It took Gianna a moment to respond. “I am sure few wouldn’t be honored to be married to him,” she began, and I started to feel my chest hum. “And, yes, we are friends—or we were. I haven’t seen him in ages.” Her brows knitted. “I’m not sure if he will even recognize me.”
That was highly unlikely.
“But it wasn’t like that between us,” she continued. “At least, it didn’t feel that way, and he…he was engaged to Shea, and that just kind of weirded me out.”
The vibration settled. “Then we are in agreement about the latter.”
Relief started to seep through her. “I have no feelings for your husband,” she said. “Not before, and definitely not now.”
“Good.” I met her gaze, smiling. “Because if you did, I would probably tear you apart, limb by limb, and then feed what remained to a pack of hungry barrats,” I said. “Now, would you like to find Kieran? I think I remember which room he’s in.”
“I met Gianna today,” I announced later that evening as we took our seats in the State Room.
Casteel choked on his drink as Kieran took his seat beside us, the latter attempting and failing to hide a smile.
“She is quite beautiful,” I said, watching the door. Very few would be joining us tonight, but at the moment, only Hisa and Delano stood at the entrance. “Something you failed to mention.”
Setting his drink down, he looked over at me. “It’s something I’ve forgotten if it is true.”
I hid my smile as I took a sip of my wine. “She is very nice, though.”
Casteel eyed me. “What did you talk about?”
“She apologized for Alastir, and I told her she and her family had nothing to apologize for,” I told him. “And then I told her that I knew about Alastir’s and your father’s plans.”
“That is not all you said.”
I shot Kieran a look. “How do you know?” I demanded. When we ended up finding Kieran and his sister, nothing of my conversation with Gianna had been mentioned. I also hadn’t lingered long afterwards, and I seriously doubted that Gianna would’ve repeated what I said.
“How do you think?” Kieran remarked. “Arden couldn’t wait to tell everyone and anyone who would listen, what you said.”
I frowned.
“What else did you say?” Casteel asked.
I lifted my shoulders. “Nothing, really. Just that if she had any interest in you, I would…”
Casteel dipped his head closer to mine. “What?”
My lips pursed. “I might’ve said something like I’d tear her apart limb by limb and feed her to barrats.”
He stared at me.
I sighed. “It wasn’t one of my finer moments, I admit.”
“Damn.” Casteel broke the silence, his gaze the shade of heated honey. “I wish we weren’t about to have this meeting because I really want to fuck you on this table right now.”
My eyes widened.
“Gods,” Kieran muttered, sitting back as he dragged a hand over his face.
“Is everything fine?” Casteel’s mother asked as she strode into the room, his father beside her.
My face heated as Casteel dragged his gaze from mine. “Everything is delightfully perfect,” he told them, sitting back in his chair.
I turned to Kieran and whispered, “Thanks for that.”
A closed-lip smile appeared. “You’re welcome.”
Resisting the urge to punch him, I looked over as Hisa closed the doors. Lord Sven and Lady Cambria had joined us, along with Emil, Delano, and Vonetta. Lyra, in her mortal form, had also come in, along with Naill. In the last several days, I’d learned that both Sven and Cambria assisted with the security of the kingdom and held positions within the Atlantian armies. No other Elder was present.
It was Kieran who spoke once Hisa had taken her seat on his other side. “We’re all set to leave for Oak Ambler tomorrow,” he announced. “A small group will travel with the King and Queen. It will just be Delano and me.”
Valyn inhaled deeply as he sat back in his chair. “That is not nearly enough.”
“I have to agree,” Hisa spoke up. “You will be entering Solis, meeting with the Blood Crown. It is unlikely that their armies will not have a substantial presence. Four of you is not nearly enough if something were to go wrong.”
“It’s not,” Casteel agreed. “But that is just one group.”
Hisa raised a brow. “I’m listening.”
“They will be expecting us to arrive via horse,” Kieran said. “Entering through the eastern gates of the Rise, but we don’t want to do what they expect.”
“That’s where you will come in,” I said. “You, along with Emil, Vonetta, and Lyra will leave in the morning, taking a small contingent of guards with you to arrive at the eastern gates. They have to expect that we would not come without some sort of convoy, even if they remain outside the Rise.”
Hisa nodded. “And you all?”
“We will travel by sea.” Kieran glanced at Sven. “Thanks to you, we have a ship.”
Sven smiled. “More like thanks to my son, who is currently loading several crates of wine—well, mostly wine bottles full of water and horse piss,” he said, and my lip curled. “We aren’t going to just give the Blood Crown several hundred bottles of our wine.”
Eloana placed a hand over her mouth, but not quickly enough to hide her smile.
“As most know, we monitor many of the shipments in and out of nearby ports,” Lord Sven continued. “And since Oak Ambler is the closest, we know that wine and other goods are infrequently shipped into the city. The shipment will not be questioned.”
“They won’t be expecting us from the sea.” Casteel picked up his chalice. “Not with the mist that comes off the Skotos Mountains. As far as people know, both mortal and vampry alike, the mountains continue into the sea. That is what the mist leads them to believe.”
“I can confirm that,” I noted. “We believed that the Stroud Sea ended at the Skotos.”
“That doesn’t mean the Blood Crown believes that,” Valyn pointed out. “They could’ve gotten that information from any number of Atlantians they captured over the years.”
“True.” Casteel nodded. “But I’m also sure they will have scouts on the road leading to Oak Ambler. The group traveling by land will be spotted. Lyra and Emil will travel with their identities hidden. Vonetta will be in her wolven form, and Naill will be at Emil’s side.”
“It takes, what? Four days by land to arrive at Oak Ambler?” Lady Cambria inclined her head. “How many by sea?”
“With our ships?” Sven grinned. “Faster than anything Solis will have, but you will have to go slow through the mist. So, you’re looking at roughly the same time.”
Understanding flickered on Hisa’s face as she smiled tightly. “It will take us about two days to clear the Skotos and enter the Wastelands. We would be spotted before you arrive.”
“Meaning they will turn their attentions to you,” Kieran stated. “Emil and Lyra, along with Vonetta and Naill, will enter and travel to Castle Redrock.”
“Hopefully, that is what occurs,” Eloana said, shifting in her seat, uneasy. “There is still a chance that you could be discovered.”
“There will always be a risk,” Casteel confirmed. “But we have a better chance this way.”
“And then?” Valyn queried. “Once you’re in front of the Blood Crown, how do you plan to get out if things do not go as planned? If it is a trap? I will go to the north to await word with the armies, but what will you do if it is a trap?”
My mind went to what I’d believed Nyktos had been referring to regarding the power already residing in me. I lifted my gaze to Casteel’s.
“What are you thinking, my Queen?” he asked.
The way those two words rolled off his tongue caused a wicked curl to start up low in my stomach. The way his eyes heated as they held mine told me he knew exactly what they did.
He was…incorrigible.
I took a drink.
“I was unable to gain the aid of Nyktos’s guards,” I stated, and I could feel Casteel gearing up to deny that, so I rushed on. “And with what he and my brother said about the Revenants, we do not want to go to war with Solis. So, I was thinking that if this is a trap, or if the Blood Crown doesn’t take our ultimatum, we are left with only one recourse.”
The room fell silent with understanding. “And what if that provokes what you’re attempting to avoid?” Lord Sven asked.
“The King and Queen wouldn’t have survived even if they agreed,” Casteel said after a moment. “If we have an agreement, we would be careful about ensuring that neither Ileana nor Jalara are a threat any longer—once we were sure that the remaining Blood Crown is in agreement with what we have set forth.” One of his fingers drew idle circles on the bottom of his chalice as his attention flicked back to me. “But I don’t think that’s what you’re talking about.”
I shook my head. “If they don’t agree, the only option we will be left with is one that ensures the Revenants can’t be used or can be dealt with. And there is only one way we can do that.” I sought out Eloana’s gaze in the room. “We cut the head off the snake. We destroy the Blood Crown in its entirety, and I…I can do that.”
Chapter 43
Clutching the rails of the quarterdeck, I kept my eyes open as I stared at the choppy steel-blue waters of the Stroud Sea. It hadn’t been bad when the ship first left the shores of Atlantia and drifted seamlessly through the mist. The gentle swaying of the ship had been kind of a fun experience.
But then we’d cleared the mist, and all there was were the deep blue waters that stretched for as far as I could see. It looked as if the sea kissed the sky. I’d thought closing my eyes would help.
Nope.
That was much worse because without my eyes open to confirm that I was indeed standing straight and steady, I felt like I was falling.
What had Perry claimed not too long ago? That I would gain my sea legs in no time? I didn’t think that would happen at all. The small crew who worked the riggings of the masts made it all seem so easy.
“Please don’t vomit,” Kieran said.
I glanced over at him, my eyes narrowing. He’d joined me the moment Casteel had left my side to speak with Delano and Perry on the helm. “I cannot make that promise.”
He chuckled as he turned his face to the sky and the last of the sun. “Well, if you do, please aim for over the railing.”
“I’ll make sure I aim for your face,” I retorted.
That got another laugh from the wolven. My grip on the railing tightened as I turned back to the sea. “You know,” he started, “it might help if you stopped looking at the water.”
“I’ve tried that.” I forced a dry swallow. “It did not help.”
“Then you need to be distracted,” he replied.
“And it’s a good thing I excel at the art of distraction,” Casteel said, striding up behind us. He reached around, peeling my death grip from the railing. “Come,” he said, leading me away as the breeze rippled across his loose white shirt and tossed about the waves of his hair.
“Have fun,” Kieran called out.
“Shut up,” I snapped, walking stiffly beside Casteel.
Perry and Delano waved at us as Casteel guided me to the stairs that led down into the cabins. It was dimly lit belowdecks, and I’d only been below for a short period of time earlier to try and eat something, but I had found the floors of the stately cabin we’d been given just as unsteady as the ones above.
Casteel opened the door, and I inched my way in. Everything was bolted down. The table and two chairs. The bare surface of a wide, wooden desk. The wardrobe. The wide bed in the center of the cabin. The clawfoot tub. The standing dressing mirror and vanity. Even the gas lamps were secured. He led me to the desk.
“Take a seat,” he said, and I started to sit in the chair in front of the desk, but he tsked softly under his breath. Letting go of my hand, he grasped my hips and lifted me onto the desk.
My heart gave a silly little tumble at the show of strength as he opened one of the cabin windows. I was neither small nor dainty, but he often made me feel that way. I watched him pick up one of the bags we’d brought with us and place it by the desk.
“You were about to take my seat.” He returned, taking the chair directly in front of me.
I raised an eyebrow as I gripped the edge of the desk, and he tapped my booted calf, motioning for me to lift my leg. “What are you up to?” I asked.
“Distracting you.” He tugged off the boot, letting it fall with a thump to the floor.
I watched him remove my other boot and then my thick socks. “I think I know what you’re up to, but not even that will distract me from the fact that everything feels like it’s swaying, and we could capsize at any second.”
His brows lifted as he looked up at me. “First off, you should have way more faith in my skills when it comes to distracting you,” he said, and I immediately thought of the night in the Blood Forest. My skin flushed. “And the boat capsizing is not what is going to happen next.”
“What is?” I asked as his palms slid up my legs.
“I’m going to do what I wanted to last evening and fuck you on this desk,” he told me, and muscles low in my stomach clenched.
“This isn’t a table.”
“It’ll work.” He gripped the waist of my breeches. “But first, I’m hungry.”
The breath I took caught. “Then you should retrieve something to eat.”
“I have.”
My face caught fire.
Blazing, golden eyes locked with mine. “Lift your ass, my Queen.”
A giggle crept free. “That is a sentence that sounds wholly inappropriate.”
He grinned, and a hint of a dimple appeared. “I’m sorry. Let me rephrase that. Please lift your ass, my Queen.”
The ship rocked, jostling me. My ass did lift, and Casteel seized the opportunity. He pulled off my breeches, letting them join the boots on the floor. Cool air swirled around my legs, stirring the edges of my slip.
“You’re going to have to let go of the desk.” He curled his fingers around the hem of the long-sleeved shirt.
I forced my fingers to ease, and my stomach lurched as the ship rocked again. I started to grab the desk, but he was faster, pulling the shirt up and over my head. The moment my arms were free, I grabbed hold of the desk once more.
“Pretty,” he murmured, toying with the tiny strap on the slip and then the lace of the cinched bodice. His deft fingers loosened the buttons with shocking and impressive ease. The material parted, exposing my skin to the salty night air seeping in through the cabin window. He dragged his thumb over the rosy tip of one breast, causing me to gasp. “Not as pretty as these, though.”
My heart thudded, and I wasn’t sure if it was due to the ship’s motions or the intent in his words.
He eased the straps down my arms, stopping when they fell against my wrists. Then he stretched up, reaching around to pick up my braid. He pulled the leather thong from the end and slowly began to unwind the hair.
“I’m going to make you re-braid my hair,” I told him.
“I can do that.” He spread the lengths over my shoulders, then he caught the edge of the slip, pushing it up my hips to where the material gathered at my waist. Those callused palms swept down my legs once more as he leaned back. Gripping my ankles, he spread my legs and placed my feet so they dangled off the arms of the chair. I’d never been more exposed in my life.
He dragged a finger along his lower lip as his gaze swept over me. “I’ve never seen a more tantalizing dinner. It makes me want to rush to the main course.” His gaze lingered on the shadowy area between my thighs. “But I do love a good appetizer.”
Oh…gods.
Casteel looked up at me, a secretive little grin playing across his lips as his arousal washed over me, mixing with mine. “I almost forgot. The next best thing to a good conversation while enjoying dinner is reading a g
ood book.”
My eyes widened as he bent, reaching into the bag. “You did not—”
“Don’t move.” Casteel shot me a heated look, and I froze. He withdrew the all-too-familiar leather-bound book. Straightening, he cracked it open. “Pick a page, my Queen.”
Was he going to read to me? “I…I don’t know. 238.”
“238, it is.” He found the page and then turned the book over to me. “Read to me. Please?”
I stared at him.
“It would be so very difficult for me to enjoy my dinner and read at the same time,” he coaxed, eyes glimmering. “Or is reading this out loud too scandalous for you?”
It was, but the challenge in his tone provoked me. Letting go of the desk, I snatched the damnable book from his hand. “You really want me to read this to you?”
“You have no idea how badly I want to hear you say words like cock.” His hands settled on my knees.
I glanced at the page, quickly searching for the word and found it. Damn it. Damn him, and—I gasped as his lips skated over the scar on my inner thigh.
“You’re not reading.” He kissed the rough skin. “Or are you that distracted already?”
I sort of was, but I forced myself to focus on the first line and immediately regretted it. “‘His…his manhood was thick and proud as he stroked it, enjoying the feeling of his own hand, but not as much as—’” I jerked as his lips danced over my very center.
“Keep reading,” he ordered, his words sending a dark and hot shiver through my core.
My gaze darted back to the page. “‘But not as much as I enjoyed watching him pleasure himself. He worked himself until the tip of his…’” My entire body trembled as his hot, wet tongue slipped over me. “‘Until the tip of his proud, his… his proud cock glistened.’”
A deep sound rumbled from him, causing my toes to curl. “I’m sure there’s more.” His tongue danced over my flesh. “What does he do with that proud, glistening cock of his, Poppy?”
Pulse pounding, I scanned the page. “He…” A breathy moan left me as he pierced the flesh there. “He eventually stops stroking himself.”
The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood And Ash Series Book 3) Page 56