The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

“It’s not my fault my thoughts are less than innocent,”
Casteel countered, waving as someone stopped to bow. “I
didn’t introduce myself to the world of Miss Willa.”
“Oh, my gods,” I grumbled, half-distracted by my
attempts to read the emotions of those we passed.
“To be honest,” he continued, “I think I was more
shocked about the fact that I was right, and she is Atlantian,
than by anything else your father said.”
“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” I muttered.
Casteel laughed, and as we continued on, the
nervousness from earlier returned. But then he handed over
Setti’s reins and let me control and guide the horse.
Eventually, the trees cleared, giving way to lush green grass
that flowed to the very bluffs overlooking the sea. Ahead of
us, a hedge of sorts surrounded a large circular Temple set
on a high podium, its white columns rising against the deep
blue of the sky. Beyond it, a row of lavender-colored,
trumpet-shaped blossoms of jacaranda trees struck a
familiar chord inside me. I’d loved the trees that grew
abundantly around the garden outside Castle Teerman. They
made me think of Rylan, a guard of mine who’d been killed
by Jericho—a wolven who had been working with Casteel. A
heaviness settled in my chest. Rylan hadn’t deserved to die
like that.
And Casteel hadn’t deserved everything that had been
done to him.
Two wrongs never made things right or better, nor did
they cancel one another out. They just were.
All thoughts about what I’d done on the road here faded
to the background as the wolven appeared at our sides as
we rode past the Temple and under the shade of the mildly
honey-scented jacaranda trees. I could see a garden of sorts
through the hedge, one that must’ve opened to the Temple.
The other end flowed to an elegant building of limestone
and marble. Gold scroll accents were painted around open
windows where gauzy white curtains swayed in the salty