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

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

“But ask yourself why your bonded wolven is guarding someone other than you.”

“You need to care,” his mother cautioned, a thin quiver in her otherwise steady voice. “The bonds have broken.”

“But what you need to know now is that they no longer serve the elemental bloodline. You are not safe. Please,” she begged. “Please. Listen to me, Hawke.”

“As long as the Prince doesn’t give any of us a reason to behave differently, we will protect him as fiercely as we will protect you.”

Alastir met my gaze. “I’m not the threat to Atlantia,” he said. “You are. You have always been the threat.” Pain exploded along the back of my head, so sudden and so overwhelming that nothing could stop the darkness from rushing me.

“And because they’re bones of the deities, they carry Primal magic—the eather—within them,” he added. “Do you know what that means, Penellaphe? Those bones are unbreakable, imbued by another who carries the blood of the gods within them.”

“It was you,” I seethed. “Not the real Beckett who led me into the Temple. You.”

“You’re pale and pathetic compared to the Guardians.”

“You will die,” I promised, smiling at the red blush of anger staining his cheeks. “It will be by my hand, and it will be a death befitting a coward like you.”

“You traitorous son of a bitch,” I spat.

“I don’t care that he hit me,” I hissed, glaring up at Alastir. “I care about how you betrayed Casteel. How you had a hand in the death of your own great-nephew.”

But that is the blood you carry in you, Penellaphe. You are descended from Nyktos. You carry the blood of King Malec inside you,” he said, watching me. “I belong to a long line of people who swore an oath to protect Atlantia and her secrets. That was why I was willing to break my bond with Malec. And it is why I cannot allow you to do what he almost succeeded in.”

But when they told me what you could do, I knew—I knew who you came from. So, when the darkness came to those doors, I let it in.”

He had still played a role in my parents’ deaths, leaving Ian and I and everyone else there to die, as well. Leaving me to be torn apart by claws and teeth. That pain. That night. It had haunted me for my entire life.

A breath shuddered out of him. “I let it in and walked away, believing that the dirtiest part of my duty was done. But you survived, and here we are.”

“If you’re not going to kill me or leave me in here to die, I’m a little confused by what you plan to do,” I bit out. “I will give the Ascended what they were so desperate to keep,” he said. “I will give them you.”

Kieran’s eyes met mine. “He’s a little angry.” “A little?” I whispered. “Okay. He’s really angry,” Kieran amended, reaching for the bindings just below my breasts. “He has been going crazy looking for you. I’ve never seen him this way.” His hands trembled slightly as they folded over the bone and root chains. “Never, Poppy.”

“Poppy?” Kieran’s hands were on the last of the bone bindings. “I’m going to assume that even if I ask you nicely to sit this fight out, you won’t listen to me, will you?”

“Casteel, stop!” I shouted. He halted, his chest rising and falling with his heavy breaths as he leveled his sword at Jansen. Later, I would marvel over the fact that he had stopped without hesitation. Without question. I walked forward. “I made him a promise.”

“Kieran, I need you to pull the bolt out. I—I can’t—” His voice shattered. “I need you. I can’t do that.” “You’re going to…” Kieran rocked forward. “Fuck. Yeah. Okay.” He tore through the roots. “Let’s do this.”

“I love you, Penellaphe. You. Your fierce heart, your intelligence and strength. I love your endless capacity for kindness. I love your acceptance of me. Your understanding. I’m in love with you, and I will be in love with you when I take my last breath and then beyond in the Vale.”

You’ve chosen things for yourself longer than you realize, Poppy—longer than you give yourself credit for. You always did when it mattered the most, and did so knowing the consequences. Because you’re brave. You were never the Maiden. You were never truly helpless. You were smart, strong, and brave.”

His blood…gods. My skin tingled now, becoming overly sensitive. The tips of my breasts ached as they brushed against the fine dusting of hair across his chest. I whimpered, pressing down against the hardness straining through thin pants. I wanted…no, I needed him.

It was a wrecking sort of kiss, demanding and raw. We claimed each other. Our lips mashed together. Our teeth clashed. Our arms wrapped fiercely around one another, and the kiss, the way we held each other, became something else entirely.

He wiped away another tear with his thumb. “I never knew it could feel like this. That I could feel this for someone. But I do—I love you.”

He touched the band around my forefinger. “I…I didn’t want your first glimpse of Atlantia, of your home, to be something horrific. I wanted you to see the beauty of our home, of our people. I knew it wouldn’t be easy.”

Having Atlantia’s acceptance and that of Casteel’s parents would be wonderful, but our acceptance of one another was so much more important.

“I…I tried to eat Kieran.” “He won’t hold it against you.” “I tried to eat Kieran while I was naked.” “That’s probably why he won’t hold it against you.”

“Okay, and a little confused,” I admitted. “I have a lot of questions.” One side of the wolven’s lips tipped up. “I’m so shocked,” he murmured, pale eyes gleaming with amusement. “I’m sorry for trying to eat you.” I felt my cheeks warm. Kieran smiled then. “It’s okay.”

Most of us have fostered friendships that can’t break. So, we just…we just made room for you.”

Casteel’s chest rose with a deep breath. “What I know is that I took what was left of the blood in your body. And when I felt your heart stop,” he said, clearing his throat, “I gave you mine. It was my blood that restarted your heart and kept it beating, and it was my blood that fed your body. There isn’t a drop of mortal blood in you.”

“You smell of more power. Absolute. Final. I’ve never smelled anything like it.”

“But even if you were a bloodthirsty Ascended, trying to rip the throats out of everyone who came near you, I would still destroy anyone who sought to harm you.”

“They felt you. Felt whatever you were dreaming. Both Kieran and Delano. They kept looking back here,” he told me as my gaze tracked back to the two wolven. They raced over the ground—ground that was no longer as mossy. “Delano started howling. That’s when I woke you.”

“If you think that what I did was a shock, then you need to understand that I will do anything and everything for my wife.” Casteel’s gaze latched on to his father’s. “No risk is too great, nor is anything too sacred. Because she is my everything. There is nothing greater than her, and I do mean nothing.”

Hatred seared my soul as he and the others were forced to their knees. My parents. Casteel. His parents. Me. All of us had trusted him, and he had not only planned to hand me over to the Ascended but had also ordered my death. And in a way, he hadn’t failed. I had been killed. Casteel had saved me, and I had awoken as something else.

“You are responsible for the years of nightmares that have plagued Poppy, aren’t you?” Casteel asked as he finished cleaning his sword. “And then you befriended her. Looked her in the eyes and smiled at her, all the while knowing that you left her to die a horrific death.”

“Those Craven may have been the ones to tear into her skin, but it was ultimately you who is responsible for her pain—for the scars both visible and hidden. For that alone, I should kill you.” Casteel sheathed his sword. “But I won’t.”

“I was wrong before. Some don’t deserve the honor of a quick death.” One side of his mouth quirked, hinting at a dimple as his gaze flickered over my face. “Such a stunning, vicious little creature.”

Shouts of excitement and cheers filled the streets as people clamored and spilled out of buildings or leaned from windows above. Arms rose and trembled as some yelled Casteel’s name, and others praised the gods. An older man dropped to his knees and clasped his hands together against his chest. He wept. And he wasn’t the only one. Women. Men. Many openly cried as they yelled his name. Casteel shifted behind me as my eyes grew to the size of the sun. I…I’d never seen anything like this. Ever.

“What does that mean?”

“It’s old Atlantian. The language of the gods,” Casteel said, his voice rough. He cleared his throat as he squeezed my hand again. “Meyaah Liessa. It means: my Queen.”

“Do the scars look…less to you?” I asked because they did to me. They were still clearly noticeable, the one at my hairline that cut through my brow, and the other that sliced across my temple, reminding me of how close I’d come to losing an eye. The scars didn’t appear to be a shade paler than my skin like before. They were the same tone of pink as the rest of my face, and the flesh didn’t feel as rough, nor did it look as jagged.

“I hadn’t noticed,” Casteel said, and my gaze shot to his in the reflection. I…I sensed surprise from him. He spoke the truth. He truly hadn’t noticed the difference because he never really noticed the scars in the first place. They had never been a thing to him.

“It amazes me,” he commented. “That the scars are what you notice first.” “Because the scars are what everyone seems to see first when they look upon me,” I stated.

“Then why is it so hard for you to believe that it changes nothing for me? You are still Poppy.” He touched my cheek. “No matter how much more you change, you are still her in your heart.”

I glanced back at the mirror, seeing a familiar face that was also unfamiliar in the smallest ways. I felt like myself in my heart…and I hoped that didn’t change.

My brows lifted. “Are you trying to get me naked?” “Poppy,” he purred, brushing several strands of hair over my shoulder. “When am I not trying to get you naked?”

He was beautiful. He was brave. He was intelligent. He was kind and accepting. He was ferocious. And he was mine.

“Not about anything. Not even when you don’t want me to worry. I know you’re strong and so resilient it’s fucking unbelievable, but you don’t have to always be strong with me. It’s okay to not be okay when you’re with me,” he said, and my breath caught. “It’s my duty as your husband to make sure you feel safe enough to be real. You don’t have to pretend that you’re okay with everything that has happened, Poppy.”