The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

“Thank you for explaining,” I said, filing the information
away.
Casteel nodded. “You ready?”
Drawing in a shallow breath, I nodded, even though I
wasn’t—because I had to be. “Yes.”
“Your promise.” He stepped closer to me, lowering his
chin. “Don’t forget it.”
“I haven’t,” I whispered, the wolven dagger strapped to
my thigh suddenly becoming a heavy weight. It would be
nearly impossible to walk away from Ian if he’d become
what I feared, not knowing when I’d get the chance again.
“You can do this,” he told me. Kissing the center of my
forehead, he then took my hand and turned to the men at
the gate. With a nod, the heavy doors opened with a groan
of stone against stone.
Torches had been lit on both sides of the road, casting
an eerie glow over the crimson, windowless carriage that
waited, the side embossed with a circle with an arrow
piercing the center. The Royal Crest.
Ian traveled in a carriage used by the Blood Crown.
Nausea rose in my throat.
Two guards in black armor with matching mantles swept
over their shoulders stood beside the carriage’s horses.
Another two stood by the closed door, their grips on their
swords firm. These knights had a new piece of attire. Their
helmets were adorned with combs made of horsehair and
shone red in the moonlight. Red-painted masks with slits for
eyes fitted tightly to the upper parts of the knights’ faces
and hid their identities. It reminded me of the masks worn
during the Rite.
“The masks,” Vonetta murmured from behind us. “Are
an interesting choice.”
“The Ascended are dramatic in all things,” Casteel said,
and he was right.
My heart thumped crazy-fast as Casteel threaded his
fingers through mine, and we walked forward, joined by