The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

Stay here? My nose wrinkled as I scrambled across the
bed, nearly taking out the platter of leftover meat and
cheese. Snatching the wolven dagger, I slipped it free from
its sheath as I stood.
“And, of course, you are not staying put,” Kieran
muttered, opening one of the double doors.
“Nope.” I followed behind him.
Kieran stepped out onto the veranda. The only light
came from what spilled over from the bedchamber and a
small lantern above a wide outdoor daybed. His gaze
focused on the wall several yards away as he walked
forward, brushing aside a sheer curtain.
He stiffened.
I scanned the trees and the wall beyond them, barely
making out the heavy vines draped over the stone in the
moonlight. “What?”
“Sage was patrolling this section of the wall. She’s a
wolven,” he explained. “I don’t see her at all.”
A shout came from our left, near the stables. I twisted at
the waist, stepping off the patio onto stone that was still
warm from baking in the sun all day.
Kieran caught my arm. “Don’t you dare.”
I pulled against his hold, my gaze swinging up to him in
surprise. I couldn’t believe he was stopping me. “Something
is happening. Casteel is—”
“Cas will be fine,” he snapped, hauling me into the
enclosed patio once more. “I know you can fight. You’re a
badass, Poppy. But not only will Casteel have my head if
something happens to you, you are also our Queen.”
I sucked in a sharp breath. “I am no one’s Queen. I am
just Poppy.”
“Whether you claim the throne or not, you are still our
Liessa.”
“So you expect me to hide, then? Is that what being a
Queen means to the wolven?” I glared up at him, feeling the
acidic burn of his anger, and the heavier press of his