The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

filled that gnawing, painful hollowness inside me. I
shuddered, and the hand on the back of my head stilled. Oh,
gods, they succeeded. He’d…Ascended me.
What had he been thinking? I will not lose you. Ever. I
love you, Princess. He hadn’t been thinking. He’d simply
been…feeling.
Suddenly, it was like a chest in my mind unlocked, and
the lid was thrown off. Emotions poured into me—nearly
nineteen years-worth of them that went beyond what had
happened in the Temple, the memories and beliefs,
experiences and feelings. Nightmares came, too, heavy with
desperation and hopelessness. But so did dreams full of
such wonder and possibility. Dreams bursting with need and
want and love.
I sat back so quickly I lost my balance. An arm dropped
to my waist, stopping me before I toppled out of his lap.
Through the messy strands of my hair, I saw him, really saw
him.
Dark, disheveled hair tumbled across his forehead.
Tension bracketed the corners of his mouth, and shadows
smudged the skin under his eyes, but they were a bright
topaz as they held mine. Neither of us moved or spoke as
we stared at one another. I had no idea what he was
thinking, and I barely knew my thoughts in that moment. So
much had happened, so many things I didn’t understand.
Namely, how I was in here after I had Ascended. After he’d
done the unthinkable to save me. I remembered the panic in
his father’s voice as he pleaded with him not to do it—not to
repeat history. But he’d risked—gods, he’d risked
everything. And I was alive because of him. I was here
because of him. But none of this made sense.
The Ascended were uncontrollable after being turned,
dangerous for mortals, let alone an elemental Atlantian. It
could take them years to control their thirst, but more
unbelievable was that I could still feel all those heady and
exhilarating and terrifying emotions within me. I could feel