Reaver had definitely been listening whenever I spoke of Tawny. “What kind of reason could there be?”
“I wouldn’t know,” he replied, and I tamped down a surge of frustration. “But you are the first female descendant of the Primal of Life—the most powerful being known. In time, you will become even more powerful than your father.”
How I could be more powerful than my father was beyond me. Nor did I know why the female part mattered. Still, I got stuck on those two words.
Your father.
Ires.
Those two words left me uncertain. I swallowed, looking away. Whatever relief I’d felt when I learned that Malec wasn’t my father had been short-lived. My father was a cave cat I’d seen as a young child and again in Oak Ambler, at Castle Redrock. But the only father I remembered was Leopold. Still, anger hummed through my blood, mingling with the eather and warming those cold, hollow places scattered throughout. I would free him, too. “How long has Ires been held captive?”
“He left Iliseeum while we slept, after waking one of the draken to accompany him.” The line of Reaver’s jaw flexed as he stared ahead. “I don’t know why he left or exactly when. I only became aware some eighteen years ago when the Primal awakened.”
My brows knitted as Delano sank onto his haunches beside me. “Why did Nyktos awaken?”
Reaver’s head swung in my direction. Those ultra-bright eyes were unnerving even with the distance between us. “I believe it was when you were born. It was felt.”
I hadn’t known that.
He returned his gaze to the sky. “That was when we learned that both Malec and Ires were gone. As was…Jade.”
It took me a moment to realize that he spoke of Jadis—Nektas’s daughter.
Tension bunched the muscles along his shoulders. “I don’t know why Ires took her. She was young when we went to sleep. And when she was awakened, she would’ve been untested. It wouldn’t have been safe for her.”
I felt the strange urge to defend a man I didn’t know. “Maybe he didn’t think it would be dangerous.”
Reaver huffed, and I swore I saw faint wisps of smoke coming from his mouth. “I think…I think he knew something had happened to his brother and went to look for him. Malec was lost to us long before we realized,” he said, his words similar to what Nektas had told me. “But Malec was Ires’s twin. So alike as children, you couldn’t tell them apart. As they grew older, their differences became clear,” he said, his rough, unused voice turning distant. “Ires was cautious and thoughtful in everything, while Malec was reckless and didn’t often stop to think of what he’d done until afterward. Ires was content in Iliseeum, but Malec had grown restless, visiting the mortal world as the deities slowly built Atlantia. Because both he and Ires were in born this realm, he could come, but that was not without its limitations. The longer he stayed, the more his power lessened. Still, he chose to stay, even knowing what he would have to do to stay strong.”
That lessening of his power must explain why no Primal notam existed between Malec and all the wolven like they had with me. “How did he stay strong?”
“He had to feed, Liessa.” One eyebrow rose as Reaver looked down at me. “He had to feed often. Any blood would do for a god or a Primal, whether it be mortal, Atlantian, or another god.” A pause. “Wolven. Anything but a draken. You cannot feed from a draken.”
Surprise rolled through Delano and me. Atlantians could feed off mortals, but it did nothing for them. Apparently, however, the world was one giant buffet when it came to gods and Primals. However, this piece of news meant…
I had to feed.
“Do you…？” I swallowed hard. “Do you know how often?”
“Probably not as often as Malec once you come into your power. Unless injured. But until then, you will need to ensure you do not weaken.”
“Wait. I’ve Ascended—”
“Yes, I know that. Thanks for pointing it out,” he interrupted, and my eyes narrowed. “But you haven’t finished your Culling.”
Delano’s head cocked, and it felt like my brain did the same.
My abilities had begun to change over the last year, as I became of age to enter the Culling. Before that, I had only been able to feel—taste—the pain of others. But that had grown, allowing me to read all emotions. My ability to ease pain had also changed to one that could heal injuries. But after…he had saved me by giving me his blood—thus Ascending me—I had been able to bring the young girl back to life. So, I’d thought the Culling had run its course. “How do you know?”