“They may.” I stopped playing with my braid and instead started worrying the skin of my thumb. “I mean, it sounded like they orchestrated my creation,” I said without going into too much detail. It was strange how twenty-four hours ago, I had been caught up in the knowledge that Malec was my father. Now, replaced by something far more important, it felt like a non-issue. “Then they probably have a good idea of what my gifts could grow into. But these Revenant things? I’ve never heard of them before.”

“Neither have I,” Casteel said, which was unsettling since he’d spent time in the capital far more recently than I had.

“But whatever they are, they must be bad for Ian to say a large army couldn’t beat them.”

“That is if what he said is true,” Kieran pointed out.

“It may not be. It just might be.” Casteel squinted as he drew his thumb along his lower lip, watching me. “Wake Nyktos.”

Our gazes connected. What my brother told me to do sounded too bizarre to even consider, but…

“I doubt any god would be all that happy with being awakened, let alone Nyktos,” Vonetta said. “What if he said that in hopes the god takes you out?”

My stomach tumbled at the thought. Angering a god would be a surefire way to remove me from the picture. But I also thought about what the Duchess had said. That I had succeeded where she couldn’t. Could waking Nyktos be a part of that?

I didn’t think so. Duchess Teerman referenced Atlantia, and I truly believed that Ian was trying to help us.

“But the Blood Crown wants Poppy alive,” Casteel pointed out. “And they want her at this meeting. If the plan is to get her killed by waking Nyktos, why set up the meeting?”

“Good point.” Vonetta’s fingers tapped on her bent knees as she glanced between Casteel and me. “You two are seriously thinking about it, aren’t you? Waking Nyktos?”

Casteel still held my gaze. “If what Ian said is true, we may need Nyktos’s guards. Either way, Atlantia has lost the element of surprise when it comes to our armies.”

I nodded in agreement. “Are you familiar with Oak Ambler?”

A smoky smile appeared as he shared a quick glance with Kieran. “We’ve been to and infiltrated Castle Redrock.”

My brows lifted. “Do I want to know why you did that and what the outcome was?”

His gaze sharpened, burned. “Probably not.”

“Let’s just say some Ascended there won’t be missed by those who call Oak Ambler home,” Kieran commented. “It’s probably best if you don’t know more.”

“It would be wise for us to arrive before they expect us,” Casteel said, and I nodded.

“I can agree with that. I can also say for sure that your father will be pissed when he hears that the Blood Crown knows that Atlantia has been gathering forces to the north,” Jasper muttered, dragging a hand down his face as he looked at Casteel. “Hell.”