The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

I had been…thoroughly and repeatedly distracted from
the constant sway of the ship throughout the journey to Oak
Ambler, but I hadn’t gained my sea legs by the time the sea
gave way to land, and the burnt-red stone of Castle Redrock
loomed over the city and the village just outside the Rise.
The bright, late-morning sun shone overhead as Casteel and
I made our way back into the cabin. It would be safer for us
to move about during the day. We had arrived two days
before we were expected, which meant that Vonetta and the
group should be arriving at the same time, or perhaps a
little earlier.
The goal was to blend in and go unnoticed. My scars
would make that difficult, but thankfully, cooler
temperatures meant donning a cloak with its hood up
wouldn’t draw too much attention. I was wearing an old pair
of breeches that Casteel had wrangled for me, ones worn at
the knees. The clothing I’d acquired in Saion’s Cove would
have been too fine for someone not Ascended or of a
wealthy class.
And the wealthy in Solis did not walk the streets of any
city. They rode in carriages, even if they were traveling a
block. I donned a simple white shirt, one with loose sleeves
fitted at the wrists. It was strangely…freeing that the white
shirt didn’t affect me—that I’d barely even thought of it as I
slipped the sleeveless bodice over the shirt, cinching it
tightly at the waist and the breast with front-lace stays like
many of the women of the working class in Solis were wont
to do. I was securing the chest harness when I looked up to
find Casteel staring at me.
He was dressed as he usually was, cutting a striking
figure in black breeches and a long-sleeved tunic. Blending
in was far easier for males. “What?”