The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

Alastir said that he didn’t kill them. That something else led
the Craven there. He said the Dark One did. Not you, but
someone else.”
“That sounds like a load of bullshit,” Kieran muttered.
“Also sounds like he got lucky with the Craven showing up to
do his dirty work.”
I agreed, but again, there were those glimpses that
lingered on the fringes of my consciousness. They were like
smoke, though. When I tried to grab them, they slipped
through my fingers.
I sighed. “Much of the way he behaved toward me was
an act.” That hurt, because Alastir…he reminded me a little
bit of Vikter. “He came to me more than once to ask if I
wanted aid in escaping. That he wouldn’t be party to me
being forced into a marriage. I thought that meant he was a
good man.”
“It could’ve been a genuine offer at first,” Kieran said.
“Who knows?”
“And his offer held an ulterior motive later?” I looked
over at Casteel. “Do you not find it odd that he wanted you
to marry his great-niece?”
“It wasn’t just him,” Casteel stated. “It was also my
father.”
“And he is your father’s advisor,” I pointed out. “It’s just
strange to me that he would want that when you were
engaged to his daughter. Maybe it’s not that odd since so
many years have passed, but I just…it’s weird to me.”
“It is odd but not unheard of.” His eyes squinted
thoughtfully. “I can think of several examples of widows and
widowers becoming involved with siblings of the deceased
years later.”
I couldn’t even fathom that. Not because I would judge
someone in that situation, but I would be so concerned that
the other might worry they were a replacement. “I know
that he would have more control over the Crown if you were
to marry someone he had control of. That he was on the