The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

After he’d Ascended me into…whatever I was now. “I’m
—”
“Don’t tell me you’re fine again, Poppy.”
“I wasn’t,” I lied.
“Uh-huh.” He shifted me closer to him, so I leaned into
his chest. “What you need to know now is that none of this
is your fault. You did nothing wrong, Poppy. None of this is
on you. You understand that? Believe that?”
“I know that. I did nothing to cause any of this,” I told
him, speaking the truth. I didn’t blame myself for other
people’s actions, but I was still a disruptive presence,
whether I intended to be or not. It was a different kind of
guilt.
We fell silent as my gaze shifted beyond Kieran to the
sprawling city of Saion’s Cove. Ivory and sand-colored
buildings—some square and others circular—gleamed under
the fading sun, dotting the sweeping, rolling hills and
valleys. Some structures were as wide as they were tall,
sitting closer to the ground. Once again, it reminded me of
the Temples in Solis, but these were not made out of the
black, reflective stone that those were. These captured the
sun, worshipped it. Other buildings were taller than even
Castle Teerman, their sleek towers sweeping gracefully into
the sky. And every rooftop I could see was covered in green.
Trees rose from them, and vines spilled from the rooftops, all
bursting with vivid pink, blue, and purple flowers.
Saion’s Cove was nearly the size of Carsodonia, and this
was just one of Atlantia’s cities. I couldn’t even begin to
imagine what Evaemon, the capital of Atlantia, must look
like.
The first signs of life we saw were from the farms just
outside the city. Cows and fluffy sheep grazed in the fields.
Goats nibbled at weeds and low-hanging branches near the
road. Orchards bearing yellow fruit were mixed among
various crops, and seated back from the main road, creamcolored
walls of homes peeked out from behind mossy