The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

Chapter 30
I was moving before I realized it, coming to stand in
front of Vonetta. “Did you—?” I stopped myself, willing my
heart to slow. I had no idea if Vonetta had traveled here by
horse or in her wolven form. Either way, I knew she hadn’t
stopped. A thread of weariness clung to her. I reached for
her, clasping her hands. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” she stated. “You?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted, feeling as if my heart were
about to come out of my chest. “Did you see him?”
There was a moment of hesitation before she nodded,
and every part of my being zeroed in on that second. “You
spoke to him? Did he look okay?” I asked as Casteel placed
a hand on my shoulder. “Did he look happy?”
Her throat worked on a swallow as she sent a quick
glance over my shoulder to Casteel. “I don’t know if he was
happy, but he was there and appeared in good health.”
Of course—how would she know if he was happy? And,
seriously, I doubted it was a warm introduction between the
two. I opened my mouth, closed it, and then tried again.
“And he was…he was Ascended?”
“He showed at night.” Vonetta turned her hands,
grasping mine as she exhaled roughly. “He was…” She tried
again. “We can sense the vampry. He was Ascended.”
No.
Even though I should’ve known better—should’ve
expected this—who I was at my very core rebelled against
what she said as a shudder worked its way through me.