The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

Kieran barked out a loud laugh, one that drew both
Casteel’s and Lyra’s attention. The former raised his brows. I
sank a little lower in my seat. “You have the weirdest mind, I
swear,” Kieran said, shaking his head.
“Crowns look heavy,” I retorted as Lyra continued
staring at Kieran, a faint smile on her pretty face. “And
irreplaceable if you break or misplace them.”
Kieran was silent, but I could feel his stare on me.
“Lyra seems to like you,” I said, swiftly changing the
subject.
“She seems to like you.”
“Glad to know, but I think we’re talking about two
different types of liking someone.”
He lifted a shoulder.
“Do you like her?”
“I like her.” He propped a boot on the leg of another
chair. “She’s fun. A good person.”
My brows lifted as I snuck a peek at Lyra. She was
speaking with Delano and Naill. Fun? A good person? Kieran
was often as transparent as a brick wall, but that wasn’t
how I would talk about Casteel if someone asked me what I
thought of him. I’d probably wax on poetically for quite
some time…and also list all the ways he was utterly
infuriating.
I studied Kieran’s profile, thinking of what he’d said
while we sat along Stygian Bay. “I want to be nosy.”
“Like when you watched Lyra and I on the beach?”
I choked on my breath—my actual breath—as my face
flamed red. “That is not what I was referencing.”
He was grinning so hard, I was surprised his face didn’t
crack. “You’re not going to deny it?”
“What is the point?” I muttered.
Kieran eyed me. “Intriguing.”
“Shut up.”
He laughed. “What do you want to be nosy about?”