“You assume?” I asked.
Casteel nodded. “He hasn’t mentioned it, but I figure he’s probably seen an improvement there.”
My gaze fell back to my glass. “I’m not sure if I like the idea of you being able to read my emotions.”
“Oh, Icannotwait to correct you when you say that nothing is wrong when, in fact, you’re upset or—”
“Ugh.” I resisted the urge to throw myself flat on my back.
His grin spread. “I won’t be as obnoxious as you are with it. I promise.”
“I’m not obnoxious with it…” Seeing him give me a pointed look, I sighed. “Whatever.” I ran my thumb over the rim of the glass. “I know you haven’t tried using the more…extreme forms of the essence, but have you been able to harness it?”
“I have.” Casteel glanced at the ceiling. “It wasn’t intentional, but I feel like I couldcallupon it.”
My head swung back toward him. “That’s how it feels to me. Like I just need to summon the essence, and it responds. Wow.” Excitement rose, and again, a flicker of recognition tugged at the edges of my consciousness. “This is good news—great news, actually.”
“Mm,” Casteel murmured, causing my attention to sharpen on him.
Did he not think it was good?
“Drink,” he murmured.
I did as he urged, enjoying the hint of fruit in the water. Strawberries? And something else—mint, maybe? I took another drink. Definitely mint.
Casteel’s fingertips slid down my arm, leaving behind a wave of tiny bumps. It hadn’t passed me by that the only times Casteel hadn’t been touching some part of me was when I went to the bathing chamber, and when he was at the table. The way his touch lingered on my skin made me think he feared I would disappear if he let go.
His fingers grazed the top of my hand, and something about that triggered a faint memory. “I think I felt you touching me—holding my hand—while I was in stasis.” My gaze lifted to his as a new realization dawned on me. “And I think you were talking to me.”
“I rarely left your side,” he admitted quietly, and an ache bloomed in my throat. “There was a chance you wouldn’t remember who you were when you woke up.”
My heart stuttered as I lowered the glass. “That was possible?”
He nodded, running his fingers over my knuckles. “According to Nektas, it was. He said talking to you while you were in stasis could help, but I wasn’t sure. It wasn’t a guarantee.” He exhaled heavily, lashes lifting. “So you could hear me?”
“Yeah, I think so. It’s kind of fuzzy, but I thought I heard your voice.” My brows knitted at the memory of a lower, deeper timbre. “I think I heard Kieran, too.”
“He was here often.” Tipping forward, he pressed a quick kiss to the corner of my mouth. “Do you remember anything else?”
Bending slightly, I placed the cup on a nearby nightstand as I thought about that. There were brief, muddled images of places and people and more—I knew there was more. And a feeling that I needed to remember something, but nothing was clear. “I think I dreamed, but sometimes, I was just there…in the darkness.” A tiny ball of coldness settled in my chest. I’d heard another voice when I was in the nothingness. “Was anyone else in here?”
“Delano. Emil a few times.” Casteel drew his hand down the side of my neck.
He seemed to relax as he did, folding his fingers over mine and drawing my gaze.
“Tawny spent some time in here,” he added, sending a jolt of surprise through me. “I thought her presence would help.”
“She traveled from Padonia?” That wasn’t exactly a safe journey, even if the kingdom wasn’t at war. One had to pass through the Blood Forest.
“Gianna and a few others escorted her.” Reaching over, he gently squeezed my arm. “She got here safely.”
I nodded slowly, still shocked that she had made that trip, even with at least one wolven accompanying her. She hadn’t trained to protect herself like I had—still did—and she’d been afraid to make the trip to Carsodonia for her Ascension—and that wasbeforeeither of us knew the truth about the Ascended.
But Tawny wasn’t the same.
ThatI remembered.
I shifted, dragging my toes against the floor as I prodded at a fang with my tongue. I didn’t remember hearing Tawny, though.
