The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

always a warning of very bad things to come. “But she’s not
mortal any longer.”
It was very bizarre to hear that, despite already knowing
it.
“No, she is not.” His father studied me so intently that it
was hard to stand there and not react. Especially since that
kind of scrutiny had only ever accompanied someone
staring at my scars. I didn’t think he even saw them at the
moment. “And you’re not a vampry. None of them can walk
in the sun or be among our kind so soon after the change
and be so calm.”
“I didn’t think so,” Casteel said. “Can you explain what
happened?”
His father didn’t answer for a long moment, and as I
focused on him, I truly felt nothing from him. “It has to be
her heritage. Her bloodline,” he said. “Somehow, it played a
role in this. She feels…I don’t understand how she feels.”
Warning bells went off, and it had everything to do with
the sudden biting taste of conflict filling my mouth. Did he
know more than he was saying? Instinct told me that he did.
I glanced around the chamber, seeing only the wolven
among us. I took a deep breath. “Alastir told me who I’m
related to—”
“I can only imagine what Alastir has told you,” King
Valyn cut in. “Some of it may be true. Some of it might not
be. And there are things my wife and I may be able to
confirm for you.”
There was a skip in my chest, and the warmth of
Casteel’s body pressed against my side as he shifted closer
to me. “But?”
“But this is a conversation I won’t have without Eloana
present,” he said, and I felt another jolt in my chest. His
gaze met mine. “I know it’s a lot for me to ask you to wait,
but she needs to be a part of that conversation.”
I was being asked to wait to find out if I was truly related
to King Malec—to delay possibly discovering why I didn’t