The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

pit. The gray stone patio led straight to the open doors of an
airy, sun-drenched room.
Among the plants placed on small tables and growing
from large clay pots on the tile floor, oversized chairs with
thick cushions and brightly colored ottomans were situated
in clusters next to wide couches and settees. Large floor
pillows in every shade of blue imaginable were scattered
across the floor, but Kirha Contou sat on a plush, teal rug in
the center of the room, legs crossed, and her head bowed.
Narrow rows of small, tight braids were swept up and pinned
back from her face as she rooted around in a basket of yarn.
Her son was with her.
Wearing all black, Kieran stood out rather starkly in the
colorful room. He sat beside her, leaning against one of the
chair backs, his long legs stretched out in front of him. He
held a ball of orange yarn in one hand and a white one in
the other. Several more lay in his lap, and the image of him
sitting there, a faint smile softening the handsome lines of
his face as he watched his mother, would be forever
imprinted on my brain.
Both of them looked up as Casteel and I neared the
doors. My senses were open, and their emotions
immediately stretched out, the cool splash of surprise I felt
from Kieran as the orange ball of yarn fell from his hand and
rolled across the rug caught me a little off guard. If Kieran
had been aware that Casteel and I had witnessed his…
activities in the shadows, he showed no sign of it as we’d
ridden back to his family home under a sky blanketed by
endless stars.
Even if he did, I didn’t think that was the source of the
surprise. I had no idea what it was as I focused on the
woman beside him.
His mother was utterly beautiful—the spitting image of
Vonetta from her deep, rich brown skin and broad
cheekbones to the full mouth that seemed to hint at a
laugh. What I felt from her also reminded me of her