The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

you’re not an Ascended. That much I know. If you were, my
son knows what I would be obligated to do.” His gaze met
mine. “And I say that knowing it is highly unlikely that I
would even reach you before these wolven—those I have
known for hundreds of years—ripped into me.” His gaze
flicked to his son’s. “You would’ve started a war, one that
would’ve weakened us to the real threat that lies in the
west. You just need to know that.”
One side of Casteel’s lips curled up, and I tensed at the
sight of the smirk. “I know what my actions would’ve
caused.”
“And yet?”
“Here we stand,” he replied.
I inhaled sharply as I felt the hot burn of anger break
through the walls that his father had built. “Yes, here we all
stand, apparently determined to irritate the hell out of one
another. Not me. I don’t want to irritate anyone—you know,
the person who was attacked not once but twice and then
shot in the chest with a crossbow,” I snapped, and both their
gazes shot to me. “And yet, I’m the one who has to tell you
two to knock it the hell off.”
The King blinked at me. “Why am I reminded of your
mother, Cas?”
“Because that sounds like something she’d say,” he
replied. “Or probably has said, minus the being shot part.”
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, well, as I said, I’m not an
Ascended, or at least not like the others. We all can agree
on that, right? So, would you happen to know what I am?” I
asked, and then an awkward laugh escaped me. The sound
earned a few curious stares from the wolven. “That sounded
extremely weird to say out loud.”
“I’ve heard far stranger things,” Casteel commented,
and that earned him a curious glance from me. “She does
not feel like anything I’ve felt before,” Casteel said to his
father, his tone shifting from that deadly calm that was