The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and..

Slowly, the King turned his head to the wolven, the
mannerism serpent-like. “The one beside you?” He sniffed
the air. “Nothing more than a heathen. An overgrown dog.”
The King sneered. “Disgusting.”
“Disgusting?” I repeated. “The one beside me comes
from the line of those given mortal form by Nyktos himself.
The one who stands to your left reeks of decay and rot.”
The Revenant frowned. “I do not.” He plucked at the
front of his tunic. “Rude.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” I stared up at the Blood King. “Is it you
who taints the air instead?”
There was a sugary burst of amusement from the
Revenant as a muscle flexed in King Jalara’s jaw. “I would
watch your tongue, Maiden.”
I held up my left hand as a low snarl rumbled from
Delano.
King Jalara smirked. “Or maybe not. Every word you
speak that irritates me, I will be sure to take it out on the
one you call your husband.”
Every part of me screamed in rage—screamed for blood
and pain, even as I showed no emotion and looked up at the
Blood King. The Ascended who had never been cruel to me
as a child. Who had just been there, in the background.
“You do know that he has found his stay with us to be
less than pleasant. Dear Ileana almost had him convinced
that you had been captured in spite of his sacrifice. His
screams of rage were a serenade for the ages.”
My jaw clenched.
A smug look settled onto his features. “What? You have
nothing to say? You do not ask about his well-being? No
begging?” His head tilted. “No threatening? I at least
expected one threat from you after hearing Ileana wax
poetically about her—”
“Call her by her real name,” I interrupted. “I’m sure you
know it is Isbeth.”
His eyes narrowed. “She is no longer Isbeth.”