A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire

As Poppy heals Beckett’s broken legs, a crowd gathers to watch. Poppy feels that the wolven, Atlantians, and mortals are afraid of her. Poppy wonders if they think she’s a Soul Eater, the dreaded term used for empath warriors. Cas assures her that the people will stop fearing her once they get to know her. However, he wants to expedite their wedding to cement her position as Atlantian royalty as soon as possible. Rather than marry at Saion’s Cove in Atlantia, he wants them to get married at Spessa’s End, which is part of Atlantian soil. Jasper, an ancient wolven, is arriving in the city tomorrow and can officiate their wedding. Poppy agrees.

Alastir is unhappy about the expedited wedding, as Cas and Poppy will now be marrying without the blessings of the King and Queen. Poppy defends their decision. After Alastir leaves them, Cas and Poppy go to a secluded cave in the woods and bathe in its pool.

Poppy and Cas have sex. Kieran brings them fresh clothes and they head for Spessa’s End. The news about Poppy healing Beckett has spread in the entire town. At dinner, Poppy catches some men scowling at her. Alastir advises her to ignore them, saying that she needs to get used to generating controversy as a future queen. The people are angry because they were expecting someone else as their princess, since Casteel is betrothed to another. Poppy is dismayed at learning this.

Alastir chides Cas for not telling Poppy he is “promised to another” (403). Cas’s parents wanted Cas to marry to Gianna, a wolven. Cas denies Alastir’s accusation, since he never agreed to the betrothal. Cas and Alastir argue and are interrupted by the newly arrived Jasper. The older wolven upbraids Alastir for interfering in Cas’s life. A mortal in the dining hall calls Poppy as poisonous as the Ascended. Poppy proclaims she is not like the Ascended, telling the company that though she was against marrying Cas at first because of her misconceptions about the Atlantians, she now knows the truth about their shared world. She and Cas love each other truly. Jasper accepts Poppy and Cas’s love, but Poppy can still sense the disapproval of others. Poppy learns that Jasper is Kieran and Vonetta’s father.

Poppy asks Cas why he did not tell Poppy about Gianna because he had never made a promise to marry. Poppy is frustrated by Cas’s habit of keeping secrets, such as not telling her about the Joining rite. She wants him to tell her the truth. Cas prepares to tell her the entire story about Shea, his dead fiancée and Alastir’s daughter. Just then, a messenger tells them the sky appears to be on fire.

The fire is not an omen, but real. Something massive is burning on the horizon, coming toward Pompay. Delano and other soldiers go off to investigate as Cas, Poppy, and Jasper keep vigil. Cas tells Poppy that Alastir is keen on him marrying Gianna as she is his great-niece and Beckett’s cousin. Delano returns badly hurt in his wolven form. Poppy heals him with her touch and he shifts to a human. He tells them the Ascended are on their way to Spessa’s End.

Hundreds of Ascended have sacked and burnt all the towns from New Haven to Pompay. Dante, a wolven from Cas’s party, has been killed in the attack. One party of Ascended is expected to reach Spessa’s End in less than a day. The wolven ask Cas to leave Spessa’s End for safety, but he refuses. Cas asks Kieran to immediately head to Atlantia with Alastir for reinforcements. Poppy realizes Cas is sending Kieran away so that Kieran won’t be around to risk his life for Cas in battle. Against Cas’s protests, Poppy decides to stay to fight.

Alone with Poppy, Cas resumes Shea’s story. He and Shea grew up together deeply in love. When Cas was captured by the Ascended, Shea and Malik made several attempts to rescue him. On their last attempt, Shea lost her nerve and exchanged first Malik’s and then Cas’s life for her own safety. Cas killed her in rage and ran away. He and Kieran have since kept the truth about Shea’s betrayal to the kingdom from Alastir and everyone else.

Poppy uses her gift to sense Cas’s feelings and realizes that he truly loves her. Cas gets down on one knee to make a genuine marriage proposal, instead of the arrangement he had first suggested. Poppy agrees to marry Cas the same day. Vonetta helps Poppy to dress in the traditional red dress of Atlantian brides. Poppy straps her bloodstone dagger to her side to honor Vikter, her mentor in Solis, and goes to the ceremony barefoot, as is the custom.