QUICK LINKS: From Blood and Ash Recap by Chapter 1–7 | 8–20 | 21–35 // Book Review
From Blood and Ash Chapters 36–41 Summary
This chapter-by-chapter summary of From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout contains spoilers.
From Blood and Ash Chapter 36
While tending to Poppy’s injury, Hawke tells her that everything she knows about the kingdom’s history is a lie. The Ascended are vamprys, created through an illegal ritual, and the Craven are the result of their uncontrolled bloodlust. The ancient war was never fought against Atlantians. It was a joint effort between mortals and Atlantians to stop the vamprys, a war the vamprys won and erased from history. The children taken during the Rite are used as a food source for the elite.
Poppy tries to dismiss it, but the logic gets under her skin. When Hawke implicates her brother, she goes for him, and he restrains her. He then tells her his own reason for the rebellion. He spent fifty years as a captive blood source for the Queen.
Then comes the real reason Poppy was taken. Hawke is an Atlantian prince, the Dark One, and Poppy is the leverage he needs to free his brother Malik from the Queen. Before Hawke leaves, he tells Poppy that not everything between them was fabricated.
From Blood and Ash Chapter 37
While Delano and Naill move to transfer Poppy to better quarters, Jericho and a vengeful mob ambush them, including a grieving Mr. Tulis. They want the Maiden dead, seeing her as a symbol of the kingdom that took their children. A brutal fight breaks out. Poppy kills one of the Wolven to protect Delano, but Mr. Tulis stabs her, and Jericho mutilates her further until she collapses.
Just as Jericho moves in to finish her off, something clears the cell. A massive white Wolven stands guard as Poppy drifts in and out of consciousness. Kieran arrives, sees her wounds, and calls out frantically for the Prince.
From Blood and Ash Chapter 38
As Poppy fades, Casteel tells her that only his blood can save her. Terrified of becoming a monster, she resists, but he uses a hypnotic command to make her drink. The effect is immediate, but the Atlantian blood sends her into a state of intense arousal. Casteel refuses to act on it, telling her the next time they are together, it will be a choice she makes with a clear head.
As the fog lifts, Poppy recalls Kieran calling him Casteel, and everything clicks into place. Hawke is a false name. He is Prince Casteel Da’Neer, the Dark One her people have feared for generations. He confirms it, admitting everything he did was a calculated plan to kidnap and ransom her for his brother Malik.
The weight of it hits Poppy all at once. She has fallen in love with her greatest enemy, and every moment between them was a lie. She spots the bloodstone dagger nearby, grabs it, and drives it straight into Casteel’s heart.
From Blood and Ash Chapter 39
Poppy stabs Hawke and flees into the snowy woods, believing she’s killed him. But he catches her, revealing that Atlantians don’t die from a stab to the heart, and bites her neck, which leads to something sexual.
Afterward, they reach an uneasy peace. He can’t blame her for the attempt on his life, and she doesn’t regret sleeping with him. She uses her gift to heal his pain. Then he tells her he’s taking her home, not to Masadonia or Carsodonia, but to Atlantia.
From Blood and Ash Chapter 40
Alone with Kieran as her guard, Poppy asks about Atlantia and learns it still exists, hidden beyond the Skotos Mountains behind a deadly mist.
During a bath, Poppy works through everything she’s learned and concludes the Ascended are vamprys who have been feeding on and manipulating the people of Solis. This forces her to confront what that means for her already-Ascended brother Ian. She admits to herself she loves Casteel, but recognizes love isn’t enough to trust him, given that people died because of him, and resolves to escape and find Ian.
As Kieran leaves, he tells her she should care what Casteel wants, because Casteel wants her even knowing it will end in tragedy.
From Blood and Ash Chapter 41
Casteel wakes Poppy and brings her to dinner, giving her little real choice. On the way, they pass through a hall where he has had her attackers crucified with bloodstone spikes as punishment. Poppy is unsurprised to feel little sympathy, though she tells him the dead still deserved dignity.
At dinner, Casteel announces they will leave for Atlantia in the morning. When Poppy pushes back, he reveals she’s not fully mortal. He believes she’s part Atlantian, based on her blood, which is likely why the Ascended kept her as a blood source to fuel Ascensions. He confirms Ian is alive but appears to have already Ascended. Then, in front of everyone, Casteel announces that he and Poppy are going to Atlantia to be married.
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