A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire (Blood and Ash Book 2)

Good gods, I was.

A silvery glow radiated out from under the sleeves of my tunic.

“You look like moonlight,” Casteel whispered, and it wasn’t the sunlight reflecting over his cheek. It was me.

The fur thinned under my fingers, replaced by clammy skin as Beckett shifted into his mortal form. I lifted my hands, rocking back on my rear as Vonetta swept forward, draping a blanket she must’ve grabbed over the boy’s waist. His legs…they were a mottled, angry shade of red and violet, but they were straight and no longer twisted.

Aided by Alastir, Beckett sat up, his pale, sweat-slick face quickly gaining color. Someone was talking. Maybe Casteel asking if he were in pain? Beckett didn’t answer as he stared at me, eyes as wide as saucers.

“Am I still glowing?” My hands weren’t, but maybe my face was? Because it felt like everyone was staring at me.

Casteel shook his head and then looked down at Beckett. “I think…I think you healed his legs.”

“No.” I glanced down at my hands—at my normal, flesh-toned palms. “I can’t do that.”

“But you did,” Casteel insisted.

Beckett still stared at me. So did Alastir. And Emil. And everyone else.

“I can’t,” I repeated.

“Can you move your legs?” Kieran asked, and when Beckett continued to do nothing but stare, the wolven leaned over me and snapped his fingers. “Beckett. Focus. Can you move your legs?”

The young wolven blinked as if he were waking up from a spell. He drew his left leg up, wincing, but then extended it with little trouble. Then he repeated it with the right. “I… I can move them. There’s pain but nothing like before. Thank you.” Astounded eyes met mine. “I don’t know how to repay you. Thank you.” Before I could tell him there was no need for repayment, he twisted at the waist toward the Prince. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen. It’s not anyone’s fault. I wasn’t paying attention—”

“It’s all right.” Casteel placed his hand on the boy’s slim shoulder. “You don’t need to apologize. You’re okay, and that’s all that matters.”

“I know.” His eyes glistened as he fought back emotion. “I should’ve—”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Casteel repeated.

Beckett exhaled roughly as he fisted the blanket lying over him. He bent his left leg once more, sucking his lip between his teeth. Maybe his legs hadn’t been as injured as we thought they were.

Casteel rocked back as his gaze flicked from me to Alastir. “You think you can get him to the training fields? You can take one of our horses. I want Talia to look at him.”

Alastir blinked, dragging his gaze from me. “Of course.”

Sliding an arm under Beckett’s shoulders, Emil helped him stand. He took a tentative step while holding the cloak to his midsection, smiling in relief when his legs held his weight.

“Thank you,” Alastir said to me.

I could only nod. “I don’t think he was as badly hurt as we thought.”

“Yes,” Alastir said, but he didn’t sound like he believed me.

Rising then, Casteel turned to the others. “Beckett will be fine. The Healer will take a look at him.”

The people, a mixture of wolven, Atlantian, and mortal nodded, but there was a thickness to the air, and it settled over my skin like a coarse blanket. I didn’t dare look up as Casteel ushered the group away. It was palpable. The crowd’s emotions. Raw and unfettered. I closed my eyes, trembling with the effort it took to keep my senses locked down, but it was no use. I split open, and the whirl of spinning emotions poured into me. Shock. Confusion. Awe. More shock. Something extremely bitter. Fear. Why would anyone fear me?

“Poppy.” Casteel touched my shoulder, jolting me. “Are you all right?”

I opened my eyes, letting out a ragged breath of relief when I noticed that it was just him—him and Kieran and Vonetta. I didn’t dare look too far. If I did, I would never be able to close myself down.

“You really left some pretty big details out when you told me about her,” Vonetta said, and I almost laughed at how annoyed she sounded.

“I…I don’t know how that happened—how I healed him or started glowing.” I craned my neck to look back at Vonetta. “I can relieve people’s pain with my touch, but only temporarily.”

“And you can read emotions,” she said, obviously knowing enough about my bloodline. “You’re an empath.”

I nodded and looked to where Casteel knelt beside me. He was looking over his shoulder to where the others had gone back to the house. “But I’ve never done that before,” I said, and Casteel faced me. “I honestly don’t think he was as badly hurt
as we feared.”

“His legs were completely broken,” Vonetta said. “They were smashed and twisted.”

“I…” I shook my head. “That’s impossible.”

“It’s really not. The empaths could heal.”

“Did they glow?”

“Not that I know of,” Vonetta said. “But they were all gone before I was born.”

 “It could be the Culling.” Casteel’s brows knitted as he placed a hand on the grass. “And you’re on land that has been reclaimed as Atlantia. You’re on Atlantian soil. That could impact your abilities.” His eyes met mine. “And it could be my blood. What I’ve given you stays in you.”

I leaned forward, keeping my voice low. “Your blood is making me glow?”

His lips twitched. “I don’t think my blood is the sole reason why you glowed like moonlight.”

“It’s not funny,” I snapped.

“I’m not laughing.”

“You’re trying not to laugh,” I accused. “Don’t even deny it.”

Casteel laughed then, holding up his hands. “It’s just you look…adorably confused, and now you look adorably violent.”

I shook my head at him. “There is something so wrong with you.”

He arched a brow and then looked to where Kieran and Vonetta stood. “Can one of you check on Beckett? See how he’s doing?”

“Of course,” Kieran answered as I pushed to my feet.

“I’ll go with you,” his sister said, giving me a little wave. “I’m going to have so many questions for you later.”

I had many for myself.

I watched them start down the road and then turned to Casteel. Beyond him, I saw that the others had return to repairing the section of the roof that had fallen. “They were scared of me. Not all of them but some. I could feel it.”

Casteel’s lashes were lowered, shielding his eyes as he looked down at me.

“Remember Alastir being concerned about what some of the older Atlantians would think if they realized what bloodline I descended from?”

“I do.” He took my hand, leading me to where his horse remained.

“Do they think I’m—what did he say some called the empaths?”

“Soul Eaters.”

I shuddered at the name, pulling my hand free from his. “Is that what they think I am? That I’m feeding off pain?” Or their fear could’ve stemmed from the fact that I’d literally glowed. I would also be concerned if I saw that. “Did you ever think that when you learned that I could ease the pain of others? That I was this—this Soul Eater thing?”

“Not once.” He turned to me again. “Soul Eaters are practically on par with a lamaea at this point. I didn’t even think you were half-Atlantian then, remember?”

I searched his face, but there was nothing hidden in his expression or his unflinching gaze. “I don’t know how any of that happened,” I admitted as I turned to Teddy, stroking the horse’s side. “Normally, I have to think about something happy to channel that feeling into others. But this time, all it took was for me to place my hands on Beckett. My skin tingled more than normal, and my hands heated, but that was all that was different.”

“When was the last time you used your gift in that way?” He caught a piece of my hair, tucking it back.

“It was…when I healed the people in New Haven. That was the last time.”

“And now you’re technically on Atlantian soil.” He stood beside me, resting his arms on the saddle. He’d rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, and the dusting of dark hair along his tan forearms seemed scandalous. “I don’t know if it’s that or the Culling, but there could be more changes.”

I really hoped those changes didn’t involve glowing any other colors. “Maybe his legs weren’t even broken—”

“His legs were most definitely broken. You saw them.”

I stepped back from the horse, folding my arms over my waist as I stared at the light blue curtains rippling out from the terrace across the street. “Your people already dislike me because I was the Maiden. And now they’re going to think I’m a Soul Eater. I really don’t think marrying me is going to change that.”

“The people just haven’t seen anything like that before. They need time to grow used to it, and they will accept you,” he said. “I do think you should hold off on using your abilities, though—”

“I’m not going to hide.” I met his stare with an equally hard one. “I’m not going to ignore those in pain—people I can help. I won’t do that.”

“I’m not asking you to hide your abilities.” He drew his arms from the saddle. “All I’m asking is that you hold off until we understand more. Use your abilities when there isn’t a crowd to witness it. That way, we control the narrative.”

My stomach tumbled. “Is there a narrative we need to control?”

“There is always a narrative.” He dragged his hair back from his face with his fingers. The unruly waves immediately toppled over his forehead. “What you did for Beckett was nothing short of amazing,” he bit out, shifting the topic. “I hope you know that.”

My brows inched up my forehead. “You don’t sound like you’re amazed. You sound angry.”

“That’s because the damn Soul Eater thing is overshadowing the fact that you healed broken bones with your touch.” He stepped in closer to me, a predatory intent to his stare. “I don’t think you understand what you did for that boy.”

“I know what I did.” I unfolded my arms. “I…I healed him.”

“You didn’t do only that.” He took another step, his eyes now like chips of amber.

Heart thumping, I backed up against the warm clay and stone of Vonetta’s house. “I didn’t?”

Placing his hands on either side of my head, he leaned in. “If a wolven suffers a broken bone, they must immediately shift to prevent permanent damage to the bone, the nerves, and the soft tissue. They have minutes to shift, and he was already at that point or damn near close to it.”

“Okay?” I whispered, wondering why he still sounded frustrated.

“He would’ve lost his legs, Poppy. You prevented that.”

“Then why do you sound angry with me?” I demanded.

“I’m not,” he growled.

“You sure about that?”

“One hundred percent sure.”

“Are you…hungry again?” I asked, even though his eyes remained normal, and I knew he didn’t need blood yet.

“Not for blood.” He dipped his head then, and all the air fled my lungs. His mouth was a mere inch from mine.

Was he going to kiss me?

People could see us. People could already be watching. But the intensity in his stare told me that wasn’t the point. Whatever he felt wasn’t for show.

“I don’t think you know your own feelings.” I flattened my palms against the warm stone and clay.

“If you open your senses to me right now, you’ll know exactly what I’m feeling. Do it.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Why?” His warm breath danced across my parted lips.

“Because I don’t want to.” A flutter started in my chest.

“Or is it because you don’t want to know that it’s taking everything in me not to ruin yet another pair of your pants by ripping them off and fucking you so hard that days from now, you’ll still be able to feel the extent of my gratitude.”

My eyes never felt bigger. The sharp, swift curl low in my stomach never felt more reckless, more demanding, more alive.

I swallowed—swallowed hard. “That seems like an odd way to thank me.”

He dropped his forehead to mine. “It’s the only way I know how.”

“A simple thank you would suffice.”

“No. It would not.”

I couldn’t think of what to say, even though there was a lot I should. We stood there for several moments, and at any time, if either of us turned our heads just the slightest, our lips would have met. And I…

I thought I would be lost.

Or maybe found.

Casteel shuddered as a sound I was sure a wolven could make rumbled through him. Every muscle in me tensed deliciously, but he stepped back as he took my hand. Without saying another word, he led me to the horse and hoisted me onto the saddle.

Once he settled behind me, he folded his arm around my waist. “As much as I wish we could spend the rest of the day pretending,” he said as his lips brushed along my jaw. “There’s something we must discuss.”

Drawing in a deep, steadying breath, I nodded. “About our future?”

“Can I point out that I like how you say, ‘our future?’”

“I would prefer that you not, but since you already have, I assume that’s a yes?”

“It is.” Casteel guided the older mare down the road. “We must talk about our marriage.”

“What about it?”

“I think you already know, Princess.”

I squinted at the setting sun. From the moment I’d learned that Spessa’s End had been reclaimed, I had a feeling this conversation was coming.

“What I’m about to say will probably concern you. I don’t want it to.”

I tensed. “When you start conversations like that, it will inevitably cause me concern.”

“Understandable, but know that what guides my decisions is an abundance of caution and anticipation of potential issues,” he said.

“Just so you know, this is the most unromantic conversation having to do with marriage that I’ve ever heard.”

“I cannot disagree with that,” he replied, and goosebumps pimpled my skin in response to the seriousness of his tone. “I’d originally planned for us to marry once we reached Saion’s Cove and then travel to Evaemon, the heart of Atlantia.”

“Is that where your parents live?”

“Yes.”

“You planned for us to marry before I met your parents?”

“It would make things far less complicated if we did,” he reasoned.

I may have been sheltered my entire life, but I was no fool. “You want to marry before they have a chance to stop us.”

“They can’t stop us,” he reminded me, shifting Teddy’s reins into my hands. “I don’t need their permission.”

Curling my fingers around the reins, I said, “But you’d want their approval?”

“Of course, I would. Who wouldn’t want their parents’ approval?”

But that wasn’t necessary for us since the marriage was temporary.

“As I’ve said before, I think they will be suspicious of my intentions, especially my mother. She knows I haven’t given up my brother.” He showed me how to guide Teddy so we weren’t going straight through the town center, but on the outskirts. “Both she and my father will seek to find numerous reasons why we should delay the marriage.”

If we couldn’t convince Alastir, I truly had no idea how we would sway his parents. “Once we’re married, then there’s nothing to be delayed.”

“Exactly.” His hand settled back on my hip. “This is another part that I don’t want you to overthink even though I know you probably will.”

“And I will probably have a good reason to do so.”

“That’s debatable, but nonetheless, I feel it would be in our best interests to wed here, in Spessa’s End.”

Although I suspected as much, my heart still skipped several beats. “In your best interests?”

“In our best interests,” he repeated. “Sooner or later, people would’ve learned of your abilities to relieve pain. If not by the arrival of those from New Haven, someone other than Beckett would’ve been injured. I just wasn’t expecting today. And while I don’t believe many will look upon you with fear for long or think of you as a Soul Eater, it would be wise for us to marry before anyone thinks to do something incredibly idiotic.”

Something incredibly idiotic translated into someone attempting to kill me.

“And we have everything here that we need to marry,” Casteel said as we climbed the sloping hill. “Or we will shortly.”

“What are those things that we need?”

“Well, rings, of course.”

I rolled my eyes. “I wasn’t being serious about the ring.”

“I know, but I still plan to gift you the largest diamond you’ve ever seen,” he said, and I could hear the smile in his voice. “But a simple Atlantian band will have to suffice for now.”

There were several more skips in my heart.

“The ceremony can be small. But we will need an officiant,” he continued. “Any head of a bloodline can officiate a marriage.”

“Alastir?”

“No. He does not speak for the wolven, even though he is among the oldest,” Casteel explained. “The wolven who does is named Jasper. And, luckily, he’ll be arriving in Spessa’s End by tomorrow. We can be married by the evening.”

My chest felt tight. In a little over twenty-four hours, we could be married. A rush of confusing emotions as conflicting as the ones the people had felt when I healed Beckett hit me.

I had to focus on the plan and not everything else. My mouth was dry as I asked, “And then we continue to Atlantia?”

“Yes.”

I frowned slightly. “But what is the point? If we marry before we even cross the Skotos Mountains, couldn’t we then send word to Carsodonia?”

“Besides the fact that my mother might legitimately murder me for not taking my new bride home to meet her, our marriage will need to be recognized by the King and Queen. You will need to be crowned.”

“Crowned?” My head jerked to the side.

He arched a brow. “You will become a Princess, Poppy. You will need to be crowned. Then you’ll have the same authority as I do. Your position in Atlantia then cannot be questioned by the King or Queen of Solis.”

“That…that seems like semantics.”

“More like politics. And since King Jalara was alive during Atlantia’s rule, he will know that a Prince or Princess not recognized by the Crown holds no power or authority in Atlantia.”

I shook my head as I faced forward. Politics was nonsense to me. We’d crested the hill and reached the woods. With the setting sun, there was only the faintest traces of sunlight filtering through the trees. “And you believe that your parents will accept our marriage?”

“They will.”

“You do realize that Alastir doesn’t quite believe our engagement is genuine,” I pointed out. “If your parents don’t believe us, why do you think they will crown me?”

“Because we will convince them,” Casteel said, and he said it like there was little possibility of anything else occurring.

But I wasn’t so sure.

“What are you thinking?” Casteel asked after several silent moments.

“I’m thinking many things,” I admitted. “But I know you’re lying.”

Casteel stiffened behind me. “I’m not—”

“I don’t mean that you’re lying to mislead me,” I quickly added. “But you’re lying to protect me. You’re more concerned about the Soul Eater thing than you’re willing to admit. And you’re more worried about your parents’ reactions than you’re willing to say. That is why you want to marry now.”

Casteel still remained tense. “Are you reading my emotions?”

I smiled faintly. “I don’t need to read your thoughts to know any of that.”

He was quiet and then said, “Poppy—”

“Not that you’ve asked, and I’m assuming you were getting around to it, but yes,” I cut him off. “I will marry you in Spessa’s End.”