The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and Ash 3)

“Now that I know you think I’m more than okay, I can sleep well at night.” His tone was as dry as the Wastelands, but I grinned.

“By the way, when it happens again, you can say ‘You may rise,’” Casteel said as he nudged Setti into motion. “Or if you would like to use something less formal, you can simply say ‘Yes’ or greet them by name if you know who is before you. And before you ask them to cast the formality aside, please know that I have also asked that of many, and you’ve seen how well it worked for me.”

Not very well at all.

Sighing, I leaned against Casteel as we rode out of the courtyard. The wolven, now four of them, followed at a discreet distance.

“We won’t have to ride through the busiest parts of the city to get to the estate,” Casteel told me as we veered onto a paved road surrounded by tall, lush cypress trees. The wolven quickly disappeared into the thick foliage. “We can follow the bluffs straight to it. There will be people, but nothing like when we entered the city or yesterday.”

While I’d thoroughly enjoyed my all-too-quick visit to Saion’s Cove, my mind was already a twisted mess, focused on the upcoming meeting with Casteel’s parents. “Thank you.”

He dipped his head and kissed my cheek as Kieran sent him a wry look. “Don’t let him convince you that his motives are completely altruistic. He also doesn’t want to be on the receiving end of shouts and long looks of admiration.”

There had been a lot of them the day before.

“It makes me self-conscious,” Casteel said.

“Really?” I asked, and when Casteel agreed, I looked to Kieran for confirmation. “Is he lying to me?”

“A little.”

“He has no idea what he’s talking about,” Casteel claimed as the hand that had been resting on my hip inched across my lower stomach. His thumb moved, idly drawing circles around my navel.

“I think I’ll believe Kieran,” I decided.

“How dare you?” he teased, and I felt the nip of his sharp teeth against the curve of my neck. I jerked as a rush of heat flooded my system. “I am very shy.”

“And very delusional,” I retorted, glancing at the tall trees. With the thinness of the tunic, it felt like there was next to nothing between his hand and my skin.

It was hard not to show any reaction to his touch as glimpses of sandstone structures peeked out between the trees crowding the path. The farther we traveled, the lower his pinky finger roamed, and I began to see people behind the trees, loading carts and wagons with bushels and baskets. I wiggled a little when his finger danced lower, looking over my shoulder at him.

A look of pure innocence had settled on his features as he met my gaze. “Yes?”

I narrowed my eyes.

One side of his lips kicked up. The dimple in his right cheek appeared as a horse-drawn wagon neared the path. The driver’s wide-brimmed hat obscured his features, but I felt the cool jolt of surprise as he and the younger man, who appeared barely in his teens, walked alongside the large, gray horse.

The driver waved, and the young man quickly dropped to one knee before rising to also wave.

I started to lock up but forced myself to relax and behave somewhat normally by returning the greeting, along with Casteel and Kieran.

Feeling rather proud of myself, I smiled at the wolven as they passed the two on the road. While I wondered which of the wolven was Lyra, a woman appeared between the trees several yards ahead, the bright orange tunic flattering against her deep black skin. She kept an eye on a small child who chased after a golden-winged bird that hopped along the tree’s lower branches. Upon seeing us, a wide smile broke out across her face as she placed her hands on the child’s shoulders and whispered to her. The little girl looked over with an excited squeal and immediately started jumping on one foot and then the other.

Casteel chuckled under his breath as the woman shook her head and bowed at the waist, patiently coaxing the child to do the same. They too waved, and this time, I wasn’t frozen. I waved back like Casteel and Kieran had done, and it felt…less awkward. Like my arm wasn’t as stiff as it had been before. But I quickly forgot about what my arm looked and felt like as the little girl all but rushed from her mother and nearly tackled the black-and-white wolven. Choked laughter came from Kieran as the girl wrapped tiny arms around the wolven.

“Oh, gods, Talia,” the woman exclaimed. “What have I told you about randomly hugging people?”

I grinned as she gently untangled the girl from the wolven, who playfully nipped at one of her arms. A riot of giggles erupted from the child, and a second later, she was back to chasing the bird. The wolven she’d hugged trotted on, and I swore it smiled.