The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

“Uh.” Kieran started to back up as he stared behind us.
“Guys…”
I whipped around, my lips parting as a piece of the
stone shattered over the side of the beast’s face and fell
away, revealing a deeper shade of gray and—
An eye.
An actual open eye of vivid blue with an aura of
luminous white behind a thin, vertical pupil.
“Oh, shit,” Emil whispered. “Shit. Shit. Run—”
A deep rumbling sound came from within the statue,
causing icy fear to drench my skin. Fissures raced through
the stone. Sections both large and small fell away, thumping
off the ground.
I was frozen where I stood. No one ran. They too had
locked up. Maybe it was out of disbelief or an intuitive
knowledge that running wouldn’t save us. This wasn’t a
stone dragon.
It was a draken in its true form, rising from where it had
been resting against the ground, its large, muscular body
shaking off the dust and tiny pieces of stone.
I might’ve stopped breathing.
The deep, rumbling sound continued as the draken
swung its head toward us, its thick, spiked tail sweeping
across the diamonds. Two vibrant blue eyes locked with
mine.
“Stay completely still,” Casteel ordered quietly. “Please,
Poppy. Do not move.”
Like I could do anything else?
A low snarled vibrated from the draken as its lips peeled
back, revealing a row of large teeth sharper than any blade.
The draken lowered its head toward me.
My heart might’ve stopped.
I was staring at a draken—a real, live draken, and it was
magnificent and frightening and beautiful.
The draken’s nostril’s flared as it sniffed the air—sniffed
me. The snarling eased as it continued staring with eyes so