I tilted toward him, my smile increasing as I saw the eather flare in his eyes. “Gladly.”
“You are…” Attes looked away, shaking his head.
“And why wouldyoube willing to do such a thing?” I challenged, my fingers continuing to drum away. “For someone you’ve never met?”
“Do you think the same will happen to me?” His head swung back to mine. “I was old before the first Atlantian was even a flicker of a concept.” A low chuckle rumbled from him. “I’m far stronger than you.” He paused. “Who is aboy—”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Kieran muttered.
“Compared to me,” he finished.
“Boy?” The laugh that left me was dark, and a chill hit the air.
“I will heal with a few days of stasis,” the Primal continued. “You, on the other hand, would end up with one hand and not be fine.”
“Perhaps I wasn’t clear enough,” I replied. “Or perhaps your hearing—or maybe your mental faculties—have weakened in youroldage, worsening your comprehension skills.”
“Cas,” Kieran snarled under his breath. “Look at me.”
I held Attes’s glare.
“Godsdamn it, fucking look at me, you jackass,” Kieran hissed. “And listen.”
The Primal arched a brow.
Fingers stilling, I turned my head to Kieran. “Looking.”
“Thank you,” he bit out.
I smirked.
“Now, listen.” Kieran leaned in. “Besides the fact that we need that limb and appendages…”
I opened my mouth.
“I wasn’t done,” he growled. “How do you think Poppy will feel when she wakes up and sees that you’ve lost more fingers, a hand, and possibly an arm?”
I shut my mouth.
“How do you think she will feel knowing it was because of something you did for her?” he pressed.
I didn’t have to think about that. It would destroy her.
Kieran’s shoulders lowered. “She doesn’t know him.” He jerked his chin at Attes. “She isn’t going to care.”
“That’s rude to acknowledge,” Attes murmured.
“Cas,” Kieran said, dragging his lower lip between his teeth. “This”—a golden glow pulsed behind his pupils—“isn’t about you.”
My gaze cut back to Poppy, and I sucked in a sharp breath. Kieran was wrong, and he knew it. Poppy would still care. Maybe not as much as she would if it was me, but…
But his overall point was correct.
“Fine,” I forced out.
“Great.” Attes already held the vial in his hands when he glanced at Poppy. His gaze lingered on her. “She hasn’t woken at all,” he said, more to himself, and something akin to concern pulled at the corners of his mouth. “She won’t stay that way.” He looked at us. “One of you should go to her other side.”
Understanding why he suggested it, I rose without a word and stepped over her, settling on her other side. Kieran inched closer to her lower body and placed one hand beside her. I had a sudden flashback to the ruins of Irelone.
