The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

I opened my mouth, then closed it, and then tried again.
A part of me still wanted to remain quiet, to not bring up
King Malec, but I…I didn’t want anything unspoken to linger
between us. Not after what had happened. Not after what
he’d risked for me. Not after we’d come so close to losing
each other.
And even if what I had to say shocked him, I couldn’t
believe that it would drive a wedge between us. We were…
together. We were too strong for that.
My grip tightened on the edge of the chair. “Did Alastir
say anything to you when you caught up with him? About
me? Other than the whole I’m-a-danger-to-Atlantia thing—
which I’m sure he said.”
“He said some things,” he told me. “But there wasn’t a
lot of time, nor was I in the mood to listen to much beyond
what I needed to know to find you.” He squeezed my knees.
“Why?”
I swallowed thickly. “He told me that I was descended
from Nyktos and that I…I’m also descended from King
Malec.”
No wave of shock or horror radiated off Casteel as he
stared at me. “He said as much to me, too.”
“He did?” When Casteel nodded, I asked, “And that
doesn’t bother you?”
His brows lowered. “Why would that bother me?”
“Why?” I repeated, a little dumbfounded. “He was the
one who created the first vampry. He betrayed your mother
—”
“Yeah, he did those things. Not you.” He slid his hands
off my knees and placed them over mine. Slowly, he pried
my fingers loose. “We don’t even know if that’s true.”
“He said that Malec’s abilities were a lot like mine—that
he could heal with his touch and use his abilities to hurt
people without even touching them,” I said.
“I’ve never heard that.” Casteel threaded his fingers
through mine.