The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

Chapter 49
I slept for a few hours and ate a couple of mouthfuls of
food only because I had to. Then I dressed in breeches and a
simple white shirt that belonged to Casteel. It was far too
large, but the black bodice worn over the shirt kept me from
swimming in it.
Many tunics and shirts of mine now lined the walk-in
wardrobe, but it felt good to have Casteel’s shirt against my
skin. And he’d liked it when I wore the bodice like this the…
the last time I’d seen him.
I stopped at the bed, my gaze straying to the
nightstand, to the little wooden horse. My heart squeezed. I
hurried over to it, taking the toy in my hands. In the chest
by the doorway, I found a pouch. Placing the horse in it, I
left the bedchamber and then the quarters as I tied the bag
to my waist.
I checked on Tawny, finding her the way I’d left her—
asleep and far too still. The dark veins had traveled to the
curve of her chin. Eloana sat at her side. “I summoned
Willa,” she said, and the breath I took was painful. “She will
bring one of the oldest Healers. He will know how to treat
her.”
“Thank you,” I said, inhaling and exhaling slowly.
She nodded. “Be careful, Penellaphe.”
“Always,” I whispered and then left the room, my chest
aching.
Kieran waited for me in the foyer, and from there, we
joined Hisa in the Temple of Nyktos. It would only be the two
of us who made the trip this time. Vonetta would remain as