The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

“It is possible,” Kieran began, looking past me to
Casteel. “Isn’t it? That another Atlantian was held by the
Blood Crown?”
“They were usually half-Atlantians, at least that I saw or
heard of,” Casteel answered, his voice rough. “But it’s not
impossible that I just never knew or that…she was held at a
different location.”
If that were the case, then was my birth mother…forced
into pregnancy? Raped by a deity out of his mind and
somehow manipulated into the act?
Gods.
My hands trembled, and this time when Casteel
released me, I pulled my hand free. I rubbed my palms over
my knees.
“I hate asking this,” Casteel whispered, even though
everyone in the room could hear him. “But are you okay?”
“I feel like vomiting,” I admitted. “But I won’t.”
“It’s okay if you do.”
A strangled laugh left me. “I also feel like I could very
well become the Bringer of Death and Destruction that the
masked Unseen called me.” I looked at him then. “I want to
destroy the Blood Crown.” Tears filled my eyes. “I need to do
that.”
Queen Eloana watched as his gaze searched mine. He
nodded. He didn’t speak, but there was a silent vow there.
It took me a few moments to find my ability to talk
again. “Well, at least you can stop calling me a goddess. I
am just a…deity.”
A heartbeat passed, and a wide smile broke out across
Casteel’s face. Both dimples made an appearance. “You will
always be a goddess to me.”
Feeling my cheeks warm, I sat back. A hundred or more
questions roamed through my mind, but two came to the
forefront. “Have you heard of any prophecies supposedly
written in the bones of the Goddess Penellaphe that warn
against a great evil that will destroy Atlantia?”