Total pages in book: 247
Estimated words: 231436 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1157(@200wpm)___ 926(@250wpm)___ 771(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 231436 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1157(@200wpm)___ 926(@250wpm)___ 771(@300wpm)
Isbeth shows up where they’re staying and kills the Descenter couple who were hosting them. A skirmish ensues, and Cas stops Malik from returning to Isbeth—with some help from Kieran, who knocks him out. But Kieran is wounded in the fight, which leads to Cas stabbing Callum in the chest before bringing Poppy back from the brink.
They head to Padonia and their armies and discuss taking Carsodonia while they meet with Isbeth at the Bone Temple. It’s not ideal, but it is something to think about. They also talk about the prophecy, how Poppy’s life is hers, the Joining, and everything that was revealed about Malik.
Cas talks to Kieran about the Joining, and the wolven makes it clear that he doesn’t want or expect them to do it just to save him from the curse that’s now on him from the blade Callum stabbed him with. Cas tells him they’re more than friends or brothers—they’re halves of the same coin. And then he tells Kieran when he plans to do the Joining if Poppy is still willing.
If she’s not, can I volunteer?
Just kidding.
Or am I? *wink*
With a cooler head, Casteel confronts his brother, making it clear how he feels about Malik being the Dark One and how it hurt and thus impacted Poppy’s life. After further discussions about Alastir, Millie, and Malik’s intentions and beliefs regarding Poppy, Cas has a moment of softness where he tells Malik not to get himself killed and asks him to fight with them, not against them.
Now, I’m not saying they were close again by any means, but that was a big step for Cas to extend that olive branch, and for Malik to agree—at least in the moment.
Casteel asks Malik about the creepy rhyme that Poppy heard, and Malik tells him he has no idea what he’s talking about, confirming that it wasn’t his brother. He then orders the bone chains to be removed from Malik. He doesn’t want his father or the kingdom to see him again for the first time while in chains.
Seeing the draken for the first time in Padonia leaves Cas speechless, but he feels slightly more sure-footed when Poppy identifies each of them for him. He’s taken by surprise once again when he sees Tawny. She no longer feels the same to him, though he can’t put a finger on what she feels like. It’s just something…different.
The group prepares, and Cas tells everyone they will only deliver Malec to Isbeth to have Kieran’s curse lifted. After that, they will end the war once and for all. Plans are then put in place to call the generals back, and discussions are had about how to take Carsodonia.
The next few days are full of planning and enjoying his Queen until they set off to get Malec. The journey is full of strife as usual—Craven, Sentry Gyrms, serpents—but it’s also rife with information. Cas learns about the different types of Gyrms and how they came to be, how Malec changed after visiting the mortal realm, and that Nyktos and his Consort had their reasons for not intervening when their son was entombed.
With that part of their journey done, he orders everyone to take a day to rest before they leave for the Bone Temple. That night, he leads Poppy to the Wisteria Woods and the bank of the River Rhain, where Kieran waits.
Outside, amongst nature, the three will become one. Could anything be sexier?
The trio begins the ritual: Poppy drinks from them, they drink from each other, and then he and Kieran drink from her, exchanging the words that solidify consent and intent and make tensions rise. I saw the whole exchange in a vision, and let me just say, I had to pay a visit to one of my regular paramours afterward. The three of them, a gorgeous palette of colors blending, sighs filling the air, the trust, love, and respect in the moment…it was truly something beautiful. As were the cords of the Joining that connected them.
When they lay in a tangled, satisfied, bonded heap after, they see that Kieran’s wound is healed, but they don’t know if the Joining lifted the curse. It’s still a worry, but the Joining was about much more than just saving Kieran’s life, and all three of them know that. The most astonishing thing to Cas is now sharing a heartbeat with the two most important people in his life. It’s a marvel.
The group sets off for the Bone Temple, and Cas, Kieran, and Poppy revel in their newfound closeness. They always had a bond, but it’s so much more now. When they reach Isbeth, Cas squares off verbally with Callum and taunts Isbeth about how Malec still sleeps. He also asks why she would ever think that Malec would give her what she wants. Smug as ever, she replies that she knows he will.