint of a soft smile. A beautiful one. I could live on her smiles. They were that precious. Each one a godsdamn gift. I could exist on her laughter. The sound was that important. That life-altering. “Not in a thousand years. Never. Enough.”
She gave me a squeeze and then started to lift her head.
I stilled her. “I know. We need to get up, but just…let me hold you for a little bit. Okay? Just a few more moments.”
Poppy immediately relaxed, just like I knew she would upon the request. And just like I’d suspected, when her eyes closed once more, they didn’t reopen. She fell asleep, and I…I stared at the bridge of her nose, her parted lips, smoothing my hand through her hair as Millicent’s words broke free from the void.