The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

never see Ian as anything but a vampry. And maybe that
was all that Ian was now. Possibly even Tawny. I didn’t know,
but what if my brother was different? What if other
Ascended could change like Casteel had said a few had?
What would happen if someone took the throne and
declared war against them? I didn’t know, but freedom was
the choice. It was in the way I chose to live my life. And
what kind of freedom would there be if I was the reason
Casteel had to leave his people? His family?
That kind of knowledge carried with it a different type of
cage, didn’t it? Just like fear was another prison, and I was…
“I’m afraid,” I admitted quietly as I stared at the sundrenched
ivy beyond the open terrace door. “I’m afraid of
saying yes.”
Casteel’s hand stilled on my back. “Why?”
“I don’t know how to be a Queen. I know I can learn, but
do the people of Atlantia have the patience for that? The
luxury of waiting for me to gain the same kind of experience
as you? And we don’t even know what I am. Has Atlantia
ever had a Queen that was possibly neither mortal nor
Atlantian nor deity? You don’t have to answer that. I already
know it’s a no. And what if I’m a terrible Queen?” I asked.
“What if I fail at that?”
“First and foremost, you won’t be a terrible Queen,
Poppy.”
“You have to say that,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Because
you’re my husband, and because you’re afraid I’ll stab you if
you say otherwise.”
“Fear is not remotely what I feel when I think you might
stab me.”
My nose scrunched as I shook my head. “That is
twisted.”
“Perhaps,” he noted. “But back to what you said. How
do I know you wouldn’t make a terrible Queen? It’s the
choices you’ve made time and time again. Like when you
sought to help those who were cursed by the Craven, risking