Right hands balled into fists. They placed them over the center of their chests and then sank onto one knee, lowering their heads as the ones on the street had done. All of them—the wolven in the courtyard, the ones on the wall, on the steps and between the pillars.

I felt a little dizzy as Jasper and Kieran turned to us and followed suit.

“They have never done that for me,” Casteel remarked under his breath.

Kieran lifted his head just enough for me to see that he smirked.

“I don’t know why they’re doing it for me.”

He glanced down at me, his brows knitted. “It’s because you have the blood—”

“I know,” I said, my heart starting to pound again. “I know, but…” How could I put into words how crazy this was to me? People bowed before me as the Maiden, but this was different, and it had nothing to do with the fact that naked people prostrated themselves before me.

Though, that seemed important, too.

Kieran rose, meeting Casteel’s stare. He nodded. I had no idea how they communicated to one another if there was no bond. Hell, I had no idea how they did it when there had been one. He said something to Jasper, and his father shifted back into his wolven form. The others followed suit, and again, I was left wondering how they all acted in unison. I watched them move away from the home, spreading out through the courtyard and beyond the walls, wondering if it was some sort of instinctual drive or something beyond that.

Casteel’s hand dropped to the center of my back as he started forward. “Well, that was fun, wasn’t it?”

I looked up at him, my brows raised. “That was a lot of…nakedness.”

A half-grin appeared as he looked down at me.

“You’ll get used to it,” Kieran stated as he climbed the steps.

I wasn’t so sure about that.

“More like you’re sort of forced to,” Casteel said as Kieran walked in through the open doors. “Wolven tend to find clothing cumbersome.”

I thought about all the breeches and shirts they seemed to go through, and I could sort of understand why they felt that way.

A warm breeze stirred gauzy curtains as Kieran led us past several large sitting rooms full of oversized chairs in vibrant hues. The air carried a hint of cinnamon that lingered as we followed him into a canopied breezeway. I didn’t see any sign of Kieran’s mother or anyone else, and I wondered if she was among the wolven who had been outside.

We ended up back inside, in a different wing of the house, walking down another long, seemingly never-ending hall. My steps slowed, and I sighed as we passed yet another door. “How many people live here?”

“Depends on the time of year,” Kieran answered. “At times, every room is filled, and we have a lot who come and go, those in need of temporary housing.”