The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

“They became too dangerous. Too powerful. Too…
unpredictable.” He paused, and I swallowed hard. It took no
leap of logic to assume that those against the wall and
before me were deities. “Too much of a threat. Just like you.”
“I’m not a threat,” I snarled.
“You’re not? You killed many.”
My fingers curled inward. “They attacked me for no
reason. They hurt—” My voice cracked. “They hurt the
wolven. Their Prince. My—”
“Your heartmate?” he suggested. “A union of not only
the hearts but also of the soul. Rare and more powerful than
any bloodline. Many would consider such a thing a miracle.
Tell me, do you think it’s a miracle now?”
“Yes,” I growled without hesitation.
He laughed, and yet again, something tugged at the
recesses of my memories. “You will then be relieved to know
that they are all safe. The King and Queen—those two
wolven, even the Prince,” he said, and I might’ve stopped
breathing. “If you don’t believe that, you can trust the
marriage imprint.”
My heart stuttered. I hadn’t even thought of that.
Casteel had told me that the imprint faded upon the death
of one of the partners. That was how some had learned of
their heartmate’s demise.
Part of me didn’t want to look, but I had to. A hollowness
filled my stomach as my gaze shifted to my left hand. It
trembled as I turned it over. The golden swirl across my
palm glimmered faintly.
Relief cut so swiftly through me that I had to clamp my
mouth shut to stop the cry from rising up from the very
depths of my being. The imprint was still there. Casteel was
alive. I shuddered again, tears scorching my throat. He was
alive.
“Sweet,” he whispered. “So very sweet.”
An uneasy sensation crept over my skin, stealing bits
and pieces of the relief.