The Primal of Blood and Bone

Poppy’s attempts to open a portal into Ileesium fail. Thorne materializes, telling her that in light of Kolis’s growing power, wards have been placed all around Ileesium to restrict entry. Neither can Thorne allow Sera to speak to Nyktos through other means, as this would be considered interference. Thorne also tells Poppy that Sera is in trouble for something she did, though he is not allowed to elaborate further.

Later, the group discuss how Isbeth’s visit was too closely timed to their battle plans, suggesting someone betrayed them to Pensdurth. The discussion turns to answering Kolis’s summons. Cas believes Kolis asked for all three Deminyen Primals to be present, but Valyn is skeptical of the king, queen, and advisor all being imperiled at once. Further, Attes thinks Isbeth’s words show only Poppy’s presence is mandatory; the invite to Cas and Kieran was tacked on.

Against the wishes of Cas and Kieran, Poppy decides she will head to Pensdurth with Attes. She plans to kill Kolis with the bone dagger, though the Fate present may put her in stasis as punishment. Cas rages at Poppy’s decision, and reveals he knows about the request she made of Kieran.

Poppy explains to Cas that asking Kieran to stop her was an act of love toward Cas. She knew stopping her would destroy both Kieran and Cas, so she chose to place the burden on Kieran alone. Cas still interprets Poppy’s request as a betrayal of him, frustrating Kieran with his obduracy. Poppy apologizes to Cas for keeping secrets from him. Kieran interjects, telling Poppy she has no reason to be sorry: The hard truth is that Cas does not know his limits and has poor control over his emotions when it comes to Poppy. He adds that Cas needs to realize his limitations and stop lying to himself. Cas storms off. Kieran and Poppy embrace, after which Kieran goes to check on Cas.

Poppy could sense betrayal and determination in Cas when he left the room. She knows that he will try to follow her to Pensdurth, despite her orders. Though she loves Cas all the more for his devotion to her, he must be stopped. She summons a Fate—who turns out to be Thorne—and asks him to prevent Cas from shadowstepping into Pensdurth after her. Thorne agrees, though in return for a future favor.

Poppy says her goodbyes to Valyn and the others. Her plan is to seduce Kolis to get close enough to him, and then stab him with the bone dagger. To keep Kolis from growing suspicious, Attes will pretend he knew nothing about Poppy’s intentions to seduce the Primal.

Poppy writes letters for Cas, Tawny, and Millicent in case she does not return and leaves them with Malik. Kieran comes to see her at the last minute before her departure. However, he does not hug her, as he says that would shatter him. Poppy understands. Cas finally turns up. Poppy and Cas kiss fiercely, Poppy telling Cas that she loves him and will return to him.

The stench of rot envelops Poppy and Attes the moment they shadowstep into Pensdurth. As Poppy and Attes walk toward the Rise, they can see decaying corpses hung from the pillars. Many bodies have shrouded faces, a clear taunt to Poppy who was once the cloistered Maiden. Attes senses Poppy’s rising anger and suggests she keep it in check as Kolis can sense her emotions. Poppy subdues herself, recalling her training as the Maiden, drawing a veil around her emotions.

Poppy and Attes find Kolis sprawled on a throne in the throne room, bare-chested and clad in white trousers. Women dance suggestively before Kolis, as a crowd of Revenants and gods attend to him. Poppy cannot see a Fate, as Kolis had promised.

Spotting Poppy, Kolis tells her she disobeyed him by not bringing along her husband and his wolven. Poppy replies that she chose not to obey Kolis. She has an unusual offer for Kolis: Her submission. Submitting to Kolis will end the cycle of rebirth, as Sotoria is cursed to be reborn till she consents to serve the True Primal of Death.

Kolis asks all his attendants to leave and tells Poppy he is intrigued by her offer, though he cannot trust her due to Attes’s presence. Poppy fibs that Attes only came along with her as he is in love with Sotoria. However, Kolis’s response suggests to her that she might have inadvertently spoken the truth. Kolis climbs down the throne, grabs Poppy, and kisses her. Poppy bites down on Kolis’s lip and stabs him through the heart.

Kolis stumbles back, crimson and red eather breaking out of him. To the horror of Poppy and Attes, he is only injured, not mortally wounded. Kolis recovers and laughs that he fooled them. He is no longer in love with Sotoria, who is the cause of him being entombed for thousands of years. Therefore, Poppy cannot kill him.

Attes pulls Poppy back and opens a portal to Ileesium, so they can escape. Afraid that Kolis will head to Carsodonia to kill Cas and the others, Poppy resists Attes just as Kolis sends a bolt of eather at her. Poppy collapses in pain.

Cas is in the Solar, surrounded by Kieran, Delano, Valyn, Malik, and other Atlantians and wolven. Cas drinks heavily to block out thoughts of Poppy, and says cutting, harsh things to his company to run them off so he can shadowstep to Pensdurth. Thorne is nowhere in sight.

When Cas taunts Delano for holding the bloodstone dagger made from his sister’s bones, Kieran tells Cas to take his anger out on him instead. He and Cas get into a physical fight, Cas punching Kieran, though hitting Kieran does not make Cas feel better. Cas suddenly feels dizzy and nauseated. As Kieran shouts, Cas staggers, clutches his palm, where his marriage imprint to Poppy is tattooed, and faints.

Poppy awakens to smell charred flesh and spots Attes collapsed on the marble floor. Kolis hobbles to Poppy, telling her how Attes took the brunt of the eather’s hit for her. Attes is still alive, but barely, till Kolis decides what to do with him.

Kolis crouches over Poppy and tells her he plans to feed from her till her heart stops, so that he can take her essence and become the True Primal of Life and Death. However, Kolis will not stop at this. He will also take Poppy’s soul, ensuring she is reborn as Sotoria again and again. After taking Poppy’s soul, Kolis will go to Carsodonia and kill Cas and his wolven. Cas’s arrogance reminds him of someone—Kolis utters the name in the language of the gods—but Poppy cannot make out his words.

Poppy knows she has weakened Kolis because of the strain in his voice. As Kolis straddles her to feed from her, Poppy uses her eather to summon the dagger Attes was holding and stabs Kolis repeatedly. Kolis lurches away, badly wounded, but still alive, and transforms into his skeletal Primal form, more bone and shadows than flesh. He charges against Poppy and stabs her through the heart. Poppy falls and Kolis feeds from her.

Poppy realizes she is dying and tries to remember Cas, the love of her life. Just as her vision blurs, she smells citrus—the scent associated with Ileesium—and senses a portal open. She spots a tall figure wearing a black helmet and passes out.

Cas wakes up after 10 minutes of unconsciousness. Kieran and the others crouch over him, their anger against Cas forgotten. Kieran tells Cas they experienced a huge earthquake while he was unconscious. This probably implies that Kolis has been killed, since a quake was also felt when Rhahar, another Primal, passed away.

However, a queasy feeling tells Cas something is wrong. To his shock, he notes that the golden marriage imprint on his palm has dulled.

Cas shows Kieran his palm and tells him something catastrophic happened to Poppy. Before he and Kieran can react, the air changes, clouds gathering overhead. Kolis arrives, humming a song that hypnotizes people into dying by suicide. Before Cas’s horrified eyes, figures start to jump to their deaths from the ramparts of the castle. He watches as Kieran and Delano freeze, hypnotized by the song, and reach for their daggers. Cas jumps on Kieran, keeping him from drawing his dagger, while Valyn reaches for Delano.

Cas strikes Kieran unconscious to keep him from harming himself. A crimson and black mist whirls in, announcing Kolis’s presence. Cas can see Kolis inside the mist, parts of his flesh shredded, and knows this is the handiwork of Poppy. Meanwhile, Kolis kills Hisa, Delano, and Valyn, shouting he had promised Cas he would kill everyone he loved.

Kolis tells a grief-stricken Cas that he has drained his precious Poppy. Now he will annihilate Cas. Eather gathers in Cas and he transforms into his rawest Primal form, his very flesh hardening and his claws growing. He grabs a disbelieving Kolis and tears him apart, drinking his blood. Then he tosses Kolis through the window. When Cas looks down, Kolis is not there, though the ground is littered with bodies.

Cas howls in fury and sorrow, as wings erupt from his shoulders, inky vines break out of his body, and ravens fly in. He realizes that he is the death and destruction promised in the prophecy.

A week later, Jasper, the wise wolven who is Kieran’s father, arrives in Wayfair. Kieran fills his father in on all that has happened and takes him to the castle, where Cas is sequestered in the throne room. The realm has transformed since the change in Cas, the grass dead, and frost and snow covering everything. Kieran tells Jasper that the only bit of recent good news is that Attes, the Primal, survived and returned to Carsodonia, bringing news that Poppy was taken to Ileesium, where she is still alive. Attes is now with Cas in the throne room.

Outside the palace, Jasper and Kieran run into Millicent, just back from her mysterious travels. Millicent reveals she was hunting Callum and has brought back the golden-haired Revenant in a sack. When Kieran tells Millicent about Poppy’s disappearance and Kolis’s attack, she tells him Callum should be able to give them intel about Kolis. Malik arrives on the scene, happy to see Millicent. However, Millicent seems indifferent to him. Kieran privately tells Jasper that Malik and Millicent are heartmates.

The group enters the wrecked throne room, overrun by the crimson and black vines that have erupted from Cas’s body. Cas sits on a throne of bones that he crafted from the Ascended and Revenants of Pensdurth after he killed them. The hall is decorated with vases filled with poppies, through the blooms are covered with frost. Cas is nearly unrecognizable, wearing a crown of smoke shaped like antlers, his bones visible.

Kieran recalls the prophecy as he looks at Cas. He now realizes its true meaning. While Poppy was the Harbinger and Kolis the Great Conspirator, the death and destruction prophesized were never Kolis’s remit. All along, the prophecy had been about Cas, the true bringer of ruin. Cas is the Primal God of Death and Destruction.