The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

storm brewing beside me. “Alone.”
“That’s not going to happen,” I said, my heart cracking
a little more.
“Because you don’t trust me?” A muscle twitched near
Ian’s mouth. “Or because the Dark One will not allow it?”
A midnight laugh rumbled from Casteel. “You don’t know
your sister all that well if you believe anyone can stop her
from doing what she wants.”
That was the thing, though. Another fissure streaked
across my heart. Ian only knew me as his baby sister and
then as the Maiden. He only knew me back when I did what I
was told. And, gods, I wanted him to know me now—know
the real me.
But seeing that inhuman coldness etched into his
features, I knew that would never happen.
I wanted to cry.
I wanted to sit down right there and crack wide-open. It
wouldn’t change what was standing in front of me, but it
would make me feel better. At least temporarily. But I
couldn’t do that. Not here. Not anytime soon. So, I thought
of Casteel’s mother, and I did what she had done in front of
me. I stitched myself back together so tightly that only a
thread of grief coursed through me.
Once I was sure I had it under control, I took a step
toward Ian. “You are my brother. I will always love you.” My
voice caught. “But you have to know what they do to those
children given over to the Rite. They serve no gods. How
can you be okay with that? The Ian I knew would’ve been
horrified to know that children are murdered—that innocent
people are slaughtered in their sleep—all so the Ascended
can feed.”
Something flickered across his face, but it was gone too
quickly for me to know if it was really even there. His
features smoothed out. “But I am an Ascended, Poppy.”
I drew in a ragged inhale as I stiffened. The warmth of
Casteel’s body pressed against my back. “And Tawny?” I