The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

“No.” Surprisingly, I wasn’t. Going to Iliseeum? Maybe a
little. “Do you think going to Iliseeum is a bad life choice?” I
asked as Casteel caught what I thought was a cheese ball
thrown by Vonetta.
“If you’d asked me that a year ago and I knew how to
enter Iliseeum?” He laughed as he drew his fingers over his
forehead. “I would’ve said yes. But now? Ever since my
father told us how Iliseeum could be accessed through the
tunnels, I’ve been thinking how that is one hell of a
coincidence—all those years we spent in them.”
“I have, too,” I admitted, letting my head fall back
against the soft cushion of the chair as I looked at him. “It’s
just too convenient that you were led there.”
He nodded. “Then that got me thinking about fate.
About how all these little things—and the big ones—
happened and could’ve been…preordained. As if they were
all leading up to this.”
“To me becoming Queen?” I laughed. “I hope you mean
something else because that’s a lot of pressure.”
He sent me a grin. “Being Queen is a lot of pressure,” he
pointed out.
“Yeah, it is.” I bit down on my lip. “Do you think that’s a
bad life choice?”
“If you asked me a year ago—”
“You didn’t know me a year ago, Kieran.”
Dipping his chin, he chuckled and then looked over at
me. “Honest to the gods? I think it’s the best choice for you
—and for the future of Atlantia and Solis.”
“Well, that makes me feel even more pressured.”
“Sorry.” He slouched in the chair. “But, seriously. Like I
was saying earlier, I think things were pointing to this—to
something major. You’re doing the right thing.” His gaze
found Casteel. “Both of you are.”
Inhaling deeply, I nodded. It felt like the right thing—
terrifying, but right. “I just hope I’m not expected to walk
around wearing a crown all day,” I murmured.