The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

“I know.” He kissed my temple. “I know. Let’s just sit.
Okay?” He led me back to the bed.
I sat while he bent, picking up his breeches. I bit down
on my lip as I watched him pull them up, leaving the flap
unbuttoned. They hung indecently low on his waist as he
turned. There was another chair in the room, a wooden one,
and I saw a small lump of clothing there.
“Jasper found some clothing and boots he thought you
could wear. It’s a slip, a pair of breeches, and a sweater. I
honestly don’t know where he found them, and I’m not quite
sure I want to know.” He brought the slip to me and a dark
brown sweater. “But they’re clean.”
“Where are we?” I asked as he motioned for me to lift
my arms. I did as he requested. “We were in…Irelone, right?
That’s where they took me?”
In the dim light, I saw a muscle flex in his jaw as he
lowered the slip over my head. The cloth was soft and
smelled of fresh air. “We’re no longer in Irelone or the
Wastelands. We’re in the Skotos foothills. This is an old
hunting cabin we sometimes use when we’re traveling in
and out of the Skotos. We’re actually not too far from
Spessa’s End, but we didn’t want to…”
Casteel didn’t finish what he was saying as I rose to my
knees and let the slip slide into place. I knew what he was
thinking. They didn’t want to take me into Spessa’s End, just
in case I had Ascended and became uncontrollable.
Still utterly dumbfounded by the fact that I was alive
and wasn’t a vampry, I said nothing as he tugged the thick
sweater on over my head. It was a little scratchy but warm. I
lifted the collar, giving it a small sniff. The garment smelled
a little of woodsmoke, but for some reason, I thought it also
smelled of…lilacs.
I remembered.
Looking up, I found Casteel watching me with a raised
brow as he finally buttoned the flap on his breeches. I
dropped the sweater. “When you gave me your blood the