The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

doing. My eyes narrowed on the bare, corpse-like branches
hanging low and sweeping the ground. A pure white wolven
crouched among the trees.
Delano.
His ears perked as he tilted his head to the side.
And that was roughly the time I realized there wasn’t a
stitch of clothing on me. “Oh, my gods.” A flush swept over
my entire body. “I’m naked.”
“Very,” Casteel murmured, angling his body so he
shielded me. He caught hold of the door. “Sorry about that,”
he said to Delano.
The wolven made that rasping, laughing sound again as
Casteel closed the door. Immediately, he spun me around so
I faced him. “I can’t believe you did that.”
“I can’t believe yet another random person just saw me
naked,” I muttered, and Casteel stared at me like my
priorities were all wrong. And maybe they were. I refocused.
“But you said I didn’t Ascend—”
“That doesn’t mean I know exactly what happened. I
had no idea what would occur if you stepped out into the
sun.” He gripped my shoulders, and my scattered senses
connected with his emotions. I felt the heavy feeling of
concern mixed with the freshness of relief. Underneath, a
spicy, smoky flavor threaded with sweetness. “Nothing
could’ve happened. Or your skin could’ve started to decay,
and I would’ve lost you again.” His chest rose sharply as the
gold specks in his eyes burned brightly. “Because I did lose
you, Poppy. I felt your heart stop. The imprint on my palm
started to fade. I was losing you, and you are my
everything.”
I shuddered. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize,” he told me. “None of what happened
was your fault, Poppy. I just…I can’t feel that again.”
“I don’t want you to.” I stepped in close to him, and he
slid his arms around me. “And I didn’t mean to make you
feel that again.”