The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

I nodded. “He planned to use me as a bargaining chip,
and that is why we initially agreed to marry.”
Her head tilted slightly. “Why would you agree to that?”
“Because I need to see my brother, to learn what he has
become. And I would’ve had better luck achieving that with
Casteel at my side than alone,” I confessed. “That’s why I
originally agreed to marry him, and it doesn’t matter to me
if Ian is a brother by blood or not. He’s my brother. That’s all
that matters.”
“You’re right. He is your brother, just as the ones you
remember as your parents are that.” A moment passed.
“What do you think you will find once you see your
brother?”
Her question was so similar to Casteel’s, I had to smile a
little. “I hope to find my brother as I remember him—kind,
nurturing, patient, and funny. Full of life and love.”
“And if that is not what you find?”
I briefly closed my eyes. “I know Ian. If he’s been turned
into something cold and immoral—something that preys
upon children and innocents? That would slowly kill him—kill
whatever part of who he really is that remains inside him. If
that is what he’s become, I will give him peace.”
Queen Eloana stared at me as something that reminded
me of respect pierced through her grief. It was accompanied
by the warm, vanilla taste of empathy. “You could do that?”
she asked quietly.
“It’s not something that I want to do.” I watched the
breeze stir the towers of blossoms. “But it’s something I
have to do.”
“And now? This is still your plan?”
“It is,” I told her, but I didn’t stop there. “But we aren’t
pretending to be in love to accomplish our goals, Your
Majesty. I do love your son, and I know he loves me. When I
said that he was the first thing I’d ever chosen for myself,
that wasn’t a lie. He is…” I smiled through the knot of
emotion swelling in my throat. “He is my everything, and I