A Soul of Ash and Blood

“‘Kolis is our primary concern.’ He tilted his head. Long, silver-streaked strands slid over a bare shoulder, revealing the faint ridges of scales. ‘And she should be your second.’”

Nektas summarizes the critical exposition from the other Blood and Ash books relevant to the present timeline in A Soul of Ash and Blood. He does so while introducing new character development for Poppy, highlighting her as one of the most influential people. Ironically, Poppy is in stasis, essentially asleep, for much of the present timeline.

“And I was sure she was caught between excitement and guilt, feeling as if she somehow dishonored Leo’s memory, and regret that she hadn’t realized who had been caged beneath Wayfair and at Oak Ambler earlier. It was a lot for anyone to think about. More to act upon.”

Navigating a strained relationship with his own parents, Cas empathizes with Poppy as she prepares to meet Ires, her birth father, for the first time. Cas and Poppy face similar life struggles, enabling them to understand and help each other when vulnerable. Cas’s ability to understand what Poppy is feeling—excitement, guilt, and regret—also highlights the closeness of their romantic bond as heartmates.

“One would think the vamprys would take better care of their people, considering they would simply shrivel up and waste away without them.”

Cas’s first-person perspective of Solis differs from Poppy’s description of the same plot in the series’ first novel. He judges the Ascended harshly from the story’s beginning, having the opposite reaction to Poppy’s first visit to Atlantia. This passage also emphasizes Cas’s moral compasses, underscoring his concern for Solis’s mistreated inhabitants.