The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

The way those two words rolled off his tongue caused a
wicked curl to start up low in my stomach. The way his eyes
heated as they held mine told me he knew exactly what
they did.
He was…incorrigible.
I took a drink. “I was unable to gain the aid of Nyktos’s
guards,” I stated, and I could feel Casteel gearing up to
deny that, so I rushed on. “And with what he and my brother
said about the Revenants, we do not want to go to war with
Solis. So, I was thinking that if this is a trap, or if the Blood
Crown doesn’t take our ultimatum, we are left with only one
recourse.”
The room fell silent with understanding. “And what if
that provokes what you’re attempting to avoid?” Lord Sven
asked.
“The King and Queen wouldn’t have survived even if
they agreed,” Casteel said after a moment. “If we have an
agreement, we would be careful about ensuring that neither
Ileana nor Jalara are a threat any longer—once we were sure
that the remaining Blood Crown is in agreement with what
we have set forth.” One of his fingers drew idle circles on
the bottom of his chalice as his attention flicked back to me.
“But I don’t think that’s what you’re talking about.”
I shook my head. “If they don’t agree, the only option
we will be left with is one that ensures the Revenants can’t
be used or can be dealt with. And there is only one way we
can do that.” I sought out Eloana’s gaze in the room. “We
cut the head off the snake. We destroy the Blood Crown in
its entirety, and I…I can do that.”