The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

Fiery pain branded my wrists, stopping me. “Gods,” I
hissed through my teeth as I carefully leaned back against
something hard, damp, and cold. A wall?
Throat dry, my gaze followed the twist of bone and roots
to where it connected with the wall. My breath came out in
short, uneven pants as I glanced back at the…the thing
beside me. Patches of thin, stringy, blond hair hung in
clumps from the skull. Only pieces of tattered clothing
remained, darkened by age and dirt. I had no idea if it had
been male or female, but it had clearly been here for
decades—maybe even centuries. Some kind of spear rested
against the corpse’s chest, the blade a chalky black. Ice
drenched my entire being as I saw the same knotted bones
and roots encircling its wrists and ankles. Air lodged in my
throat as my gaze lifted to what sat on the other side of the
body. More remains, bound in the same manner. And there
was another, and another—propped against the entire
length of the wall—dozens of them.
Oh, gods.
My wide gaze darted wildly around. Torches jutted out
from gray-black columns in the center of the space and
farther back, casting an orange glow across…
Horror filled me as I saw several raised stone slabs—
long and square boxes situated between two rows of pillars.
Oh, gods. I knew what they were. Sarcophagi. Sarcophagi
smothered by coiled bone and root chain, the bindings
draped over each one.
I was in a crypt.
And it was clear that I wasn’t the first to be held here.
Panic crept up my throat, making it even harder to
breathe in the cold, dank air. My pulse pounded sickeningly
fast. Nausea rose, cramping my stomach as I searched the
shadows beyond the sarcophagi and pillars. I had no
recollection of how I’d arrived here or how long I’d—
Casteel.