“Well, when you list it all out like that, I think I may need to sit down,” I commented.

He kissed the bridge of my nose. “But you’re not. You’re standing. You’re dealing with it, and fuck if I’m not in awe of you right now. But I also know none of this has hit you yet, and that concerns me. You keep telling me you’re okay every time I ask how you are, and I know that can’t be true.”

“I am okay.” Mostly. I rested my cheek against his chest. I needed to be okay because none of what had happened from the moment I stepped into the Chambers of Nyktos changed the fact that we needed to find his brother and mine—

Ian.

I jerked back, my eyes going wide. “Oh, my gods. I haven’t even thought about this.” Hope exploded deep inside me, loosening tense muscles. “If I didn’t become a vampry, then that means Ian might not have, either. He could be like me. What I am. He might not be like them.”

Wariness echoed through Casteel. “That’s possible, Poppy,” he began, his tone cautious. “But he’s only been seen at night. And he’s married to an Ascended.”

The rest of what he wouldn’t say hung unspoken in the air of the dusty hunting cabin. Ian may not be my brother by blood, or we may not share the same parent that carried the eather within them. I didn’t know. But just because Casteel hadn’t seen Ian during the day or just because he was married to an Ascended didn’t mean that Ian had become one. The hope I felt now wasn’t nearly as flimsy and naïve as it had been a week ago, and that was something to hold onto.

So, I did.

Casteel made sure I didn’t run out into the late-morning sun when we stepped out onto the small alcove of a porch and saw Kieran waiting between a massive black horse—Setti—and a brown one. Setti neighed softly, shaking his glossy, black mane. Casteel slowed my steps, gradually letting me walk into the sun.

Other than enjoying the feel of it against my face, nothing happened.

I petted Setti for a moment, scratching him behind his ear as I scoured the trees around the cabin. Every so often, I saw a flash of silver or white or black among the low-hanging, gnarled branches. Brown, curled leaves and brighter, greener ones blanketed the woods surrounding the cabin. It was as if an extreme cold snap had come through, shocking the foliage. But we were in the Skotos foothills, and I could see the mist-drenched mountains looming above the trees. Wouldn’t the plant life here be used to the chilly air?

Gripping the saddle as Casteel finished strapping down the saddlebags, I lifted myself onto Setti. Once I’d situated myself, I looked over to find not only Kieran and Casteel staring at me but also a dark-skinned Atlantian. Naill had come around the side of the hunting cabin. The three of them stared as if I had done a backflip onto the horse.