“I don’t think it’s because we’re underground,” Kieran said.
I agreed with that. “You were cold before we even came down here.”
Poppy gave us both an exasperated look. “Guys, I appreciate the concern, but it’s not necessary. We have more important things to worry about.”
“Disagree,” I stated. “No one is more important than you.”
“Cas,” she warned, eyes narrowing—eyes that were now shadowed. Faint purple bruised the skin beneath them.
“Did she sleep?” Nektas asked.
Her frown deepened. “Uh, last night.”
“I’m not talking about that kind of sleep.” Nektas shifted the unconscious god in his arms. “Have you entered a deep sleep? A stasis at the end of your Ascension?”
“No.” Her nose scrunched.
“She slept for a bit at the start, but that was because…” Kieran looked at Ires, then clearly changed his mind about how much detail he’d go into, even though the god was out cold. “No, she hasn’t slept like that.”
“Well, damn.” There was a grim twist to Nektas’s mouth. “So, you’re telling me that you went through the Ascension and completed the Culling without going into stasis?”
“Yeah. I mean, I did pass out there for a few moments,” Poppy said. “But you already know that.”
“I really don’t like where this conversation is heading,” Kieran muttered.
Neither did I.
“This is inconvenient timing,” Nektas grumbled.
I tensed. “What is?”
“What’s likely to happen any moment now,” he said.
“You need to give us some more detail,” I said, frustration burning its way through me.
“I’m fine,” Poppy insisted, turning to Nektas. “Can we please get him out of this cage?”
Nektas nodded. “I’m planning to do just that, but I think you should probably sit down.”
“You should listen to him,” Kieran urged, his stare intense. The shadows were even darker beneath her eyes.
“Please don’t worry about me,” Poppy said. “I feel totally—” She sucked in a sharp breath as she pressed her hand to her temple.
“Is it your head?” I grasped her shoulders, turning her toward me as a sharp slice of fear cut through my chest and stomach.
Her eyes were squeezed shut. “Yeah, it’s just a headache. I’m—” Her legs went out from under her.
“Poppy!” I caught her around the waist as Kieran lurched forward, bracing the back of her head. “Open your eyes.” I cupped her cheek—gods, her skin was far too cold. Shifting my arm under her legs, I lifted her to my chest. “Come on. Please—”
“She’s not going to wake, no matter how much you beg.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” Kieran whipped his head toward Nektas.
“It basically means I was wrong in my assumption that she’s fully completed the Culling. She’s gone into stasis to finish it,” Nektas explained. “I’m surprised it took this long for it to happen—or that she even woke up earlier. I suppose the eather is strong in her. That’s why—”
“I don’t give a fuck about the eather in her,” I snarled. “What’s happening to her?”
“You should care about the eather in her, especially since you’ve Joined with a Primal. But that’s neither here nor there at the moment,” Nektas responded too damn calmly. “She’s in stasis, just like her father. It happens when Primals, even gods, finish their Culling. Or when they’re weakened and unable to recoup their strength. You would know if she were injured or in danger in any way.”
“What do you mean by that?” Kieran turned, his gaze falling to Poppy as Delano whined, pacing nervously at my side. “How would we know?”
“The very land itself would seek to protect her,” Nektas said. “She would—”
“Go to ground,” I murmured, remembering the roots that had come out of the ground, attempting to cover her when she was mortally wounded in the Wastelands. We hadn’t understood what was happening then.
“She sleeps,” Nektas repeated. “That is all.”
That was all? I looked down at Poppy. Her cheek rested against my chest. Except for the bruises under her eyes and her cold skin, she did look like she simply slept. “How—？” I cleared my throat. “How long will she sleep?”
“That I cannot answer. And, yeah, I know that doesn’t make either of you happy,” he said as Kieran growled. “It could be a day or a couple of days. A week. It’s different for everyone, but it’s likely her body is now catching up with the whole process. She’ll awaken once she fully finishes the Culling.”
Kieran cursed under his breath, rubbing a hand over his hair. I stared at Poppy, the pressure in my chest tightening. Had this been what both Kieran and I sensed through the bond we’d forged during the Joining? That she was on the verge of going into stasis? And she could be out for days? A week?
“Gods,” I bit out, feeling fucking helpless and hating every moment of it.
“Get her someplace comfortable and wait it out. That is all you can do,” Nektas said. “I’ll take care of Ires.”
Somewhere comfortable? Here? I shared a look with Kieran. Poppy wouldn’t be comfortable anywhere in Wayfair, but what choice did we have?
“We’ll find a place,” Kieran assured, slipping into the role he always did. The logical one. The calm and supportive one when shit went south. But I knew that was far too often a fa?ade. I started to turn.
“There is just one thing you should be aware of,” Nektas added, stopping all of us in our tracks. “The stasis that comes at the end of a Culling can have…unexpected and lasting side effects.”
A fist seized my heart. Trepidation rose. “Like what?”
“Loss of memory. Lack of knowledge of who they and those around them are,” he explained.
That invisible fist…
It fucking crushed my heart.
Kieran’s entire body jerked back a full step. “It’s possible she…” The calm began to crack. “She won’t know who she is? Who we are?”
“It is, but it is very rare. I can only think of twice that it has happened,” Nektas said, tension bracketing his mouth. “You just need to be aware of the possibility.”
And what if it became a reality? Kieran’s stare met mine. I swallowed. “And if it does happen?”
Nektas didn’t answer for a long moment. “Then she will be a stranger to herself and you.”
Kieran’s eyes closed.
Mine couldn’t. I looked down at Poppy. She was my heart—my everything. I couldn’t even consider her not knowing who she was—not knowing us.
“Talk to her.” Nektas’s voice had softened. “That’s what Nyktos did when she was in stasis. I don’t know if she heard him, but I think it helped.” His head tilted as he looked down at Ires. “I know it helped him.”
I nodded, turning from the draken. I knew I should’ve asked when or if he’d be back. I imagined he would be. His daughter was in this realm, but given the single-minded bastard I was, my only priority was to get Poppy somewhere comfortable. I wasn’t thinking about Nektas and his daughter. Nor Poppy’s father, or the Crown we’d just overthrown—the kingdom we’d conquered, yet only in the most technical sense. All those things were important, but none of them mattered.