The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

His gaze softened as he slid his thumb across my
bottom lip. “I wish we could stay in here forever.”
I smiled faintly. “I do, too.”
But we wouldn’t—we couldn’t. Because a moment later,
a knock sounded on the door. I rolled off him, standing.
Casteel sighed as he rose, too. He stopped to drop a kiss
on my cheek. “Be right back.”
A moment later, I heard Kieran’s voice. Placing the
journal on the nightstand, I roamed into the bathing
chamber, quickly taking care of my personal needs but not
bothering to do much with my hair. I checked my eyes in the
mirror before I left, finding that they still had the silverywhite
sheen behind the pupils. My stomach took a small
tumble at the sight, but I reminded myself that I was still the
same.
Mostly.
Casteel was entering the bedchamber when I returned,
carrying a fresh platter of food and a new bottle of what
appeared to be some sort of sweet wine. One look at the
hard line of his jaw, and I immediately knew that whatever
news Kieran had brought wasn’t good. I sat on the bed.
“What happened?”
“Nothing major.”
“Really?” I watched him come to me.
“Yeah. It’s just my father. He apparently decided to
change his mind when it came to waiting for us to come to
him. He wants to talk with me.”
I relaxed as he popped the cork and poured a glass of
wine. “Then you should talk to him. He’s probably just
concerned.”
“Does it make me a bad son if I say I don’t care?” He
handed the glass to me.
A wry grin formed as I pulled my legs up, crossing them.
I took a sip. The wine tasted of sugared berries. “A little.”
“Oh well.”