The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

catastrophic war and maybe be able to reshape Solis in the
process—for the better.
But a voice inside me, a strange one that sounded a lot
like mine but wasn’t and came from the same place that
ancient thing in me had seemed to awaken, existed deep in
the very core of my being. What that voice whispered left
me unsettled and cold with dread.
Sometimes war cannot be prevented.
Two large coliseums sat on either side of the road we
traveled on, reminding me of the ruins in Spessa’s End.
Statues of the gods lined the interior of the columns and the
outer walls farthest from the road were higher, full of rows
and rows of seats. Bouquets full of bright purple flowers sat
on each of the steps leading into the structures. They were
empty, as were the smaller pavilions we passed, their gold
and blue canopies rippling softly in the warm breeze, and in
the windowed and roofed buildings, but it didn’t stay that
way.
“Casteel,” Kieran said, his voice carrying a tone of
warning.
“I know.” Casteel’s arm tightened around me. “I was
hoping we’d be able to make it farther before we were
noticed. That’s clearly not going to happen. These streets
are about to fill.”
That odd voice inside me and the unease it stirred
quickly faded as people slowly and cautiously ventured
outside. Men. Women. Children. They didn’t seem to notice
Jasper or Kieran, as if the sight of the former shirtless on
horseback was a common occurrence. And maybe it was.
Instead, they stared up at Casteel and me with wide eyes.
Confusion radiated from anyone I looked at. Everyone