The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

I nodded in agreement. “Are you familiar with Oak
Ambler?”
A smoky smile appeared as he shared a quick glance
with Kieran. “We’ve been to and infiltrated Castle Redrock.”
My brows lifted. “Do I want to know why you did that
and what the outcome was?”
His gaze sharpened, burned. “Probably not.”
“Let’s just say some Ascended there won’t be missed by
those who call Oak Ambler home,” Kieran commented. “It’s
probably best if you don’t know more.”
“It would be wise for us to arrive before they expect us,”
Casteel said, and I nodded.
“I can agree with that. I can also say for sure that your
father will be pissed when he hears that the Blood Crown
knows that Atlantia has been gathering forces to the north,”
Jasper muttered, dragging a hand down his face as he
looked at Casteel. “Hell.”
I stilled, my gaze finding Casteel’s once more. When Ian
had dropped that unexpected tidbit, I couldn’t understand
how they knew. Now, I did. “Alastir.”
Casteel’s jaw hardened. “From what my father said, only
the Council was aware of the true purpose behind the
armies being moved to the north. The public believes it’s a
training exercise, but Alastir knew.”
“And he’d been communicating with the Ascended.” I
shook my head. “How in the world could he have justified
sharing that kind of information with the Ascended as
something that would’ve benefited Atlantia?”
Jasper snorted. “I think Alastir had a lot of beliefs that
didn’t make sense, but maybe he did that in hopes that
Solis would strike first, forcing Atlantia’s hand. A backup
plan in case all else failed.”
That made unfortunate sense. “Who knows what else he
could’ve told them?”
That quieted the room, and in the silence, my mind
returned to bouncing between Ian and what it meant for the