The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

here.”
“He knows she’s here.”
“Either way, he’s leading them here. If they get in
here…”
“We don’t let that happen,” Papa said, reaching for the
hilt of a sword. “They can’t have her. We can’t let that
happen.”
“No,” the man agreed softly, looking over his shoulder
at me with strange blue eyes. “I won’t.”
“Come, Poppy.” Momma pulled on my hand—
The voice pulled me beyond the colors and the nothing.
“I don’t know what will happen from here.” He sounded
closer, but even more tired than the last time his voice had
reached me. Each word seemed to require an effort that he
was quickly losing the ability to give. “She breathes. Her
heart beats. She lives.”
“That is all that matters,” the other voice said, less
strained. “You need to feed.”
“I’m fine—”
“Bullshit. You were barely able to get on your horse and
stay on it. You’ve lost too much blood,” the other argued.
“She’s going to wake eventually, and you know what will
happen. You won’t be able to take care of her. Would you
like Naill or Emil to service you, or would you prefer that
they service—?”
“Naill,” he barked out. “Get Naill, dammit.”
There was a rough chuckle, and I slipped away, only to
hear sometime later, “Rest. I will watch over both of you.”
I was gone again, but this time was different. I slept. I
slept deeply, where only fragments of words reached me.
But in that place, I became…aware that I had parts. A body.