The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

eyes as I glanced at her. Her lips trembled as she pressed
them together. “I’m sorry. I can’t imagine how you feel.
Knowing that they turned my brother and possibly my
dearest friend is hard enough. But this is different. I’m so
sorry.”
She breathed as if the air were full of shards of glass. “If
he is alive and they’ve had him this long?” Her gaze
touched mine and then flicked to the sky. “It would almost
be better if he…”
She didn’t finish her sentence, but she didn’t need to. “If
he were dead?”
Her shoulders jerked as she blinked rapidly. “That is a
terrible thing to think, isn’t it?” She pressed a hand to her
chest as she swallowed several times. “Especially as a
mother, it’s a terrible thing to wish for your child.”
“No. It’s just…real,” I said, and her eyes flew to mine.
“Feeling that way doesn’t mean you don’t love or care for
him or even hope that he’s not still alive.”
“How can you say that when you know that a part of me
wishes he had passed on to the Vale?”
“You know that I can sense emotions,” I stated, and
tension bracketed her mouth. “I can feel your anguish, but I
also felt your hope and your love for your son. I know that’s
real,” I repeated, searching her gaze. “And I think wishing
that any loved one was at peace isn’t wrong. I love my
brother. What I may have to do doesn’t change that.”
“No,” she agreed softly. “It just proves how much you do
love him.”
I nodded. “The same goes for you and Malik.”
She stared at me for several seconds and then a small,
trembling smile appeared. “Thank you,” she whispered,
reaching between us and patting my arm. “Thank you.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, so I said nothing. I
simply watched her pull herself together. Queen Eloana
swallowed once more and then let out a deep, slow breath.
Her anguish eased off then, returning to levels that