The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

“I know.” I curled my fingers around the edges of the
arms. “Malec confided in Isbeth. She knew.”
Eloana flinched as she let out a low whistle. “That stings
more than it should.”
“Maybe you never stopped loving Malec.”
“Maybe,” she whispered, staring at her lap now. “I love
Valyn. I love him dearly and fiercely. I also loved Malec, even
though I don’t think I…knew anything about him. But I think
Malec will always own a part of my heart.”
And the part owned by Malec would always belong to
him, and that was…that was just sad.
“Isbeth is my mother,” I told her, and her eyes shot to
mine. “I’m the daughter of her and Malec. And I married
your son.”
She paled once more.
“It was a part of her plan,” I continued as Vonetta
leaned into my leg. “That I would marry Malik and take
Atlantia. With my bloodline and a Prince at my side, there
would be absolutely nothing that could be done. But in a
twist of fate, I married Casteel instead.”
“Her plan worked, then,” she rasped.
“No, it hasn’t,” I replied. “I will not take Atlantia in her
name.”
“She has Malik and Casteel,” she countered, her tone
hardening. “How has she not won?”
“She won’t kill them. Malik is helping her, and she can
use Casteel against me like she used your sons against
Atlantia,” I told her.
Her lips thinned. “I still don’t see how she hasn’t won.”
“Because I’m not you.” I noted the faint wince, and I
didn’t even want to feel bad for inflicting it. “I have been
used my entire life in one way or another, and I will not be
used again. I know what I am now. I know what it means to
have had the power in me this whole time. My brother’s
death wasn’t in vain. Neither was Lyra’s. I understand now.”
Eloana’s brows puckered. “What are you saying?”