The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

Ascended before finally settling on something I hadn’t really
allowed myself to think about.
The Crown.
The plans already in place wouldn’t change with the
news that Ian wasn’t evil incarnate—and it was possible that
other Ascended were the same. Once the King learned that
Solis was aware of the Atlantian armies, it would spur an
attack. Ian and any Ascended like him may die if the
Atlantian armies were successful. If not, and these
Revenants were something terrible and powerful, able to
devastate the Atlantian armies? Not only would Spessa’s
End fall, but the entire kingdom of Atlantia could. Either
way, innocent people would die on both sides. I stopped as I
neared Casteel’s chair. He looked up at me, his gaze
searching my face.
Casteel and I could stop this.
That meant only I could stop it.
My pulse picked up as I stared down at him. I knew what
we had to do—what I had to do. It felt like the floor shifted
under my feet. A kernel of panic bloomed, and I used
everything in me to shut it down.
Casteel reached out, extending a hand. I placed mine in
it. “What?” he said quietly.
“Can we talk?”
He rose at once, sending the group a quick glance.
“We’ll be back.”
No one said anything as we slipped from the room and
then moved through the empty Great Hall where the
Atlantian banners hung on the walls.
“Where do you want to go?” Casteel asked.
“The bay?” I suggested.
And that’s where we went, Casteel leading the way
around the half stone wall that remained. Under the bright
light of the moon and in the much cooler air of nighttime,
the grass and dirt gave way to sand as the scent of lavender
surrounded us.