The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

to his lower half. The sharp definition of the bones and
muscles along his shoulders and legs showed how frail he
was, but through the matted hair, vivid green eyes locked
with mine once more.
The man shuddered again, and as quickly as he’d
appeared mortal, he was once more a large feline. The cat
was flat on his belly now, trembling and shivering, his head
lowered.
“I’ll ask again,” Kieran said. “What in the actual fuck?”
“Maybe he’s a wivern,” Delano murmured, referencing
one of the bloodlines believed to be extinct. “Or maybe a
changeling? Some of the older ones could take on the form
of an animal.”
“I don’t know.” Casteel swallowed, shaken as he stared
at the creature. “But we…we have to keep going.”
“What?” I spun toward him. “We can’t leave him.”
“We have to, Poppy.” He clasped my arms. “You see
what kind of bars they are?” he asked, and I looked again,
my stomach hollowing. “They’re bone, and I doubt they’re
the bones of a mortal. Your abilities won’t work on them,
and we’re not going to be able to break through them
without causing a shit ton of noise.”
“But—”
“And even if we did, what would we do with him?”
Casteel asked, his eyes searching mine. He took a breath,
lifting his hands to clasp my cheeks. “Listen to me. I know
you don’t want to leave him here. Neither do I. But there is
nothing we can do right now.”
“He’s right,” Kieran said, glancing back out into the hall.
“We’re not abandoning him.”
“We’re not?” I questioned.
“We know he’s here. We’ll ask for his freedom,” Casteel
explained. “That becomes a part of our deal.”
“That…that is a smart idea,” I said, glancing at the cat.
His eyes were closed, and his sides rose and fell rapidly.