The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

Our gazes met. “I know.” And that was…well, I wasn’t
sure if that was true or not. I’d met many Atlantians who’d
been welcoming, friendly even. I’d met some who’d been
wary and reserved. But there had been at least two dozen
Unseen among the Gyrms. How many were out there? How
many people could they have infected with their beliefs that
I would destroy Atlantia?
I didn’t know. But like before, I tucked those concerns
away because, like I’d said back in the woods, they weren’t
going to stop me.
They wouldn’t stop Casteel.
We rode on, and somewhere around midday, I knew that
we were nearing the capital when we crested a hill, and
large, broad trees appeared, each full of crimson leaves.
Blood trees dotted the landscape and lined the wide, paved
road leading into Evaemon—trees I now knew represented
the blood of the gods and not evil or something to be afraid
of.
The blood trees spread out on either side of the road. I
sat straighter as Evaemon came into view.
My lips parted as my eyes widened.
Towering, ivory-hued structures with whirling, sharp
spires stretched into the sky, flanking stone bridges that
rose on tall pillars above a wide, crescent-shaped canal of
water as blue as the sky. I could see three bridges, one to
the east and one to the west, which led to islands that were
nearly the size of Saion’s Cove, full of soaring buildings that
scraped the sky. Each bridge connected to dome-shaped
structures that bore suns carved from stone, which rose
above the belfries, and the bridge we rode across led to the
heart of Evaemon.
Square, squat buildings with colonnades as wide as a
city block gave way to gray and ivory buildings built far
closer together than they had been at the Cove, but they
rose higher into the sky, forming elegant towers and spires.
Like Saion’s Cove, there were patches of green wherever