The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

Chapter 13
Turning back to me, Casteel took my hand once more,
lifting it to his mouth. “They’re no longer glowing.” He
placed a kiss on my knuckles, and that single act eased a lot
of the tension already creeping into me. He bowed his head,
placing his mouth near my ear as he whispered, “Thank you
for what you did for Quentyn.”
I shook my head, and he kissed the uneven line of skin
along my cheek. Keeping his fingers threaded through mine,
he motioned to the Guardians.
Two came forward, placing their hands over their hearts
and bowing as they each grasped a handle of the black
doors. Stone scraped as they pulled them open. Candlelight
spilled out onto the colonnade as Jasper prowled inside, his
silver fur gleaming in the light. His son and then Delano
followed as Casteel and I walked forward, the wolven dagger
still clutched in my grip, hidden by the cloak. The remaining
wolven flanked us, streaming along the thick columns lining
the four walls of the interior chamber—black stone columns
as reflective as the Temples in Solis. I watched the wolven
roam between those glossy pillars, their ears lowered and
eyes a luminous winter blue as they stalked the chamber,
circling the tall, broad-shouldered male sitting on one of the
numerous stone benches lining the center of the Temple of
Saion, his back to us. His back was rigid as his head
followed the wolven’s path.
“Father,” Casteel called as the door closed behind us
with a soft thud.