The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

have sworn an oath to the Royal Crown. They may be
mortal, but they want coin and a lifetime of riches—which I
can provide. They’re more than willing to fight and die for
that, than hedge their bets on Atlantia being any different
than what they have now,” she told us. “We have several
thousand knights, and they will not be nearly as easy for
you to fight in combat as you think. But that’s not all we
have.”
“The Revenants?” I finished for her.
Queen Ileana’s brows lifted and then smoothed out.
“Interesting,” she murmured, and my heart skipped a beat. I
didn’t dare look at Ian. “But do you know what a Revenant
is?” When none of us answered, she shifted her glass to one
hand and summoned the Handmaiden forward.
Malik’s jaw hardened as the Handmaiden went to join
the Queen. It was brief, and I wasn’t even sure if his
reaction had anything to do with the summoning or not. The
Handmaiden sheathed her swords along her thighs and
stood perfectly still beside the Queen.
“A Revenant is an amazing thing.” Queen Ileana angled
her body toward the Handmaiden. “A very old thing that fell
out of favor all the way back when the gods walked among
man,” she said, picking up the young woman’s braid and
draping it over her shoulder. “They are faster than most
Atlantians could hope to be. Perhaps even faster than a
wolven. They are incredibly strong, even those vertically
challenged as this one beside me.”
The young woman had said that she was many things
when I’d questioned if she was a Handmaiden. She was also
a Revenant, and we’d seen just how fast and strong she
was.
And she didn’t look even remotely pleased at her height
being referenced.
“They are exceptionally trained fighters, born with
inherent skill. They are good for one thing.” The Queen