Suddenly, I thought of all those girlish fantasies I’d had before I learned who I was and what was expected of me—daydreams given life because of the love my parents had for one another.

Poppy decides to take the crown, and the group plans to ride to Evaemon, the capital of Atlantia, to take the Crown and then travel to Iliseeum to wake Nyktos. Arden leaves first to go to Saion's Cove and then Evaemon to tell the King and Queen of Cas and Poppy's return. They group arrives at Saion's Cove and stay the night at Jasper's and Kirha's house. Dozens of wolven along with Naill and Emil join Poppy and Cas on the way to Evaemon. Poppy rides on her own horse. As the elders, Poppy, and Cas sit at the table in the State Room, Lord Ambrose wishes to further speak about the concerns that some of the council had regarding Poppy. Valyn and Cas rebuke Lord Ambrose for bowing to Cas but not to Poppy. Cas commands Lord Ambrose to bow and show respect, or die.Did that love have everything to do with the romance and characters which are, in the end, the entire point of this paranormal-fantasy romance? Undoubtedly. Hawke leads Poppy to the benches under the willow tree where there were benches. Poppy asks Hawke to kiss her, which he obliges and more. Hawke stops saying that they should return or else Poppy will no longer be a maiden. As they leave the willow tree, they run into Vikter who has been searching for the pair. Vikter immediately recognizes that Hawke and Poppy have been kissing leading Vikter and Hawke to argue. After Hawke leaves, Poppy argues with Vikter shouting that she did not want to ascend and hopes that she will be found unworthy. I genuinely love Poppy and Casteel, even though they do not communicate enough in my opinion, not nearly enough, I like them as individuals. Later that evening, Tawny and Poppy prepare to attend the Rite. This is the first Rite that Poppy is allowed to attend. It is also the first time Poppy is allowed to wear a garment that is not white. Poppy wears a gown with long, flowing, crimson sleeves with the gown skimming her curves and a red domino mask. Vikter escorts Poppy and Tawny to the Rite with Hawke nowhere to be seen.

Even Rhysand It’s Your Choice But Not Really is better than Casteel. He’s seriously asking Poppy to marry him after forbidding her from leaving the house? And then he honestly believes he’s giving her a choice? He essentially says she’ll die if she doesn’t marry him. He keeps avoiding the question and ignoring her protests and basically forcing her into marriage. Is this a horror novel? This book going to erotica books kind of places, sure I do appreciate some scenes but the Joining? Euh... Entering Iliseeum: Poppy is able to enter Iliseeum through the mist covering the Mountains of Nyktos due to her heritage. With the death of her personal guard, Rylan, a new guard must be appointed. Poppy is summoned to a meeting with the Duke, Duchess, Vikter and her new personal guard. She discovers that none other than Hawke Flynn has been chosen. In fear of being outed by him for sneaking out, she remains silent but must take off her veil reluctantly when asked to do so. Hawke doesn’t show any sign of recognition to which she is relieved, having believed that he might recognise her from the night at the Red Pearl. He says that both halves of her face are just as beautiful as the whole, and takes the oath to protect her as her guard. Poppy smirks at the Duke when Hawke does not flinch from her scars.Poppy and Cas finish their conversation. Cas explains to Poppy that and he and Shea were engaged, but she traded Malik to the Ascended to save her own life. While she escaped with Cas, she again tried to trade Cas for her own life, leading Cas to kill her for betraying him and his brother; he and Kieran have kept this secret and allowed everyone to believe that she died a hero at the hands of the Ascended. He explains to Poppy that he sent Kieran away because he doesn't want going staight to King Valyn to express his doubts regarding Cas and Poppy's engagement. Poppy admits that everything she said at dinner was true. Cas asks Poppy to marry him that day. Coldness poured into my chest as I stopped myself. That wasn’t his name. I didn’t even know if Hawke Flynn was merely a fictitious persona, or if the name belonged to someone who had most likely been slaughtered for their identity. I feared it was the latter. Because Hawke had supposedly come from Carsodonia, the capital of the Kingdom of Solis, with glowing recommendations. But then again, the Commander of the guards in Masadonia had turned out to be a supporter of the Atlantians, a Descenter, so that too could’ve been a lie.

Delano leads Poppy down to the cellars. Hawke visits Poppy and stitches up a wound she received while trying to escape the stables. He tells Poppy that the Ascended were vampyr who needed to feed off mortals because of their strong blood lust, that the 3 rd and 4 th children handed over during the Rite were used to feed the Ascended, and that if those who were fed upon were drained and not killed, they would turn into the Craven. He tells her that the Dark One plans to trade her for the Dark One’s brother, Prince Malik. He informs Poppy that he must go speak with King Valyn Da’Neer of Atlantia, but that he will find her better quarters. Initially Poppy does not believe Hawke, but as she thinks about his words, she begins to question everything the Ascended taught her.Poppy wakes up screaming from a nightmare about the night her parents were slaughtered. Cas holds Poppy tight and strokes her hair trying to calm her down. As Poppy starts to feel embarassed regarding screaming, Cas tells Poppy about how he had nightmares after he saw Craven for the first time. But the nightmares took a different turn after he was captured by the Blood Crown. He recounts the many horrors that the Blood Crown subjected him to and confesses that there are still times where he wakes up in the middle of the night thinking he is still in the cage. Cas indicates that Poppy had been talking in her sleep and reciting a disturbing nursery rhyme about the poppy flower.