Chapter Eight

Locked in her room during a snowstorm, Poppy fumes at Casteel’s absence and Delano’s refusal to let her out. Delano bursts in, claiming he heard her screaming for help, though she hadn’t; he blames the wind and relocks the door. Poppy naps and wakes to find a quilt placed by Casteel and Kieran seated guard.

Kieran offers food and escorts Poppy from the room. On the way, discussion turns to Atlantian lore: most have golden eyes; the elemental bloodline descends from deities and once ruled Atlantia; other lines existed, including changelings. They note half-Atlantians don’t need blood after the Culling, elemental Atlantians can go long stretches without food, and vamprys can eat but don’t need to. Poppy’s green eyes and uncertain lineage raise the possibility of an older, thought-lost bloodline.

They meet Alastir Davenwell and Emil Da’Lahr. Alastir voices concerns about relocating many people safely, though he agrees in principle; Kieran insists doing nothing is cruel. Alastir recognizes Poppy’s background, expresses sympathy for the Maiden’s grim purpose under the Ascended, and questions how an Atlantian parent survived near the Blood Crown. Poppy reveals her parents died in a Craven attack that scarred her.

Entering the hall, Poppy sees the walls cleared: Casteel had the bodies removed overnight and has executed Jericho. Over a tense meal, Kieran notes Poppy’s influence on Casteel and confirms New Haven must relocate before the Ascended come searching for the missing Maiden. Poppy quietly pockets a sharper knife and pushes back on being coddled.

As they talk, Poppy wrestles with gaps in her past—when the Ascended learned what she was, why her parents left the capital, and whether they were her blood parents at all. Kieran observes that not all Atlantians have golden eyes and suggests Poppy may descend from a rare or forgotten bloodline.