The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

permission to speak to me as if I am nothing more than
gutter trash. I am the Queen, so show some damn respect.”
I opened my mouth to tell her exactly what I thought of
showing her respect, but Casteel spoke. “You are right about
why we’re here. We are here to talk about the future. Yours.”
Standing before the dais, she faced us as the
Handmaiden shadowed her on one side of the room and
Malik from the other. “Then speak.”
Casteel had managed to get his anger under control
while I was quickly losing my grip on mine. “We came with
—”
“An ultimatum? I know,” she said, and Casteel snapped
his mouth shut. “Release your brother and allow Atlantia to
take back the lands east of New Haven? Or you will reveal
the truth about the Ascended and Atlantia by using the
once-Maiden as proof? Destroy us by collapsing our
foundation of lies? Is that correct?”
I stilled.
All of us did.
“How?” growled Casteel. “How do you know that?”
“You have…or had an advisor who was very eager to rid
Atlantia of the rightful heir to the throne,” she answered.
“So eager, in fact, that he told several of my protégés of
your plans.”
Alastir.
“That son of a bitch,” Naill muttered.
I could barely breathe through my anger. “I want to kill
him all over again,” I seethed.
“He’s dead?” Queen Ileana smiled. “Gods, you have no
idea how happy that makes me. Thank you.”
“Your gratitude is unwanted,” Casteel snapped.
She shrugged again. “Anyway, your plan is clever. If you
two waltzed into Solis, loving and happy together, it would
shake our control. It could even topple the—what do you call
it? The Blood Crown? After all, they do believe the Maiden
was Chosen by the gods. But you see, that would only work