The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

An image of him formed in my mind, reaching for me as
his skin turned gray and hardened. Pressure clamped down
on my chest, grinding my heart. I squeezed my eyes shut
against the rush of dampness rising, but it was no use. I still
saw him, his back arched and body contorted, his eyes
dulling, his gaze fixing. He couldn’t be gone. Neither could
Kieran or Jasper. They had to be fine. I just needed to get
out of here and find them.
I moved to stand—
The bindings snapped against my skin, digging in
deeper. A hoarse cry parted my dry lips as I fell back against
the wall. Inhaling deeply, I lifted my arm to get a better look
at the chain. Spurs. The bones had sharpened spurs on
them.
“Shit,” I whispered, wincing at the sound of my voice.
I needed to calm. I couldn’t panic. The wolven…they
would hear me, right? That’s what it had sounded like
Casteel and the others were saying. That they’d heard or
felt my distress before and had answered. I was definitely
distressed now.
But I’d heard them yelping in pain after Jasper and
Kieran were shot. None of them had reached the top of the
Temple after that. What if they too were—?
I lifted my hands to my face. The chain had enough give
to do so without pain. “Stop,” I told myself. They couldn’t
have killed all the wolven.
They.
Namely, Alastir.
Anger and disbelief warred inside me as I focused on
steadying my breathing. I would get out of here. I would find
Casteel and Kieran and the others. All of them had to be
okay.
Then I would kill Alastir. Slowly and painfully.
Holding that promise close to my heart, I forced out a
slow, even breath and lowered my hands. I’d been chained
before. That time in New Haven had not been as bad as this,