The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and Ash 3)

It was Nyktos.

Chapter 41

The King of Gods stood before us, dressed in a white tunic that he wore over loose black pants.

He was also barefoot.

I didn’t know why I focused on that, but I did.

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.”

Silence echoed around me as I lifted my head. There were several feet between the god and me, but his silver-eyed stare pierced straight through me. “It is I.”

“That I know,” he answered. “I saw you in my sleep, kneeling beside the one you kneel behind now.”

“It was when we married,” Casteel spoke, his head still bowed.

“And I gave you two my blessing,” Nyktos added. “Yet, you dare to enter Iliseeum and wake me. What a way to show your gratitude. Should I kill all of you before I learn why, or do I even care enough to discover the reasons?”

It could’ve been everything I’d experienced in my life that’d led to this moment. It could’ve been the bitter fear that punched through Casteel—fear for me and not him. It could’ve been my fear for him and my friends. It was probably all those things that drove me to my feet and loosened my tongue. “How about you don’t kill any of us, considering you’ve been asleep for eons, and we came here seeking your aid?”

The King of Gods came down a step. “How about I just kill you?”

Casteel moved so fast, I barely saw him do so until he was standing in front of me, using his body as a shield. “She means no disrespect.”

“But she has disrespected me.”

My stomach twisted as Kieran’s fingers dug into the diamonds. I knew that not even the wolven would protect me in this situation. I may represent the deities to them, but Nyktos was the god that gave them mortal form. “I’m sorry,” I said, attempting to step to the side, but Casteel moved, too, keeping me behind him.

“Then should I kill him?” Nyktos suggested, and terror turned my blood to ice. “I have a feeling that would serve as a better lesson than your death. I’m sure you’d mind your manners then.”

Real fear for Casteel seized me, reaching deep inside and sinking its vicious claws into my chest. Nyktos could do it with a thought, and that knowledge severed whatever self-control I had. Heat rolled through me, turning the ice to slush in my blood. Anger flooded every part of my body, and it felt as potent as the power in the god’s voice. “No.”

Casteel stiffened.

“No?” the King of Gods repeated.

Fury and resolve mingled with the hum in my chest. Eather throbbed throughout my body, and this time, when I side-stepped Casteel, he wasn’t fast enough to block me.

I stood in front of him, hands at my sides and feet spread wide. Silvery-white light crackled over my skin, and I knew I couldn’t stop Nyktos. If he wanted us dead, we would die, but that didn’t mean I would stand by. I would die a thousand deaths before I allowed that. I would—

Without warning, an image flashed in my mind. The silver-haired woman standing before another as the stars fell from the sky, her hands balled into fists. Her words came from my lips, “I will not let you harm him or any of my friends.”

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.”

His statement shook me enough that the eather fizzled out.

“Though,” he continued, his gaze sliding to where Casteel stood, “it’s admirable of you to do so. I see that my approval of the union was not a mistake.”

The breath that left me was one of ragged relief, but then Nyktos turned away. He started walking up the stairs. Where was he going? I stepped forward, and the god stopped, looking over his shoulder. “You wanted to speak. Come. But only you. No one else can enter, or they will die.”