Kieran Finds Out

"I don't know what will happen from here." He sounded closer, but even more tired than the last time his voice had reached me. Each word seemed to require an effort that he was quickly losing the ability to give. "She breathes. Her heart beats. She lives."

"That is all that matters," the other voice said, less strained. "You need to feed."

"I'm fine -"

"Bullshit. You were barely able to get on your horse and stay on it. You've lost too much blood," the other argued. "She's going to wake up eventually, and you know what will happen. You won't be able to take care of her. Would you like Naill or Emil to service you, or would you prefer that they service-?"

"Naill," he barked out. "Get Naill, dammit."

There was a rough chuckle, and I slipped away, only to hear something later, "Rest. I will watch over both of you."

Kieran's POV

Cas had only taken a few mouthfuls of Naill's blood before settling in next to Poppy on the bed. It was much too small for the both of them, barely being able to fit his frame alone, so he was half hanging off the bed. But I knew better than to make him move. He wouldn't leave her side even if King Jalara and Queen Ileana rode came to the door and offered themselves as sacrificial lambs.

I took in my brother, my former bonded, as he held onto my Liessa as if his life depended on it. He had passed out a few moments after taking in Naill's blood, snoring softly into her hair. He wouldn't be letting her go anytime soon. Not after he just got her back in his arms. When we had woken after the attack of the guards Cas had been... terrifying.

I hadn't been lying to Poppy when I told her I had never seen him like this before. Furious was too soft of a word to describe him in that state. He would have burned down Atlantia if it meant getting her back. I had never seen Cas that desperate or violent in my life. Not even after coming back from his capture and having faced Shea's betrayal and losing Malec. Not when he was his worst. Losing Poppy was not an option. He wouldn't survive it.

There was nothing he wouldn't have done to get back his wife, and the wolven were right alongside him. We could feel our Meyeeh Liessa's pain through the bond. We felt it in our bones and in our souls. The ache to get her back went past our senses, it hit us right in our primal notam. It was a desperate sort of call - something that spoke to us within our instincts. We would have ripped apart every building and every person to get her back. And if she had been lost to us, nobody would have been safe from our wrath. It would have cleaved our home into two. Losing Poppy would have destroyed us all.

She took a deep breath and turned over on her back, pulling herself away from Cas a little bit. A frown touched my lips. Poppy was covered in blood. Her clothes were ripped and stained from the battle and getting shot with the bolt. A shiver went through me as I remembered the bones-deep fear I felt when I saw it pierce her skin. Cas didn't look much better.

I wouldn't let my Liessa and future King sleep in their soiled clothes. I went to Cas first. He would be the easiest to clean. I pulled off his shirts and pants, filled a basin with water, and started wiping away the blood from his face. He was so exhausted and depleted of blood, he only shuffled around when I scrubbed particularly hard at one spot. I had told this dumbass that he needed more blood than what he took from Naill. If only they listened to me, we could have had them married and crowned weeks ago. I slowly and methodically wiped Cas clean of blood, making sure he was dry before moving on.

Poppy, on the other hand, was going to take time. I fetched a new bucket of water, carefully filling it with just a little bit of soap. Poppy's blood was dried and caked on her skin. I went to her side of the bed, gazing at her for a few moments. She was sleeping on her back, one of her hands curled around her mouth, her red hair spilling out over the pillow.