The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

Chapter 3
What a pretty little flower.
What a pretty poppy.
Pick it and watch it bleed.
Not so pretty any longer.
I came to, gulping in a deep breath of air that smelled of
damp soil and old decay. The horrible rhyme echoed in my
aching head as I opened my eyes and gasped, choking on a
scream.
Dark, empty eye sockets stared back at me from a
dusty, dirty skull.
Heart slamming against my ribs, I shot upright and
scuttled back. I made it about a foot when something
tightened painfully, sharply jerking my arms and legs. I
ground my teeth, stifling a whimper as the skin of my wrists
and below my knees burned. Someone had removed my
sweater and left me in only the too-thin slip I’d worn under
the top. Any concern I might’ve felt over where my sweater
and pants had gone, or how the cinched bodice of the slip
did very little to hide anything, fell away as I stared at my
hands.
Bones… Polished, ivory bones were twisted around my
wrists. Bones and…and vines. And some part of them dug
into my skin. I carefully drew up one leg, chest rising and
falling rapidly as I saw the same just below my knees. Upon
closer inspection, I saw that they weren’t vines. They
appeared to be some kind of root. Dried blood streaked my
calves as I reached for the manacle—