The ​Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and Ash, #3)

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

“I’m going to be blunt once more,” she advised, and I wondered when she’d stopped.

Anger and grief rushed through me like a river swelling over its banks. Off in the distance, I heard a wolven’s mournful howl— Vonetta dropped my hands as another keening wail tore through the air, closer this time. The anger inside me grew. My skin began to hum. That cellular need from earlier, when I realized what could have been done to my birth parents, returned. I wanted to utterly and completely destroy something. I wanted to see those armies that Queen Eloana had spoken of unleashed. I wanted to watch them crest the Skotos Mountains and descend upon Solis, sweeping across the lands, burning everything down. I wanted to be there, beside them— “Poppy.” Kieran’s voice sounded wrong, scratchy and full of rocks as he touched my arm and then my cheek. Casteel’s arm tightened around me as he pressed his front to my back. “It’s okay.” He folded his other arm around my waist. “It’s all right. Just take a deep breath,” he ordered quietly. “You’re calling the wolven.” A pause. “And you’re starting to glow.”

“I have a lot of questions.” “Great,” Kieran muttered, and Vonetta shot her brother a dark look.

“Son,” his father began, “I can respect your desire to care for your wife’s needs, but the kingdom always comes first whether you’re the Prince or the King.” “It’s a damn shame if you really believe that,” Casteel replied, looking over his shoulder at his father.

I stared at Casteel. He…gods, there were times I couldn’t believe I’d actually stabbed him in the heart. This was one of them.

Life doesn’t wait to hand you a new puzzle until you’ve figured out the last one.”

The one kiss quickly spun out of control, or maybe that was the thing about kisses. They weren’t meant to be controlled.

“Honeydew,”

“I could spend an eternity on my knees before you,” he vowed, his eyes amber jewels.

“I think it’s already awkward. At least, for me,” I said as amusement radiated from the general direction of where Kieran waited. Jerk.

“The villain is always the hero in their story, aren’t they?”

“Because you don’t trust me?” A muscle twitched near Ian’s mouth. “Or because the Dark One will not allow it?” A midnight laugh rumbled from Casteel. “You don’t know your sister all that well if you believe anyone can stop her from doing what she wants.”

“I guess I will have to stop calling you Princess.” My lips twitched. “You’ve barely called me that since we got here.” “You noticed?” His brows rose as he kissed my hands. “Didn’t feel right calling a Queen a Princess. Didn’t matter if you never took the Crown.”

“You…you fell in love with her knowing you could lose her?” “The heart doesn’t care how long you may have with someone.” Kieran looked over at me, his eyes sheltered. “It just cares that you have the person for as long as you can.”

“Every time he smiles at you, I want to rip his lips from his face.” My brows lifted as I looked at Casteel. “That’s excessive.” “Not nearly excessive enough,” he grumbled, eyeing where the Atlantian had disappeared into the nearby stable. “Sometimes,” Naill began as he hoisted himself onto his horse, “I do believe Emil has a death wish.” “Same,” Casteel muttered, and I rolled my eyes.

It was a reckless sort of happiness.

Under me, I felt the ground begin to faintly tremble as my gaze swept over those in masks. The primal power of the gods invaded my every sense. My flesh sparked. Silvery-white embers erupted over my skin, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Casteel step back, and the wolven retreat. “Get ‘em, girl.”

They rode in a manner to protect me—Casteel and I—and I thought that perhaps I should be riding in front of them.

“As if you spend much time thinking about anything,” Raul snapped back. Liking the old, somewhat crotchety man, my lips curved into a smile. “Are you seriously smiling at him after he just suggested that I don’t have a brain?” Casteel demanded in mock-offense. “I am under the impression he suggested you don’t use your brain often,” I told him. “Not that you don’t have one. And, yes, I am smiling at him. I like him.” “Her Highness has good taste.” Raul nodded in my direction. “Not counting the taste that got you standing next to that one.” I laughed again. “Trust me, I have questioned that.”

Casteel stopped, turning to me. His fingers touched my cheek, just below the scars. He guided my gaze to his. “You’ve faced Craven and vamprys, men wearing masks of human flesh, creatures without faces, and stared down Atlantians who wanted to harm you with the kind of strength and bravery most lack,” he whispered. “Remember what you are. Fearless.” Fingers touched the other side of my cheek, and Kieran’s pale eyes locked with mine. “You are a descendant of the gods, Poppy. You run from no one and nothing.” My breath caught as my gaze held Kieran’s and then shifted to Casteel. The center of my chest hummed. A heartbeat passed, and then I looked at the closed doors. It was okay to be nervous. Who wouldn’t be in my situation? But I wasn’t afraid. Because they were right. I was brave. I was fearless. And I ran from no one and nothing—and that included a crown.

“I apologize, son. I wouldn’t want to cause any unnecessary drama,” his father replied dryly. “Apology accepted,” Casteel murmured, and I heard the huffing sound of a wolven laughing behind me. Valyn’s eyes narrowed.

A goddess statue stood in the middle, her arms stretched above her head and palms tilted upward. I had no idea which goddess she was, but she was definitely…ample in the hips and chest areas.

Veses?

“I see you found sanctuary and more.”

“This is Wilhelmina Colyns,”

Oh, my gods, it was Miss Willa. The Miss Willa.

“You will bow before your Queen.” Casteel eyed the Atlantian coolly. “Or you will bleed before her. It is your choice.”

“He’s slept long enough, hasn’t he?” I said, and approval flashed in those amber eyes despite the insanity of what we were considering. “We will wake him.”

The Atlantians didn’t believe in prophecies, but they did believe in Seers.

Willa rolled her eyes with a delicate snort. “Anyone who has lived long enough and can look past their own asses knows that not even the vamprys are inherently evil.”

I…I really liked Willa. And it had nothing to do with her diary.

“You weren’t the only one seeking sanctuary that night. He was in need of shelter—one that could bear the weight of his desires, his love, and his pain. And he found it. He may have given you freedom, but you have given him more than you could ever know.” Emotion clogged my throat, stealing whatever words I had to speak. “Don’t forget that,” she said. “I won’t,” I managed. Willa smiled.

“He is joined by She who carries the blood of the King of Gods, the Liessa, and the true heir of Atlantia—Penellaphe Balfour Da’Neer, the Queen of Flesh and Fire.” I jolted, my heart stuttering. There was silence, acute and so intimidating— Howls came from behind, startling me. Long, keening calls that were answered throughout the city. Below and farther out, men and women, the old and young in mortal form, answered in deep, throaty howls ending in high-pitched whoops. Then a loud thump came from the yard. A man had slammed his foot into the dirt. The woman beside him followed, and then another and another, just like the day I’d arrived in Saion’s Cove. But these were not just wolven. They were Atlantian and mortal, their feet pounding the dirt, and their fists striking stone, the sound reverberating through the yard, the streets, the balconies, and from the terraces. Many were on their knees, slamming their hands down. “This…this is good, right?” I asked. “They’re sending a message,” Eloana said from behind us. “What kind?” Casteel smiled down at me. “That they are yours. And that, if need be, they will go to war for you.” War was what we were trying to prevent, but…I supposed their willingness was good to know. “You mean that they are ours.” His smile grew, but he didn’t answer.

“When is your birthday?” He grinned as he leaned against the wall. “I was born on the first day of the sixth month. You?”

His grin had disappeared. “Pick a day.” “For what?” “Your birthday. Pick a day in April, and that will be your birthday.” A pang of sadness lanced my heart. “Vikter asked me once when my birthday was. He said the same thing. Pick a day in April.” I let out a low breath. “I picked the twentieth day, and that was when he gave me the wolven dagger.”

“I love that sound. I love how much more you laugh now.” “I do, too,” I admitted quietly. “And it’s because of you.” His eyes closed briefly as he dipped his forehead to mine, and a long moment passed with us just standing there.

“Yes. You see, there’s this extremely popular book in Solis. It’s actually Poppy’s favorite—” “It is not my favorite, you jerk,” I snapped. “Please don’t stab him in this tunnel,” Delano called out. My eyes rolled. “I cannot promise that.” Casteel chuckled.

I sheathed my daggers. Focusing on the hum in my chest, I let it come to the surface of my skin. No, I realized. I summoned it to the surface.

Silver-white flames spiraled down my arms and erupted from my palms—erupted from me. Someone gasped. It could’ve been me.

“This is a little awkward,” Vonetta observed. “They do this all the time,” Kieran sighed. “You’ll get used to it.” “Better than them fighting,” Delano remarked.

The air smelled of fresh lilacs and…something I couldn’t place. It was a woodsy scent but a sweet one. A more-than-pleasant smell. I tried to figure it out but couldn’t by the time we reached the bottom of the hill.

“You all are staring at diamonds,” Kieran stated, his wariness pressing against my skin. “Meanwhile, I’m just waiting for you all to realize what this giant-ass statue is.”

Draken. “If this thing comes to life, I am out of here,” Emil grumbled. “You will never see an Atlantian run faster.”

all I could now see was the man standing on the Temple steps between two pillars. He was tall—taller than even Casteel. Mid-length brown hair fell to his shoulders, glinting a coppery red in the sunlight. The dusky wheatish skin of his features was all planes and angles, pieced together with the same beautiful mastery as the stone shell that had encased the draken. He would’ve been the most beautiful being I’d ever seen if it weren’t for the infinite coldness of his features and his luminous eyes the color of the brightest moon. I knew who he was even though his face had never been painted or carved. It was Nyktos.

It was also why I was a little behind everyone else who had already lowered themselves to one knee, placing a hand over their hearts and their palms to the ground. “Poppy,” Casteel whispered, his head bowed. I dropped so fast I nearly face-planted. The sharp ridges of the diamonds dug into my knee, but I barely felt them as I placed my right hand over my heart and my left palm to the rocky surface. Hot breath stirred the wisps of hair at the back of my neck, sending a bolt of unease down my spine. A rough, chuffing sound followed, reminding me an awful lot of laughter.

“Interesting,” came a voice so laden with power and authority that it pressed upon my skull. “You’ve awakened Nektas and still breathe. That can only mean one thing. My blood kneels before me.”

Nyktos’s head tilted to the side as his eyes widened slightly. “Interesting,” he murmured, his gaze flicking over me. “Now I understand why sleep has been so hard lately—why we dream so intensely.” A brief pause. “And you do not need anyone to stand before you in defense.”

He didn’t want me to enter that Temple, but he knew I had to. “Do not get yourself killed,” he ordered. “I will be very angry if you do.”

“Bravery is a fleeting beast, isn’t it? Always there to get you into trouble, but quick to disappear once you’re where you want to be.” No truer words had ever been spoken.

“Let’s make one thing clear, Queen of Flesh and Fire,” he said, and a shudder worked its way through me as he looked over at me. “I do not threaten death. I make death happen. I was simply curious to see what you and your chosen were made of.”

I sat stiffly as I told myself not to ask any of the thousand questions brewing. It was best that I get to the point and then get the hell out of there as fast as possible. That was not what happened. “Are any other gods awake? Your Consort?” I blurted out.