The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

I blinked once and then twice. “They were created from
dirt and magic? Seriously?”
Jasper nodded as he started pacing. “I know it sounds
like something made up to scare children—”
“Like the lamaea?” I asked.
He stopped and looked at me, glass halfway to his
mouth as Casteel coughed out a quiet laugh. His pale eyes
shot to the Prince. “I don’t even need to ask which one of
you told her about that. Out of the things you could’ve
shared with her, you chose that?”
“It was a passing comment in a wider, much more
important conversation that she has somehow latched on to
and never forgotten.” Casteel took a drink. “Not my fault.”
“How could I ever forget about a creature that has fins
for legs and tails for arms?” I wondered out loud.
“The lamaea were never real. It was just a thing really
twisted parents made up.” Kieran shot his father a pointed
look. “But the Gyrms were, and they were usually
summoned to serve as soldiers or guards—protectors of
sacred places. It says here that they can be killed with any
puncture wound. Apparently, it shatters the magic holding
them together, so one doesn’t have to aim for the heart or
the head.”
“Good to know,” I murmured.
Kieran continued scanning the page. “Once they’ve
served their purpose, whatever holds the soil and magic
used to conjure them—usually a vase or cloth of some sort—
is destroyed by fire. Once nothing but ash remains, they
disappear.”
“They’re just conjured into existence to do whatever
someone needs, and then…poof, they’re gone?” My nose
wrinkled. “That seems wrong and sad. And, yes, I get that
they’re technically not alive. It still doesn’t feel right.”
“It’s not,” Casteel agreed, a muscle working in his jaw.
“It’s why that kind of magic is forbidden by Atlantians and
mortals alike in this realm.”