The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

We were steadily walking toward the lower part of the
city and the glistening beaches, past buildings with outdoor
dining tables packed with people chatting and sharing food.
Kieran had called them cafés, and I knew places like that
existed in Solis, but I’d only ever seen them in Masadonia,
and from a distance. I’d never been inside one.
Having just experienced an icy treat made of crushed
ice and fruit, we didn’t venture into any of the cafés.
Casteel stopped when we came upon a squat,
windowless building, though, tugging me to the side. Stone
benches sat between the pillars of a wide colonnade. “Didn’t
you say you were interested in museums?”
Surprise flickered through me. On our journey to Skotos
when we left Spessa’s End, I’d mentioned to Delano and
Naill when they talked about the different conservatories in
Atlantia, that I’d never been allowed to enter one in Solis. I
hadn’t realized that Casteel had been paying attention, nor
did I expect him to remember something I’d forgotten.
I nodded as I resisted the urge to wrap my arms around
him like one of the furry little creatures that hung from the
trees by their tails in the forests near the Elysium Peaks. I
didn’t think Casteel would mind, but Kieran would probably
sigh.
“Would you like to go inside?” Casteel asked.
“I would.” Eager to see some of Atlantia’s history, I
managed to proceed up the steps beside Casteel and
Kieran, moving at a sedate pace.
The inside was dimly lit and a bit stagnant, smelling
faintly of camphor. As we passed a limestone sculpture of
one of the goddesses, Kieran explained that there were no
windows, so the light didn’t fade the paintings or stones.
And there were a lot of paintings of the gods—both of
them together and individually. It was easy to pick out the
ones depicting Nyktos since his face was always obscured
by either glowing light, or his features were simply not
rendered in detail.