I shuddered. “I could’ve prevented a lot of what has happened, but I…I lost sight of a lot of things. Each time I was near you, I couldn’t help but feel as if I knew you.” I thought of what I’d tasted in her blood. A part of me had recognized what was in her. “I think I know why it’s been like that.”
At least, I thought that explained the strange sensations I felt when around her. We didn’t always recognize half-Atlantians in such a manner, but there’d been stories of such—of the eather in our blood recognizing the eather in others.
I felt Poppy shiver, and it suddenly occurred to me that we were half-naked in the snow.
“You’re cold.” I rose above her, tugging my breeches up as I ignored the sharp pain when the tender skin on my chest pulled. I fastened what buttons remained, then extended a hand to her. “We need to get out of this weather.”
Poppy had sat up, holding the torn sides of her shirt. She hesitated and then placed her hand in mine. “I tried to kill you.”
She said it as if I’d forgotten, and I had to fight a grin as I pulled her up. “I know. I can’t really blame you.”
Her mouth dropped open as I knelt, grasping her pants and lifting them to her hips. “You don’t?” she asked.
“No,” I said. I had blamed her, but then again, I’d been angrier with her for running out here. “I lied to you. I betrayed you and played a role in the deaths of people you love. I’m surprised that was the first time you tried.”
Poppy stared in silence.
“And I doubt it will be the last time you try.” I lost the fight, and one side of my lips curled up as I tried to fasten her pants. Unfortunately, there were no buttons left. “Dammit.” I then tried to, well, do something with the shirt. That wasn’t working either. I cursed again. Reaching up, I pulled off my tunic. “Here.”
Poppy was still standing there, looking at me as if I were the most confounding individual she’d ever met.
I probably was.
“You’re…not mad?” she asked.
Our eyes locked. “Are you not still mad at me?”
“Yes,” she answered without hesitation. “I’m still angry.”
“And I’m still angry that you stabbed me in the chest.” And then ran from me, but whatever. “Lift your arms.”
Poppy did as I said.
“You didn’t miss my heart, by the way. You got it pretty good,” I admitted. It had definitely been more than a nick. I pulled my shirt down her arms. “That’s why it took a minute to catch up to you.”
“It took more than a minute.” Her voice was muffled for a moment, and then her cute, irritated expression appeared.
She didn’t need to know exactly what had delayed me. It hadn’t been the stab wound. It had been Kieran. “It took a couple of minutes,” I said, tugging down the sleeves.
Poppy looked down at the shirt she now wore and then at my chest. The wound was bright pink, the flesh a little jagged. “Will it heal?”
“It will be fine in a few hours. Probably sooner.”
“Atlantian blood,” she rasped.
“My body will immediately start to repair itself from any non-fatal wounds,” I explained. “And I fed. That helped.”
Her hand went to her throat before she quickly jerked it away. I raised a brow. “Will anything happen to me from…from you feeding?”
“No, Poppy. I didn’t take enough, and you didn’t take enough of mine earlier,” I assured her. “You’ll probably be a little tired later, but that’s all.”
Poppy was once more fixated on my chest. “Does it hurt?”
“Barely,” I told her.
She lifted a hand, placing it flat against my chest. I stilled. She wasn’t going to—
Warmth splashed my chest, rippling through my body in soft waves. It washed over me, taking with it the pain of the wound and the anguish that lived deeper.
A tremor rocked me as my jaw loosened. She’d taken the pain away. I couldn’t believe her generosity.
Hand trembling, I placed it over hers. “I should’ve known then,” I said, voice thick as I lifted her hand to my mouth. It was stained with both of our blood. I kissed her knuckles.
“Known what?” she asked.
“Known why they wanted you so badly that they made you the Maiden.”
The skin at the corners of her mouth pinched.
“Come.” I held on to her hand as I started walking.
“Where are we going?”
“Now? We’re going back inside so we can get cleaned up and…” I saw she had to hold up her pants. I sighed. I really should’ve taken my time with those buttons. Turning, I dipped, threading an arm behind her knees. I lifted her to my chest. “And, apparently, to find you some new pants.”
Poppy blinked rapidly. “These were my only pair.”
“I’ll get you new ones.” I strode forward. “I’m sure there is some small child around here who would be willing to part with their breeches for a few coins.”
I grinned as her brows snapped together.
“And after that?” Poppy insisted as I stepped over a thick branch.
“I’m taking you home.”
“Home?” Her breath snagged. “Back to Masadonia? Or to Carsodonia?”
“Neither.” I looked down, my smile spreading wide. It was the kind of smile that hid nothing. “I’m taking you to Atlantia.”
I WAS RIGHT
Our return to Haven Keep didn’t go unnoticed. Everyone simply made themselves scarce as I crossed the courtyard in the falling snow with Poppy cradled to my chest.
Except for Kieran.
He stood at the second-floor railing, his arms folded across his chest. Our eyes locked. He raised a brow at the sight of me, shirtless—at the sight of us.
“You can put me down,” Poppy muttered. “I can walk.”
That was not the first time she’d said that. It was more like…the twentieth. I’d ignored the nineteen variations that came before. “If I do that, your pants will fall right off you.” I kicked open the door to the stairwell. “And then you would expose your thighs—your very lovely thighs.”
The flush in her face was visible, even in the darkened stairwell. “Only because you destroyed my clothing.”
“Be that as it may, I doubt you want to flash anyone.” I paused mid-step, glancing down at her. “Or is that what you’d prefer?”
Poppy blew out an exasperated breath. “No. That is not what I prefer.”
I grinned as I started back up the steps. “I didn’t think so.”
She was quiet as we rounded the landing and I climbed the remaining steps. I imagined she was reliving the moment she’d plunged the dagger into my chest. Truth be told, her pants weren’t the reason I’d insisted on carrying her. After all, I wouldn’t complain if she flashed me. Her thighs were so very lush. But the snow was coming down in sheets, soaking the rest of her clothing. She was cold. Hell, I was even getting cold. But keeping her close also kept her as warm as possible. Plus, I was faster.
Entering the second-floor hall, her hands curled tighter in the shirt she now wore, and her face burned brighter. I shifted her higher, allowing her cheek to reach my shoulder. She turned her head, pressing her forehead against me.