“True,” I admitted. “But, at the same time, I enjoyed that infuriating trait of yours.”
“I know,” he repeated, inhaling deeply. “The scent of your desire—the taste of it? Sweet and spicy.” A low rumble came from his chest as he closed his eyes. “I want to drown in it.”
I leaned into him, wanting him to be really, really irresponsible. His eyes reopened, and there was a…faint silver glow behind his dilated pupils.
I halted, my lips parting as I watched the aura brighten. I was pretty sure I’d never seenthatin his eyes before.
“But…” He drew in a deep breath. “You’ve been asleep, Poppy.”
Something in his tone silenced the budding questions about the aura of eather. Unease crept to life, cooling the heat in my blood.
“And you weren’t just sleeping, Poppy. You were in stasis.”
I started to frown, but something about what he said stirred up memories of darkness—vast, endless nothingness thatwasn’t…what? I wasn’t sure where my thoughts were going with that. “How long?”
Casteel didn’t answer immediately. “For over two weeks.”
My head jerked back as my heart dropped. “Oh, my gods.”
“Yeah,” he breathed, his gaze searching mine.
Panic threatened to take hold as I scooted back and sat down once more. Over two weeks?Anythingcould’ve happened in that time. “How are the people of Carsodonia handling things? What of the Ascended? The Descenters? Have there—?”
Casteel’s long, soft kiss silenced me, and for a few too-short seconds, all those concerns fell to the wayside. His kisses had that kind of power.
When he pulled away, it took me a moment to form coherent words. “You arereallybad at behaving.”
“It’s a work in progress.” He shifted back. “I know you have lots of questions, and I’ll answer each and every one, but before we get into any of that, I need to know how you’re feeling.”
“Uh…”
“I’d prefer if you answered with something more than a sound.”
“I don’t know. I feel fine, but my thoughts are completely scattered,” I told him. “And I think that’s at least partly your fault.”
“Poppy,” he drawled.
“But I do feel fine.”
He palmed my cheek, tilting my head back so our eyes met. “Truthfully?”
“I feel normal for someone who has been asleep for so long and has Ascended to…” The next breath I took got stuck. “I’m a Primal now.”
One eyebrow rose. “Yes, you are a Primal goddess.”
“But I…I feel the same.” My brows knitted as I concentrated on the eather. It wasn’t just a throbbing in my chest. Instead, Icould feel it humming through every vein. “The eather does feel stronger, but shouldn’t I feel, I don’t know, supremely badass?”
Those lips of his twitched. “You’re already supremely badass, Poppy.” He kissed the tip of my nose, and there was no mistaking the burst of fresh, earthy relief that swept through him. “But I’m relieved you feel the same as before.”
So was I.
But why?
Had I expected to be different after finishing the Ascension? My frown deepened. I didn’t think so, but as the fog that clouded the edges of my mind continued to dissipate, my stomach twisted sharply as I remembered why.
Cas’s hand moved, slipping under my braid. His fingers curved around the nape of my neck. “What are you thinking?”
“I was thinking about how Nektas said that a Primal god shouldn’t have two essences within them. It seemed like he was concerned with what I could be capable of—”
