The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

Kieran and Delano and flanked by Vonetta and Nova.
I sensed nothing from the Royal Knights as pebbles
crunched under our boots. We stopped several feet from the
carriage. Having taken a vow of silence, the knights didn’t
speak. At least, these didn’t. The ones who’d come to New
Haven had had a lot to say.
“You called,” Casteel spoke first, an air of nonchalance
oozing from his tone. “We answered.”
A beat of silence passed, and then a soft rap came from
inside the carriage. My breath seized as one of the knights
reached forward, opening the door.
Time seemed to slow as one cloak-covered arm
extended from the carriage, and a pale hand clasped the
door. My heart seemed to stop as a long, lean body unfolded
from the interior, stepping out onto the road. The black
cloak settled around legs wrapped in dark breeches. A white
shirt peeked out from the folds of the cloak. I ceased to
breathe as the body turned to where I stood, and I lifted my
gaze. Hair a reddish brown in the firelight. A handsome,
oval-shaped face and smooth jaw. Full lips not tilted up in a
boyish smile like I remembered but settled in a flat line.
Ian.
Oh, gods, it was my brother. But as my gaze continued
tracking up to settle on his face, I saw the eyes that’d often
shifted from brown to green depending on the light were
now a fathomless, pitch-black.
The eyes of an Ascended.
He said nothing as he stared at me, his expression
utterly unreadable, and the strained silence stretched
between us like a widening gulf.
I felt a crack widening in my chest. My fingers went
limp, but Casteel’s hold on my hand didn’t falter. His grip
tightened, reminding me that I wasn’t alone, that he
believed I could handle this because I could. I forced air into
my lungs.
I can do this.