The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

who’d been in such a panic but now just rested on his
knees, staring up at me as his lips moved, forming words
over and over. Thank you.
The wolven were once again beside us as we left the
garden. The people on the cobblestone sidewalk and in the
street were still there. They had risen and stood as if
transfixed, and they all seemed to share the same bubbling,
sparking emotion. Excitement and awe as they watched
Casteel and I—watched me.
Instead of taking me to where Setti waited, Casteel
looked at Kieran. He didn’t speak, and again, I was amazed
at how they seemed to communicate or know each other so
well that words weren’t necessary.
They weren’t now because a slow grin ticked across
Kieran’s face as he said, “We’ll wait for you here.”
“Thank you,” Casteel replied, his hand firmly wrapped
around mine, and then he said nothing as he turned me
around and started walking.
I followed, my shock from what had just happened
giving way to curiosity as he led me a few yards down the
street, Casteel seemingly unaware of the wide-eyed stares,
the murmurs, and the hasty bows. I wasn’t all that aware of
it, either, unable to feel much past the thickening, spicy
taste in my mouth, and the tension growing low in the pit of
my stomach.
He led me under a sand-colored archway and into a
narrow alley that smelled of apples and was lined with urns
overflowing with leafy ferns. Gauzy curtains danced from
the open windows above as he led me farther into the
passageway. The soft melody of music drifted out from
above us, the deeper in we went. He made a sharp right,
and through another archway was a small courtyard.
Wooden beams stretched across from building to building.
Baskets of trailing flowers dangled, the array of colors
creating a canopy that only allowed thin fragments of
sunlight through. Vine-covered trellises created a privacy