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Kieran returns from checking on Sage after she’s injured and brings a textbook and his father with him. From the book, they learn about Gyrms and that Iliseeum is real. They also discover where it is purportedly located. Discussing it more and veering onto the subject of how the Gyrms came to be in their realm, Jasper reveals that most things about the Land of the Gods were kept secret, especially the magic. He goes on to say that I am one of the few people who knows about it, taking all of them by surprise. They then tell Jasper about my journal, and he reveals that I’m one of the oldest changelings alive and one of Atlantia’s Elders. And while I wish he wouldn’t have—because a woman’s age should be kept secret and sacred—he tells the group that I am over two thousand years old.
When news comes that a child has been injured in an accident, Kieran sets off with Casteel and Poppy. As they approach the little girl named Marji pinned under the carriage, Kieran realizes the girl is dead. When Poppy resurrects her, seemingly without consequence, Kieran kneels, paying homage.
After Cas and Poppy’s sexy little tryst in the garden, they and Kieran take in the sights of the city and end up in a museum. They discuss Nyktos and his connection to wolves, viewing paintings of the King of Gods with a dark gray wolf, sculptures of him with a wolf, and a drawing where a white wolf stands behind him. They also discuss how Malec Ascending Isbeth is what led them to where they are today, the cave cat Poppy saw when she was younger, and the fact that godlines and their hierarchy have been greatly skewed by incorrectly reported history spearheaded by the Ascended.
Later, they come upon a wolven wedding, and Casteel dismisses the guards. Kieran spends some time with his friend, Lyra, and they all dance and have fun. Kieran tells Poppy that she honors them by joining in on the dances. After, Lyra pleasures Kieran in the shadows of the bluff, and he catches Poppy watching.
When the time comes to meet with the King and Queen, Kieran stands guard and helps Poppy assert her and Casteel’s position, speaking for the entirety of the wolven and stating that it doesn’t matter if Poppy is Malec’s daughter or not.
They discuss how Leopold could not have been Malec using an assumed identity or a changeling in disguise, and Kieran questions how Malec can be Poppy’s father at all, given he’s been presumed dead for centuries. Then he wonders if they’re wrong. Perhaps her father is actually someone else. He suggests that the only way to know if Malec has risen is for them to go to the Blood Forest and check, which is nearly impossible with all the Craven about and how deeply it lies within Solis.
Poppy’s brother extends an invitation for them to meet. Informing his parents of their journey to Spessa’s End to meet with Ian, Kieran begins gathering wolven to join them on the trip. When they arrive in the city, utterly exhausted, Kieran communicates with Poppy telepathically, and she orders them all to rest.
Later, in their wolven forms, Kieran and Delano, along with Netta and Nova, accompany Cas and Poppy to their meeting. When they come face-to-face with Ian, Kieran makes his distaste clear, and Poppy orders him to stand down.
During dinner, Kieran and Poppy talk about Iliseeum, Fate, and relationships. They chat about Lyra, and he teases Poppy about watching them at the wolven wedding. He then tells her about his lost love, Elashya.
In Evaemon, Kieran accompanies Poppy and Cas through the palace. When her nerves get the best of her, he reminds her that she is a descendant of the gods and runs from no one and nothing. As the Queen relinquishes her crown to Poppy, Kieran and the others kneel out of respect.
Kieran accompanies Cas and Poppy to the hall for the Council meeting, and I finally meet Poppy and Casteel in person. When it’s time for the big announcement to the people, Kieran remains in his mortal form, and I delightfully announce the new King of Blood and Ash and Queen of Flesh and Fire to their people.
Later, Poppy and Cas summon Kieran. He believes it’s to discuss the Joining, but utterly shocking him, they reveal that they want him to be their Advisor to the Crown. He initially protests, insisting that it should be someone older—like his father—but Cas makes it very clear that they never even considered anyone else. That chokes him up a bit.
Poppy asks some questions about the draken, and Kieran tells her that she shouldn’t be so excited about them. He goes on to say that the draken were notoriously unfriendly and temperamental—not to mention they breathe fire—then adds that he hopes none of their group pisses them off.
Little does he know he’ll be at the center of one of those draken’s ire.
As the group sets out for Iliseeum, they make their way through the tunnels. Just as Netta is talking about wanting to read my journal—who wouldn’t?—she falls through the floor, taking years off Kieran’s life. He attempts to save her and pull her up, but he’s not quite able to reach her to get a good enough grasp. Luckily, Poppy is able to use her power to save his sister.
Once in Iliseeum, and after battling some skeletal soldiers, they approach the Temple, and Kieran realizes what the statues are—draken. When Poppy touches one, causing the stone to crack, revealing an eye, Kieran warns the rest of the group.
The girl simply cannot help herself. Her curiosity gets the best of her much too often.
Back in the mortal realm after nearly dying of anxiety when Poppy dared to antagonize the King of Gods, she, Kieran, and Cas spend late dinners trying to come up with a way to get past the Rise around Castle Redrock without being seen.
Over dinner one night, Kieran and others discuss going to Oak Ambler, and he lays out the plan. They will travel by sea, coming in where the Ascended don’t expect, and another group will approach by land on the other side, diverting their attention.
In disguise, Kieran and the others enter the city. The state of things there is shocking to them, as is finding a caged cave cat that turns into a man at Poppy’s touch—she really does need to stop touching random things. Before they can go much farther, a Handmaiden and some Royal Guards and knights stop them, and they realize they’ve been thwarted. Brought before the Queen, Kieran is shocked to find Malik there—and looking hale and hearty to boot. When Malik talks about how he was meant to be Poppy’s Ascension of the flesh, Kieran has to hold Casteel back, warning him that his loss of control is precisely what they want.
After the Blood Queen reveals all her secrets and sets her terms, killing Ian as a punctuation mark, Kieran fears for Poppy’s state of mind. A battle begins, and Lyra dies, enraging Kieran even more.
In the woods of Oak Ambler after the melee, Poppy regains consciousness, and Kieran is forced to tell her that Cas handed himself over to Isbeth in order to save them. He tries to explain that there was nothing they could do, and that the Queen gave them Tawny as a gesture of goodwill. In her fury, Poppy conjures a storm. Kieran tries to calm her and begs her to stop, but she throws him with her power.
After a period of calming and taking care of Tawny, they return to Evaemon and Vonetta and Kieran go with Poppy in wolven form to inform Eloana what has happened and to reveal the truths of what Poppy was told about her being a god and more. Once everything is laid out, Poppy announces that she’s going to summon Nyktos’s guards.
When I saw that proclamation in my visions, I cheered her on. Poppy can be a bit naïve at times—all of this is new to her, after all. But when push comes to shove, she is one of the bravest people I have ever had the pleasure of viewing or meeting.
Kieran accompanies Poppy to Iliseeum once more to summon the draken and almost gets his arm bitten off. Nektas reveals that Ires is Poppy’s father, and they all learn about Jadis.
Back in the mortal realm, the back and forth between Reaver and Kieran continues—they bicker like adolescent siblings, I swear. When Jalara appears and tries to rile Poppy, she counters with her statement that he is the message to the Blood Queen. Kieran launches from the shadows and grabs hold of the King’s arm with his teeth as Poppy beheads him.
On their way to Massene, one of the wolven—Arden—becomes visibly agitated, and Kieran rides ahead to see what upset him so much. He’s unable to hide his horror at what he sees on the walls surrounding Massene, and it bleeds over to Poppy. When she sees the bodies on the wall, Kieran calms her as best he can.
Once they breach the Rise, they dispatch most of the Rise Guards before dawn arrives and the Ascended return. When the rest surrender, they question them, asking what was done to those on the Rise. The one who answers states that he wasn’t sure he saw what he did—that the Ascended were monsters—and Kieran confirms that it was all real before ordering them to be taken to the barracks and guarded but not harmed.
None of the guards outside Cauldra Manor surrender, and death reigns. On the hunt for the Ascended, Kieran finds the manor’s underground chambers, which are similar to those in New Haven. Once inside, they see that the cells are full of Craven. They surmise that the vamprys let them out from time to time just to terrorize the locals and keep up their ruse of the gods’ displeasure when edicts are not followed.
Twenty-eight days after Cas’s surrender, everyone is exhausted from barely sleeping, and Poppy is having trouble controlling her power. Kieran has been able to bring her back from the brink but getting her to take care of herself in general has been a challenge. When she fights him on things, he reminds her that he’s doing what she and Cas asked him to do—he’s advising.
