The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

Hearing all of this was a stark reminder that I needed to
learn a lot about Atlantia, but I wasn’t exactly surprised to
hear that they had similar class structures, and I felt safe
assuming that this was another thing the Ascended had
copied. I was, however, surprised to hear that the titles
transferred. In Solis, only the Ascended were considered
nobility or of a ruling class, and they held the position for
life—which was basically an eternity.
“Discovering what you are doesn’t mean we no longer
respect the Queen and King,” Kieran said after a moment.
“But you…what you are is different to us. You are proof that
we came from the gods.”
I tilted my head. “Do some need a reminder of that?”
Kieran grinned. “There will always be people who need
to be reminded of history.”
“Explain,” I stated.
His pale eyes warmed. “Every so many decades, an
arrogant, young, elemental Atlantian demands a bonding or
behaves as if he or she is better than all the others. We’re
more than capable of reminding them that we consider
everyone equal, but at the end of the day, we are not in
service to anyone.”
I smiled at that, but it faded. “But there’ve been issues
between the wolven and Atlantians of late, right?”
“A lot of it is the land issue. We lost so many of our
people during the war, but our numbers are growing. Soon,
it will be a problem.”
“And the other issues? They have to do with Casteel’s
parents still ruling?”
“No one is comfortable with that, but we can sense that
something has to give. Our land issues. The uncertainty
about the Crown. The Ascended and Solis. I know that may
sound strange, but it’s a part of our instincts that remained
from the time when we were kiyou. We can sense unrest,”
he said, and I listened intently, wanting to understand what
was causing the division between the wolven and the