“Yeah, you do. So, again, why would you ask me that?”
“Because I know if I asked you to let me handle Poppy, you would do just that.” I angled my body so I could keep an eye on Poppy. “No matter what was going on.”
“True,” he said after a moment. “But not when I think you’re in danger.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Reaver turn from Poppy. “Yeah, but you wouldn’t have picked up anything from me that would’ve given you that indication. I locked my shit down so youwouldn’tfeel anything.”
A muscle began ticking in his jaw. “I told you I could feel her—”
“That’s not what brought you here.”
He held my stare for a few seconds, then looked away, shaking his head. He folded his arms over the black tunic he wore. “Do you really think that’s what we should be worried about right now?”
“For once,” Reaver drawled, “I actually agree with the wolf.”
My hands fisted. “I can worry about more than one thing at a time.”
Kieran’s nostrils flared, and what I tasted from him briefly wasn’t irritation. It was thick like concern but colder.Panic. And before he put up shields, I realized it also carried a distinctive sour note. I remembered then what emotion Poppy had once told me tasted like that.
Guilt.
And I was picking that up from Kieran.
A burst of raw pain cut through what I’d sensed from him, pulling my focus to Poppy. She was trembling, her eyes squeezed shut, and her features twisted. I moved toward her before I realized I was doing it.
“Stop,” she rasped. “Please.”
I halted, almost falling to my knees as I did. That sounded like her. I’d been wrong moments before when it truly felt like my heart had shattered, and nothing could feel worse. Because now, it felt like I’d ripped the heart right out of my chest when I spoke. “I can’t do that.”
Poppy lifted her head, and the aura in her eyes flashed. That was the only warning I got.
What felt like a gust of heated wind slammed into my chest. There was no fighting the force as I slid backward. I grabbed the bedpost and managed to stop myself as she eased up.
“I don’t know why she didn’t throw you into a wall,” Reaver grumbled.
“Because she loves me,” I said, straightening.
“Well, she likes me,” Reaver countered.
“She likes everyone,” Kieran said. “You’re not special.”
I could practically hear the draken’s eyes roll as I pushed off the bedpost.
“Kieran,” Poppy rasped, sounding like she had just seen him. “You answered.”
I halted.
He froze.
A vise had wrapped itself around my heart. “What does that mean?”
“I summoned…him,” she panted.
I didn’t take my eyes off her. “Why?”
Her throat worked on a swallow. “There’s something…wrong with me.”
“It’s okay.” I softened my tone, even as I felt the eather rising in me. “I’m going to help you.”
