Chapter 45: The Crown of Gilded Bones: Chapter 45

“What a happy reunion,” Queen Ileana announced, her smile tight as she took in the two brothers staring at each other.

I hardly heard her—was barely aware of the Handmaiden drifting in and out from between us like a wraith, coming to stand on the other side of the Queen.

What I was staring at didn’t make sense.

And I wasn’t the only one who appeared frozen in shock as we stared at Prince Malik Da’Neer. How was he even free? Standing beside the Blood Queen, seemingly healthy and whole? He looked nothing like the emaciated, frail man we’d seen in the cage below. His golden bronze skin lacked the haggardness of starvation. His hair gleamed, and the polished shine of his boots, the cut of his breeches, and the tailored shirt and deep grey vest he wore dripped with wealth and privilege.

It didn’t make sense.

Or it couldn’t, because the only reason he’d be here was unfathomable.

“Gods,” Kieran uttered, lifting a hand and then halting.

“Malik.” Casteel’s voice was hoarse, and the agony slicing through him stole my breath. I reached out, grasping his hand. His gaze swung between his brother and the Blood Queen. His—and all the others’—shock pelted me like icy rain. “No.”

His brother’s head tilted as his gaze flicked to where my hand was wrapped around Casteel’s. “I see you’ve gotten yourself married, Cas,” he said, and Casteel flinched as the breath he took punched from him. “Wish I could’ve been there.” Bright, golden eyes met mine, and I felt Kieran shudder from where he stood beside me. “Congratulations.”

“What has she done to you?” Casteel demanded, rattled to his very core.

“Opened my eyes,” Malik replied.

“To what?” Casteel choked.

“To the truth.” His head straightened, and I reached out with my senses, finding a thick wall shielding his emotions. “Just as she will open all your eyes.”

Casteel took a step back, his disbelief as potent as his sorrow. “This can’t be real.” His head swung toward the Queen. He started toward her, but I tightened my grip on his hand as several of the knights stepped forward. They weren’t my concern. It was the Handmaiden, whose gaze sharpened on Casteel. “What in the fuck have you done to him?”

“Casteel.” Her voice reached us like a snake in the grass.

His entire body went rigid beside mine, and her red lips curved up as she extended a hand toward him.

I reacted without thought, grabbing her arm. The silk of her sleeve wrinkled under my grip. “You will never lay a finger on him again.”

The Handmaiden stepped forward, but Queen Ileana held up a hand as her dark gaze slid to mine. “Penellaphe.” Those dark eyes roamed my face, touching briefly on the scars and then continuing on. And I thought…gods, I thought her features softened and warmed. “I have no interest in laying a hand on your husband. That would be incredibly disrespectful.”

“As if you care for what is respectful,” I shot back.

Her brows rose, and then she laughed softly. “Ian,” she called, and I saw my brother stiffen from the corner of my eye. “You didn’t tell me that our dear Penellaphe not only found her tongue but also sharpened it.”

Ian said nothing.

Queen Ileana tugged on her arm, but I held on for a moment more. I didn’t know why. Maybe just to prove I could, that my tongue wasn’t the only thing about me that now had sharpened edges. I slowly let go, lifting one finger at a time.

An eyebrow rose as she stared at me. Then she leaned her head in, and the scents of rose and vanilla reached me. “Poppy,” she said softly, holding my gaze. As close as she was, I thought her eyes…weren’t as dark as an Ascended’s normally were. I could see her pupils. I opened my senses, but I felt nothing from her, which wasn’t a surprise. “How quickly you’ve turned on me, after all the years I protected you, cared for you, and kept you safe.”

Her words did nothing to my heart. “You mean after spending years lying to me and keeping me in a cage?”

“You were not caged, child. I am sure your dear Prince can tell you that.”

Casteel’s head whipped in her direction, and his fury blasted my skin. “A room and a life of lies is still a cage,” I bit out, refusing to look away. “And I am not a child, nor is he a Prince.”

Queen Ileana’s brows knitted and then smoothed out as she glanced at Casteel. Another soft laugh left her as she pulled back. “Well, that explains so much.” She looked over her shoulder at Malik. “The younger brother surpasses the eldest.” She turned back to us. “And the Maiden becomes the Queen.” The corners of her lips lifted again. “Just as I had always hoped for you.”

Warning bells rang, but they’d been ringing since she entered the room with Prince Malik at her side, as if he were her Consort. “Where is the King?” I asked.

“In the capital,” she answered, eyeing Kieran. She reached to straighten the collar of his tunic but caught my move toward her. “Territorial, aren’t you? Never would’ve expected that. I have a question for you, dear. One that may make Ian very uncomfortable.” Her crown glimmered as she tipped her head back. “Are you Joined to this wolven? Or is it the pretty blond one? Or one of those oh-so-gorgeous females?”

The fact that she knew of the Joining didn’t escape any of us. “I’m bonded to them,” I answered, waiting for her gaze to settle on me. “To all of them.”

Her eyes widened slightly, and then she clapped her hands together, surprising me. Casteel shot me a quick glance as the Queen looked over her shoulder at Malik. “Look at what you’ve missed out on.”

“I’m looking,” he replied dryly. “And I’m seeing.”

“What in the hell is that supposed to mean?” Casteel snarled, his shock at seeing his brother—at the betrayal— giving way to fury that tasted of blood instead of anger.

“You see, I’ve always seen my dear Penellaphe as the future Queen of Atlantia.” Queen Ileana turned to Delano, her grin resurfacing as his lip curled in disgust. She raised a hand and snapped her fingers. I tensed, but it was a small horde of servants who answered her summons, filtering into the room, carrying trays of glasses. “Just married to the wrong brother.”

I choked on my breath as Casteel stared at her. “What?” I couldn’t have heard her right.

“Drinks anyone?” Queen Ileana offered, and none of us accepted, not even Emil or Naill, who both looked as if they could use an entire bottle at the moment. One shoulder lifted in a delicate shrug in response to their refusal.

“What was that supposed to mean?” Casteel pressed.

“I had planned for my Penellaphe to marry Malik,” she answered, and yes, I had heard her correctly the first time.

“It’s true,” Malik confirmed, plucking up a glass of what I sincerely hoped was red wine. He lifted it toward me. “I was your Ascension.” His lips curved into a smirk. “Or at least that’s what we could call it.” He winked and took a drink. “But I suppose it could be considered an Ascension of the…flesh?”

Casteel exploded.

He shot toward his brother, lips peeled back, and fangs bared. He was fast, but Kieran launched himself at Casteel, wrapping both arms around his waist. “That’s what they want,” Kieran said. “Don’t give it to them, brother. Don’t.”

Queen Ileana’s laughter was like tinkling windchimes as she helped herself to a glass. “Please, do,” she said, and I saw the knights and guards back away from Malik and Casteel. “I’m curious to know who would win this fight. My bet is on Casteel. He has always been a fighter.” She grinned as she lifted one of Vonetta’s braids as she drifted past her. Vonetta’s lips peeled back in a silent snarl. “Even when he was on the verge of being broken.”

My head jerked to her. “Shut the fuck up.”

Her laughter died in a hush as she turned to me. The Handmaiden stepped back while Malik took another drink of his wine, one eyebrow arched. Ian edged toward me as Tawny paled. Casteel stopped struggling to get at his brother as he and Kieran turned to where I stood, my chest humming with eather and rage, rising and falling rapidly with my breaths.

“I am being kind, Queen Penellaphe, and hospitable. Because I will always have a great fondness for you, no matter where we stand,” she said, her voice cool as she smiled at Naill. “I’ve invited you to speak with me, so we could hopefully come to an agreement about what the future holds. I assume that’s why you two agreed.”

“It is,” I bit out.

“I’ve even had drinks brought in and offered food to your friends, even though they attempted to trick me into believing that it was you instead of her.” Queen Ileana gestured at Lyra with her glass, and the wolven snarled at her. “But do not mistake my fondness for weakness or for 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 if you thought that any of us would simply relinquish Solis. I’d see the whole godsdamn kingdom burn before I ever allowed Atlantia to seize even one single acre of land.”

I inhaled sharply as Ian closed his eyes, lowering his chin.

“So that’s it?” Casteel stepped forward. “You really want war?”

“I want Atlantia,” she replied.

“Then it’s war,” I stated.

The ruby crown glinted as she shook her head. “Not necessarily.”

“I don’t see how there is any other option,” Casteel returned. “You’ve rejected our offer.”

“But you haven’t rejected mine.”

Casteel laughed darkly. “It’ll be a no.”

“You haven’t heard what I have to say.” The Blood Queen held her glass with both hands. “You will claim Atlantia in my name and swear sovereignty to me. You may retain your titles of Prince and Princess, but you will ensure that several of my Dukes and Duchesses are able to safely cross the Skotos to establish Royal Seats throughout Atlantia. You will dismantle your armies and convince the people of Atlantia that this is for the best, of course.” Her head cocked to the side. “Oh, and I want the former King and Queen brought to the capital, where they will be tried for treason.”

Malik showed no response as he now stood beside the Handmaiden. Not a flicker of emotion for what would be a death sentence for his parents.

“You’re out of your mind,” Casteel breathed, and he was right. There was no other explanation for why she would think we’d ever agree to that.

“If you refuse, then war is inevitable,” she continued as if Casteel hadn’t spoken. “But first, I do believe you should understand what you’ll be up against if your armies cross the Skotos. We have over a hundred thousand guards who 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 smiled as she drew a thumb across the red-painted mask. “And that is killing.”

The Revenant’s strange eyes remained open, fixed on some point beyond us.

“Any mortal can become skilled at killing, can they not?” Queen Ileana asked. “But a Revenant isn’t really mortal. They are something else entirely.”

Queen Ileana nodded at a nearby knight. He strode forward, unsheathing a long-bladed knife. I stiffened as a sudden rush of desperation burned through me, leaving behind the choking smoke of hopelessness. It came from her—the Revenant—even as she stood there, expressionless, her gaze vacant. She didn’t want—

Malik jerked as if he were about to take a step forward but stopped himself a second before the knight thrust the knife into the female’s chest—into her heart.

Tawny cried out, smacking her hand over her mouth as I stepped back out of shock, bumping into Casteel. His eyes were wide as he watched the knight yank the knife free. Ian had turned his head away as the knight stepped aside. The lace of the Handmaiden’s tunic quickly became wet as she stumbled to the side and then went down on one knee.

Blood trickled out of her mouth as she stretched her neck back. “Ouch,” she rasped and then toppled to her side.

“She’s a fighter, too,” the Queen commented as a pool of red rapidly spread out from under her prone body. She looked up at Vonetta. “You. Check to see if she lives for me?”

Vonetta glanced at us and then started forward. She knelt and pressed her fingers against the side of the young woman’s neck. Swallowing, she shook her head as she pulled her hand back. “There’s no pulse, and I…I can smell it. Death.”

I had a feeling they weren’t talking about the same kind of scent they picked up from me.

Vonetta rose and quickly rejoined Emil and the others. “She’s dead.”

“Good gods,” Kieran uttered, staring at the young woman on the floor. Her blood filled the crevices between the tiles, stretching toward us. “What was the point in that?”

“Patience,” Ileana said, taking a sip.

Casteel’s hand flattened against my back as my gaze darted from the Revenant to the Queen and then to Malik, whose gaze hadn’t once left the still body.

“What is…?” I forced out a ragged breath. “What is wrong with you?” I asked of the Queen as I stared at the woman, at the blood spreading under her hand—

A finger twitched.

I gasped, and Casteel leaned forward, his eyes narrowed. Another finger spasmed, and then the arm. A second passed, and her entire body moved, her back bowing as her mouth opened. Dragging in deep, gulping breaths, she pressed her hand over where the wound should be, where her heart had been pierced. She sat up, blinking, and then rose to her feet and looked at us with those lifeless eyes.

“Ta-da,” the Queen exclaimed with a snap of her fingers.

Kieran drew back. “What in the actual fuck?”

“The actual fuck you’re asking about is a Revenant,” the Queen replied. “They cannot easily be killed. You can stab them with bloodstone or any stone. Cut their throats. Set them on fire. Slice their limbs from their body, and let them bleed out, and they will come back whole.” She smiled almost warmly at the Revenant. “They always come back.”

They always come back.

I shuddered as I stared at the young woman, unable to process how that was even possible, because it wasn’t the same as healing someone or even snatching them from the grasp of death. I didn’t think my touch could… regrow severed limbs.

“What about their heads?” Casteel asked. “Do they regrow one of them?”

The Queen’s smile grew as she nodded.

“Impossible,” breathed Delano.

“Do you want me to show you?” she offered.

“No,” I said quickly, the Revenant’s desperation still an echo in my soul. “That won’t be necessary.”

The Queen actually looked a little disappointed as Emil rubbed his palm against the center of his chest. “That is…that is an abomination to the gods.”

The Revenant said nothing, but the Queen did. “To some, they are.”

And I thought of what Nyktos had said. He was right. They were an abomination of life and death.

“How?” I forced out. “How are they created?”

“They aren’t simply created. They are born, the third sons and daughters of two mortal parents. Not all carry this…trait, but those who do remain unremarkable unless discovered,” she said, and a sickening knowledge rolled through me. The children given to the Rite. This is what became of some of them. “The blood of a King or one destined is needed to ensure that they reach their full potential, but apparently…” She looked over at Prince Malik. “I don’t have that anymore.”

Malik smiled apologetically.

“And, well, the rest isn’t all that important,” she stated. “I have many of them, enough to become an army that you have no hope of ever defeating.”

Ian…he hadn’t been exaggerating. How could one fight an army that would just continuously rise after falling? Could Nyktos’s guards even defeat them?

“So…” Queen Ileana drew the word out. “This is what you would go to war against.” Her dark eyes settled on me. “The War of Two Kings never ended,” she said. “There has just been a strained truce. That is all. And now you must see how hopeless it would be to believe that you could fight against Solis.”

“Then why haven’t you just seized Atlantia?” Casteel demanded.

“Half of my armies would die or become lost crossing the Skotos. Even the Revenants wouldn’t fare well in the mist,” she stated. “Besides, I do not want the Atlantian people to hate me. I want their respect. Their loyalty. Not their loathing.”

“Well,” Casteel started. “That ship has already sailed.”

“Feelings can be changed,” she said dismissively. “Especially when their Queen is the daughter of the Queen of Solis.”

“My mother?” I laughed hoarsely. “I thought you were my grandmother.”

“I don’t know why that silly bitch told you that,” she replied. “Duchess Teerman was loyal but not exactly the most intelligent.”

I shook my head in utter disbelief. “Your claim of being my mother is such a ridiculous lie, I cannot believe you would even think that I would entertain such a statement.”

“Oh, please do not tell me that you still believe Coralena is your mother. That treacherous bitch did not carry you for nine months and then spend hours screaming in pain to bring you into this world,” she spat, climbing the wide, short steps that circled the entire chamber and led to the alcove of the curtained windows.

“Neither did you,” I growled.

“Is that so?” she replied.

“You’re a vampry.” Casteel’s hand pressed against my lower back. “You cannot have children.”

“She is not a vampry,” Ian said, looking at me. His features were drawn. “And she speaks the truth. She is your mother.”

“Coralena was Ian’s mother. Leopold was his father,” Queen Ileana said, placing her empty glass on a marble podium. It was then when I realized that there were no more servants in the room. “And Cora was my most favorite Handmaiden—my most trusted. I had her care for you so that none of those who sought to gain what I had could use you, my child, against me—and many would be foolish enough to try. I trusted her, and she betrayed me. She and her worthless husband thought they could steal you away. Apparently, she discovered my intention to marry you to Prince Malik, finally bringing the two kingdoms together, and she didn’t approve of it.”

My heart thudded as she spoke. “Coralena survived the attack, by the way. She was a Revenant, after all.” She smoothed her hands over the ruby chains at her waist. “However, she did not survive my wrath.”

I shuddered, and Casteel curled his arm around my waist.

“I didn’t want to do it. That hurt me more than you will ever believe. She was like a daughter to me, and she betrayed me.” The Queen drew in a deep breath and then motioned the knight away from the curtained window. “I am not a vampry. Nor is Ileana my name—my first name that is.” She curled her fingers around the edges of the curtain, and I reached down, gripping Casteel’s arm. “The first name I was born with is one you’ve probably heard. It was Isbeth.”