It wasn’t necessary for her to hide her face, though. Kieran’s attention remained fixed on the heavy snowfall and the forest beyond.
Wanting her in my chamber since it was bigger and a bit nicer, I passed the room she’d been kept in and took her to mine. A faint smile tugged at my lips. Kieran had cleaned up the blood.
And removed the dagger I’d plunged into the floor. Smart move there.
I carried Poppy to the much larger bed and set her down, grateful that the flames in the fireplace were still strong. As I straightened, her mouth opened. “I know you have questions,” I cut in. “I will answer them, but there are a few things I need to take care of.”
Poppy’s lips pinched but she didn’t argue for once. Turning from her, I stopped with my hand on the door, once more reluctant to leave her. I looked back at her. She was still where I’d put her, hands now resting on the bed.
“I’ll be back,” I promised, then stepped out into the hall. Forced myself.
Dragging a hand through my damp hair, I turned to Kieran.
“Do I even want to know why she is wearing your shirt and you are without one?” Kieran asked.
“Probably not.” Lowering my hand, I joined him at the railing. “Thank you for cleaning up the room.”
Kieran nodded. “No one needs to smell your blood.”
A wry smile tugged at my lips as I rested my hands on the railing. “I need you to watch over her for a little bit.”
“You trust me with that?” was all he asked. He likely already knew what I intended to do. “After I wanted to go after her?”
“But you didn’t,” I reminded him. “And you won’t.”
“Because she’s…” Kieran looked at me then. “How did you say it? ‘She is mine?’”
“That’s not exactly why.” I rolled my neck. “She’s half-Atlantian.”
Kieran pushed back from the railing. “You are certain?”
“I tasted her blood. I’m sure.”
His forehead creased as his brows lifted. “Well, I have a lot of questions about that.”
“I bet you do.” The snow was already well on its way to covering the tracks I’d left. “But what’s important right now is that she’s one of us—and, Kieran, the part of her that’s Atlantian? It’s strong. Look at my chest,” I said, and he did just that. “The wound is far more healed than it normally would be.”
Kieran stared, then his gaze cut to the door I’d exited from. “Damn.” He ran his hand over his hair, clasping the back of his neck. “It explains so much. Her abilities. Why the Ascended want her.”
“It does.” I looked down at my hands. They were still stained with blood. Fresh streaks would join them soon. “And it doesn’t.”
It took a moment for Kieran to understand. “Her parents? Her brother…”
I nodded slowly. There was no way they were her parents—at least one of them couldn’t have been. But Ian? He could still be a half brother. Regardless, all of this would still come as a blow.
Kieran squinted. “They planned to use her to Ascend the Lords and Ladies in Wait? But why? They have Malik. They…”
I tensed all over. I knew what he was thinking. That they needed Poppy because Malik was… “He’s still alive.”
“I didn’t say he wasn’t.”
My heart thumped heavily. “He’s probably weakened, and using him to Ascend all those in Wait would likely kill him. That’s why they need Poppy. It’s the only thing that makes sense, especially if her blood is strong.”
“And for them to know that, they must have…”
Drank from her at some point, likely without her knowledge. My hands tightened on the cold railing until I heard the wood groan. I pushed away. “This won’t take too long.”
“You’re wrong, by the way,” Kieran stated when I was halfway down the hall.
I stopped, looking back at him.
“The reason I won’t hurt her has nothing to do with her being half-Atlantian or because she’s one of us.” Kieran faced me. “It has everything to do with the fact that I was right.”
I lifted my brows. “About what?”
“You. Her.” His head tilted to the side, and when he spoke again, his voice was low. “She’s yours, and you care about her. That’s why. And don’t even try to deny it. Not after the lengths you’ve gone to in order to keep her safe.” He took a step forward. “The lengths you are about to go to, to ensure that what happened in that cell doesn’t happen again.”
A faint tickle of sensation hit the nape of my neck. There was no point in denying it. “I do. I care about her.”
Kieran smiled like a kid who’d just run off with a handful of sweets.
“That wasn’t the reaction I expected,” I stated, tone dry.
“Honestly?” He lifted his hands. “I’m relieved.”
My brows inched up. “Really?”
“Yeah. It proves you aren’t the piece of shit I knew you weren’t.”
“How in the fuck does it prove that?”
“Because being with her wasn’t about getting off. It’s because you care about her. That changes things.”
Everything had changed.
Kieran shook his head. “In any other situation, it would be funny for you to fall for her—”
“Fall for her?” My stomach dipped as if I were standing on the edge of the cliffs in the Skotos. “I said I care about her, Kieran. I didn’t say I’d fallen in love with her. Lust? Yes. Respect and admiration for her? Fuck yes.”
Kieran’s brows creased further as he looked at me like I was missing half a brain. “What do you think lust, respect, admiration, and caring for someone adds up to?”
“Not what you think it does. Maybe for some people, but not me. I don’t—” I stopped myself, but what I didn’t say hung in the air between us.
I didn’t deserve to be in love—to experience that. Not after my actions had led to Malik’s capture. Not after Shea. Not with all the blood on my hands. Not after what I’d done to Poppy.
And Kieran knew that. He just didn’t want to say it. However, this otherwise pointless conversation about love and shit sparked an idea. A fucking insane one, but one that would not only give me what I needed and Poppy what she deserved, but so much more.
“Cas,” Kieran started.
I held up my hand, stopping him. My mind raced, filling in the blanks. This would give Poppy all the protection she’d ever need and then some while ensuring the Blood Crown did anything they could to prevent the knowledge of what she was. No one would dare touch her—not Atlantian or Descenter. Not even my father. My lips curved up.
“Why are you smiling like that?” Kieran asked.
“Look, I do care about her, but that’s not the point here. She is one of us, and there’s no way they didn’t know that.” I crossed the space, stopping in front of him. “Think about what that means.”
“For once, I’m not sure I follow.”
“The Blood Crown rules through lies, Kieran. Everything about them and everything they tell their people is a lie. And Poppy?” I jerked my chin at the chamber door. “She is the foundation of those lies.”