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Kieran rose as Ires pressed against the bars in front of us. “I can try to distract him while you—dammit, Poppy.”
A wicked sense of déjà vu swept through me as Poppy lurched forward. I reached for her, but dammit, she was fast when she wanted to be—and even faster now.
“Poppy,” I shouted as she crouched and thrust her hand through the bars. “Don’t—”
Too late.
Her hand was already pressed against the side of Ires’s throat by the time I curled an arm around her waist. Ires swung his head back, lips peeling back over sharp fucking canines. A low growl of warning radiated from him. I started to haul Poppy’s ass back. She would be pissed, but I’d rather her be angry at me than experience exactly what happened when a Primal lost a hand.
“It’s okay,” she said, inhaling deeply. “Just give me a second. Please.”
I didn’t want to, but she’d said please. Still, it took everything in me to keep from grabbing her again. The only reason I didn’t fail was because Poppy succeeded.
Ires shuddered, the low snarl fading as he stood there, panting. I knew what she was doing, feeding good thoughts and emotions into the god. Calming him.
The first time she’d done that to me, I hadn’t known what she could do. The relief—the peace—she had given me had been quick and stunning. A gift. Still, I wanted her pretty hand as far away from Ires as it could get. I liked her hands and the things she was learning to do with them.
Poppy’s eyes were half-closed as Delano pressed against her side, his stare wary, watchful, and pinned on Ires. “It’s okay. Just give him a few seconds.”
“Whatever you’re going to do with these bars…” Kieran said to Nektas, a dagger in hand—one I knew he wouldn’t hesitate to use. “I suggest you do it quick.”
“Working on it.” Nektas stepped back from the bars.
A tremor went through Ires. His fur stood on end, and Poppy kept her hand on him as he lowered to his belly. His ears twitched. A bright blue flare came from our right, lighting the chamber—draken fire. Nektas hadn’t shifted. I figured we would’ve been aware of a huge-ass draken in the chamber if he had. I was curious, but I didn’t dare take my eyes off Ires and Poppy.
Ires began trembling as the scent of heated metal filled the air. Silvery light appeared in his eyes, spreading. His fur retracted and faded as patches of golden skin appeared. Muscles shrank, and bones cracked into different positions. Long, russet-colored hair appeared—hair damn near as long as Nektas’s. I folded my other arm around Poppy, holding her tightly as her father struggled through the transition. It appeared as if he were fighting it. Or maybe the animal in him was. The process likely took less than a minute, but it looked painful, unlike when Kieran and the others shifted. It was as if he felt every claw sink back into his nailbeds.
Another ripple of shimmering light swept over him, and then, a male appeared in the cage where the large feline had been. He was on his knees, his upper body tucked into his lower half. Through clumps of unwashed hair, he stared at Poppy’s hand resting on what turned out to be his shoulder.
Poppy lifted her hand, her fingers curling inward as she drew her arm back. She tightly gripped the arm I’d put around her waist. “Hi,” she whispered.
The god’s bright green eyes locked with Poppy’s. Eyes that were almost identical to hers. The silvery glow in his, just behind the pupils, was faint. Much of his face was hidden, but what I could see was all sharp angles and sunken planes. He shook.
“I don’t know if you…if you remember me at all,” Poppy began. She was trembling, too. I held onto her. “But my name is Poppy—well, it’s Penellaphe, but my friends call me Poppy. I’m your…” She trailed off, her breath catching. I ran my hand over her side, squeezing her.
Ires was silent as he stared at her, seemingly unaware of Kieran and me, even Delano, who was practically standing on us both. Ires’s breathing was heavy and quick, bony shoulders rising with each inhale.
“Ires,” Nektas said quietly.
His head jerked as he looked down the length of the cage. Nektas had not only melted a huge portion of the bars, he now stood inside the cell with Ires.
“I’m here now,” the draken continued, softer than I would’ve thought him capable of as he kept his hands at his sides. “I’ve come to take you home.”
Another shudder went through Ires, and his eyes drifted shut. Nektas carefully inched closer.
“I’m going to see if I can find something for him. A blanket or something,” Kieran said, voice gruff.
“Thank you.” Poppy turned her head, pressing her cheek against my chest. There was a shimmer of dampness beneath her eyes. Gods, if she was picking up on his emotions now, I couldn’t even begin to imagine what she felt from him.
