“No, she wanted me to suppress it.”
I frown. “What do you mean?”
“I can already control it. Most of the time, anyway. If my emotions are heightened, sometimes it will happen spontaneously.”
“I don’t know anything about infliction,” I admit. “Theo’s body was…he looked like he was in pain?”
“I can manipulate the nerve endings,” Poppy says. “And once the seizures start, I go for the heart. I…stop it. I don’t know how I do it, exactly. How do you incite? How does Grayson make me feel numb like this? I can’t explain it.”
She’s right. We can’t always explain how our abilities work.
“Did your mother ever let you practice on her?” I can’t imagine Fiona allowing Poppy to inflict some unsuspecting soul.
“Yes. But it didn’t require a lot of practice. If I’m calm, I can turn it on and off easily.”
“How fast can you harness the gold?”
With one eyebrow raised, she looks at me.
A second later, I feel a pain in my chest.
I slap my hand over my collarbone, rubbing away the sting. “Was that you?”
She nods.
Holy hellfuck. Now I know why Fiona was so desperate to keep people from getting close to Poppy.
“Don’t worry, I won’t accidentally stop your heart,” the girl says. “That doesn’t usually happen with humans. Your hearts are too big.”
With humans.
The implication hangs in the air. “But animals?” I say softly.
At that, Poppy looks crestfallen. “The slightest jolt can kill them. When I told you that Scarlett doesn’t let me touch the birds, I lied. She never made that rule. I don’t touch them because I don’t want to hurt them. Like I hurt Didi.”
Sadness squeezes my heart. So that’s why she doesn’t go to the aviary anymore. She must’ve accidentally killed that raven.
Fuck. I rub my forehead. I’m so tired, but I know there won’t be any sleep for me tonight.
“Has it happened with any other animals?” I ask.
She nods. “We had a dog…” She trails off.
That’s all she needs to say, and I ache even harder for her. I know what it’s like for your abilities to work spontaneously, but I can’t imagine actually killing someone with my touch.
Her eyes well up with tears then. “But tonight, I did it to aperson.I stopped his heart.”
“You saved my life,” I remind her. “So if you feel guilty about killing that man—”
“I didn’t save your life,” Poppy blurts out. “I almost killed you.”
“What are you talking about? You mean tonight?”
“No. I…” Her entire face collapses. “The night of the red moon, I’m the one who poisoned your drink.”
Shock slams into me. “What?”
“It was an accident,” she moans. “I used that plant you told me about. Crimlock. I crushed up the root and boiled it and put it in my mom’s bottle.” She tips her head toward me, her expression one of genuine distress. “You said it caused stomachaches!”
