The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

and hair tousled. What I felt from him wasn’t acidic or
empty. It was warm and sultry, spicy and sweet.
“That was incredibly hot,” he remarked.
A husky, echoing laugh left me. His comment—as
twisted and wrong as it was—helped me pull all that power
back inside. I pictured the shimmering web fading, and
when it did, I shut down my senses, and the silvery-white
glow faded from my skin.
I stared at what was left of the attackers, searching for
any sign of remorse, but all I found was a sense of sadness
for a life wasted. These people, the members of the Unseen,
could’ve chosen anything for themselves, and they had
chosen this—actions based on one-sided beliefs of
bloodlines and a fake prophecy.
“You okay?” Delano’s soft question intruded on my
thoughts.
I looked over at him and nodded. “You?”
His pale eyes searched mine. “Yes.”
“Gods.” Emil’s lip curled as he dragged a hand over his
face, wiping away the greasy blood as he stared down at the
ashes and piles of oily dirt. “What did they really hope to
accomplish?”
It was clear to me what they wanted.
Seeking out Casteel, my gaze locked with his. His eyes,
like vibrant chips of glacial topaz, held mine. “They don’t
want me to take the Crown,” I said. “They failed. So will
anyone else who thinks they can stop me.”
A razor-thin smile appeared on Casteel’s face. “Damn
straight.”