“Not great.” I gritted the words, my chest throbbing.
“I need a little more detail than that,” he pressed. “What was she like when she first woke compared to now? How has her behavior been?”
Itching to get back to her, I took a deep breath and told him how she was upon waking and what had occurred since. “But even though she was confused, she was more worried about—” My voice thickened, and I cleared my throat. “She feared hurting me. Even now.”
Attes’s gaze sharpened. “It should’ve been impossible for her to fight the need to feed after Ascending.”
“I thought the same. But on some innate level, she knew who I was to her, and what was inside her,” I told him. “So much so that she fought to get away from me but didn’t use the essence against me.”
His head tilted, sending strands of hair across his forehead as he studied me. “Please continue.”
I scrubbed a hand over my chest as I turned back to the door. I told him how I’d finally gotten her to feed a little and how she seemed to sense something was wrong with her even before Reaver showed. “A few times after that, I was talking to Poppy again.”
“You’re sure?” he urged.
“Yes.”
“She summoned me,” Kieran added, and I managed to keep my expression blank. “And she knew who she was when she did.”
“And now?” Attes questioned.
“She’s exhausted. I can tell she’s been fighting him.” What felt like a fist punched through my chest. I turned back to him. “And doing so is causing her pain.” I replayed the time I’d spent with her. “She said he wanted in, and she didn’t have a choice.”
The Primal’s gaze lowered and then rose. “Has he communicated through her?”
“He…got through for a few minutes.” I raked my fingers through my hair and then dropped my hand. “I got to chat with the fuck.”
Kieran’s head whipped toward me. “What?” He unfolded his arms. “When?”
“A few hours ago,” I answered, my gaze drifting back to the closed door. There was still no sound coming from inside.
“What did he say?” Attes demanded.
“Nothing beyond that he wants what he deserves. Whatever the fuck that is,” I explained. “And threatening to kill everyone I know while trying to get me to let her out.”
“That sounds like him,” Attes muttered. “Could you tell how aware he was of his surroundings?”
I thought about that, my mind flashing to when Poppy had tried to seduce her way free. She hadn’t seemed aware of where she was. “I don’t think he’s very aware. And when he was in control,” I said, tasting the bitter, acidic rise of Kieran’s anger, “he never said my name or anyone else’s,” I told them. Come to think of it, he didn’t seem to sense the essence in me like Attes had either. “But he appears able to make her see and hear things that aren’t there—at least, that’s what it seemed like to me.”
Kieran’s stare sharpened on me as Attes said, “The true Primal of Death has unique abilities very similar to those of theoneirou,” he stated, causing both Kieran and me to stiffen. I remembered learning about the gods of dreams. “He can ferret out a person’s hidden fears and deepest shame, then exploit it.”
“What the fuck?” Kieran rasped, taking an unconscious step back.
“It’s an ability designed to only be used against those sentenced to the Abyss. There was a time when Kolis never would’ve thought of using that against anyone.” A distant glint filled the Primal’s gaze, then vanished. “That time has long since passed. So, while he would have access to those moments, he likely wouldn’t be able to sift through her memories.”
I couldn’t say shit as I stood there, horrified by the idea of Kolis being privy toanythingabout Poppy, let alone her worst experiences.
“Did anything happen to her while she was in stasis?” the Primal asked.
My fists clenched at my sides. “Not to her, but to me. I was attacked.”
“Sorry to hear that.” His reply was so dry and without even a drip of genuine empathy, that in any other situation, I would’ve laughed. “But I’m not sure how that would impact her.”
“We completed the Joining,” I revealed as I searched for patience I didn’t have.
A crease formed between his brows as he glanced between us.
“You’re unaware of the Joining?” Kieran asked.
