The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and Ash 3)

Isbeth would do it.

But I wasn’t her.

I reined in the eather, and pulled the power deep within me. The radiance retreated, seeping back into my skin. “Leave,” I ordered the Elder. “Now.”

He rose, stumbling around me and the wolven. I heard Naill’s soft snicker as the Elder rushed past him. My gaze flicked to Sven. “You should leave, too,” I said. “And the guards. Leave.”

Sven nodded, exiting the room with far more grace than his predecessor. A few of the Crown Guards lingered, obviously still loyal to Eloana—or afraid for her. I turned to where I saw that she had lowered herself to the floor.

I fought a cruel smile, stopping it from reaching my lips as she looked up at me. “I do not believe you want many to hear what I have to say.”

The skin around the corners of her eyes puckered as she closed them. “Listen to your Queen,” she whispered hoarsely. “Leave.”

Vonetta and Kieran tracked the guards’ progress. It wasn’t until Naill and Hisa had closed the door that I said, “You may rise.”

Eloana rose, collapsing onto the settee, her glistening amber eyes fixed on me as I strode forward, gripping the back of a chair. The legs scraped against the floor as I dragged it so it was before her.

Slowly, I lowered myself to the chair, my eyes meeting hers as Kieran and Vonetta moved so they crouched on either side of me. Naill and Hisa remained at the door. “Ask me whose blood stains my clothing.”

Eloana’s lips trembled. “Whose blood—?” Her voice cracked as she glanced at the wolven. “Whose blood stains your clothing?”

“My brother’s.” I flattened my palms against my knees. “He was slaughtered when I refused to join the Blood Crown, uniting the kingdoms under the sovereignty of Solis. He didn’t even see it coming. They cut his head from his shoulders, and he did nothing to deserve that. Nothing. She did it because she could.” My fingers curled into my knees, where the material was stiff with dried blood. “Now ask me where your son is.”

Her eyes started to close—

“No.” I tipped forward. “Don’t you dare close your eyes. I didn’t when I watched a sword slice through my brother’s throat. Don’t you dare close your eyes. You’re stronger than that.”

Her chest rose with a heavy breath as her eyes remained open. “Where is my son?”

“She took him,” I forced out, the words cutting into my skin. “And you know why? You know exactly why she wanted your sons. It’s not just to make more Ascended. It’s personal.”

Her lips moved, but no sound came out.

“You knew. This whole time. You knew who Queen Ileana really was.” Rage heated my blood, sparked off my skin. She leaned back an inch. “You knew she was Isbeth and that she was never a vampry.”

“I…”

“Malec gave her his blood when you poisoned her.” I reclaimed what distance she’d gathered. “He couldn’t make a vampry with his blood. Isbeth was never the first Ascended.”

“I didn’t know that at first,” Eloana spoke. “I swear to you. I had no idea that she wasn’t a vampry. She had black eyes just like the others that were made after her—”

“Because her eyes are black but not like the Ascended,” I interrupted. “They’ve always been black.”

“I didn’t know,” she repeated, one of her hands curling into a fist. “I didn’t know until I found Malec and entombed him. That is when I learned that Isbeth had never been a vampry, that she had Ascended into something else—”

“Something like him,” I cut her off, not even truly caring if she spoke the truth at this point. “When you learned the truth doesn’t matter. What does is that you knew Ileana was Isbeth, and you didn’t tell us. You didn’t prepare us for the fact that we weren’t dealing with a vampry but with something far more powerful than that. That is why your son is not with me.”

“I…” She shook her head, her features beginning to crumble. “Is my son alive?”

“Which one?”

Her eyes widened. “W-what do you mean?”

“Are you asking about Malik or Casteel?” I said. “Malik is alive. He’s actually doing just fine, all cozied up with Isbeth.”

She didn’t move. I didn’t think she even breathed. I could’ve broken the news to her in a far kinder way, but she could’ve also told us the whole truth.

“No,” she whispered.

“Yes.” I nodded as Isbeth’s voice haunted my thoughts. “It was him who retrieved Casteel.”

A tear fell from her eye, streaking across her cheek. “Is Casteel alive?”

I lifted my left hand, showing her the glimmering marriage imprint. “He is.” I swallowed hard. “But I’m sure you understand that means very little at this point.”

She shuddered, and I didn’t know if it was from relief or fear. A long moment passed. “Oh, gods,” she whispered on a ragged breath, closing her hands over her face. Her shoulders shook.