Total pages in book: 401
Estimated words: 390373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1952(@200wpm)___ 1561(@250wpm)___ 1301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 390373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1952(@200wpm)___ 1561(@250wpm)___ 1301(@300wpm)
She was his agenda.
His motivation.
His goal.
But she was mine.
“If he goes after you or Kieran,” Poppy said, her voice hoarse, “the Joining won’t protect either of you. He can kill you.”
The thick, heavy bitterness of fear and anxiety lodged in my throat, and my heart rate skyrocketed.
Poppy.
Those were her emotions choking me. The chaotic rush of my thoughts ground to a halt as I looked at her—really saw her. Suddenly, I no longer felt split into halves. I was whole, and every part of me was focused on Poppy.
Her chest rose and fell rapidly, her breaths quick, shallow pants. The blood had drained from her face, making her freckles and scars stand out starkly. Her mouth opened and closed as her lashes fluttered.
I’d never seen her like this.
Ever.
I stepped closer. “Poppy?”
“I think my lungs…have stopped working.”
It had never been so easy to pack up my shit and put it aside. I was before her in a heartbeat. Taking the glass from her fingers, I set it on a nearby end table and clasped her cheek, guiding her eyes to mine. “Your lungs are working just fine,” I told her. “Just focus on your breathing. You need to slow it down.”
Her lower lip quivered, and I felt the eather in her rise violently. “I can’t feel myself breathe.”
Shit.
“It helps to count to four between each breath,” Seraphena said from behind me. “Inhale. Hold for four. Exhale for four.”
I nodded and wrapped Poppy’s much smaller hand in mine, drawing her palm to my chest. I didn’t think she heard anything Seraphena had said. “Count with me, my Queen. Take a deep breath with me and hold it for four. Okay?”
Eyes impossibly wide, she nodded jerkily.
“Inhale,” I said, taking a slow, deep breath as she took hers. I concentrated on her mark, finding the earthy warmth that was all her. “Now, hold.” One. Two. Three. Four. “And exhale.”
Poppy exhaled.
One. Two. Three. Four. “Inhale.”
She obeyed as I ran my thumb over the top of her hand. We did that until her heart slowed and some of the color returned to her face. It could’ve been seconds or minutes. It didn’t matter.
I kept her hand against my chest and my other on her cheek. “Better?”
“Yes,” she croaked.
“Good. Because I want you to hear this. You won’t lose us, Poppy.”
Ether pierced the blue and green hues in her irises, leaving the blotch of brown unmarked. “He’s the true Primal of Death—”
“Doesn’t matter who or what he is.” I smoothed my thumb over her cheek. “I won’t let him hurt any of us. Neither will Kieran. But, most importantly, you won’t.”
A tremor ran through her as she pressed her lips together.
My heart twisted sharply. “Right?”
“Right,” she repeated softly.
My stomach tightened. “Poppy,” I said, dropping my forehead to hers. I found the cord that connected us. Nothing, absolutely nothing, has kept us apart. Weakened us. Not my dumb shit. Not the Blood Crown’s armies. Not Alastir and the Unseen. Not Isbeth. We are strong. Fucking unbreakable. There is nothing I won’t do for you. There isn’t anything you won’t do for me. And the same goes for Kieran.
I know, came her whisper.
I held her stare. We won’t leave you, Poppy. We will not fall. Especially not to that fuckboy of a Primal.
“Fuckboy?” she gasped out loud.
“Yeah. Fuckboy.”
A hoarse laugh left her as her thick lashes swept down. “I panicked. All I could think about was losing you—either of you.”
“I know, sweetheart.” That earned me a quick upturn of her lips. “But we’ve got this.”
She exhaled slowly. “We do.”
I searched her gaze. “You remember, right? What you are? Fearless.”
She inhaled, the trembling fading. “I run from nothing.”
I smiled. “And no one.”
Poppy closed her eyes. “Thank you.”
“No need to thank me.”
She took a deep breath and moved. I didn’t want to let her go but thought she needed to stand on her own. And I had to let her.
“I’m sorry,” she started, too much color returning to her cheeks. “I’ve never had anything like that happen before.”
“It’s okay. I know how you felt. Really.” Seraphena slowly sat. “I often have times when I can’t control my anxiety. It’s like I lose control of where my mind goes, and my body decides to feel like it’s trying to kill me.”
Poppy nervously toyed with the clasps on her vest. “Really?”
Seraphena nodded with a smile. “It’s how I knew the breathing technique. I’ve lost count of how many times Ash has had to use it on me.”
I watched as Poppy fell silent. Her breathing was normal, her heart rate slow, but I could still pick up the lingering taste of embarrassment and the faint metallic taste of doubt. I wanted to get her out of here. My gaze went to Seraphena.
Meeting my stare, she gave me a barely discernible nod. I started to relax.