The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

Casteel was sitting propped against the headboard,
dressed in black breeches and a white shirt similar to the
one I wore. He was thumbing through a leather-bound book.
“I took it upon myself to unpack the bags we brought with
us and hang your clothing in the wardrobe. Kirha—Kieran
and Netta’s mother—dropped off some additional clothing
she believed would fit you and recommended a seamstress,
even though I like the idea of you having limited clothing
options.”
I wasn’t even remotely surprised to hear the last part.
“What time is it?”
“It’s close to eight at night.” He glanced over at me.
“You’ve slept for almost twenty-four hours.”
Dear gods, it’d been a long time since I’d slept that
long. “I’m sorry—”
“Don’t apologize. You needed the rest. So did I,” he said.
“Though I was starting to get a bit lonely over here.”
“How long have you been…?” My eyes started to narrow
as I stared at the book he held. It looked awfully familiar.
“What are you reading?”
“Your favorite book.” His eyes slid to mine knowingly,
and I jerked upright. “You know, I have this theory about
Miss Willa Colyns.”
“I can’t believe you still have that damn journal.”
“She mentions something here, in chapter twenty-three,
that got me thinking.” He cleared his throat. “‘Andre was the
most uninhibited of all my lovers—’”
“You do not need to read it to tell me your theory.”
“I disagree,” he replied. “‘He was quite shameless in his
search of pleasure as he was with his willingness to give,
but his most impressive seduction was not his manhood.’”
He looked over at me. “You do remember what manhood
means?”
“Yes, Casteel. I remember.”
He smirked as he returned to that damnable journal.
“Where was I? Oh, yes. Something about his manhood.”