“And they grew up to help facilitate those lies.” Kieran set his glass beside his plate. “And strengthen the Blood Crown’s grip on the people of Solis.”
Irritation prickled at my skin as I looked between them. “And what choice did they have?”
Casteel’s brow rose. “Is that a serious question?”
“Yes,” I said, managing to keep my tone level instead of shouting the word at him.
He huffed out a short, cutting laugh as he looked away, shaking his head in disbelief.
“What’s so funny?” I demanded.
“Nothing,” he said, taking a drink.
My stare was fixed on his profile as the seconds ticked by in silence. I was completely at a loss for what to say. I didn’t anticipate Casteel being completely supportive despite meetingthe Unbound, but I knew he was frustrated and angry, even though he was shielding his emotions. Was it at the situation in general or me?
I shifted, discomfited by the thought. It wasn’t like we never argued, but the only times I could recall him being angry with me were when I, well, did something rather reckless. And even then, his anger had always been rooted in concern. I ran my tongue along the backs of my teeth.
This felt different.
My heart turned over heavily, and my very next thought was to relent and smooth things over. I opened my mouth…
But the necessary words wouldn’t come as I heard Vikter’s voice in my mind—something he’d said to me when I wanted to spend time with Tawny instead of being squirreled away in a dusty, forgotten chamber training. “I’m asking you to give the Ascended a chance to choose for themselves, just as we gave the mortals who chose to remain loyal to the Blood Crown a chance to change their minds.”
“That is not the same thing,” Casteel replied. “The Ascended have killed.”
“So did those soldiers,” Malik commented. The others remained quiet.
Casteel didn’t say anything to that.
“If we decide to give the Ascended a choice,” Kieran stated, breaking the tense silence, “we have to convince everyone to get on board with that. It won’t be easy.”
“Doing the right thing rarely is,” I murmured. I was sure Vikter had said that to me at some point, too.
“That sounded incredibly…adult of you,” Kieran remarked.
I watched the tic in Casteel’s jaw. “I have my moments,” I said.
Tawny snorted quietly.
“You definitely do,” Kieran murmured.
Dragging my gaze from Casteel, I looked at him again. “What do you think?”
Kieran lowered his gaze to the table. “I think you will be challenged if the Ascended are given a choice.” His fingers curled inward. “And I think you will also be met with opposition if they aren’t.”
“That’s not an answer or an opinion,” I said. “It’s just a statement of fact.”
“He feels the same as I do,” Casteel spoke, and my chest clenched. “He wants to see the Ascended burn, but he will side with you.”
I stiffened. “But—”
“You asked what choice they had.” Casteel brought his gaze to mine. “You saw today that they did. They had a choice to live knowing what the Blood Crown truly was and what they were bound to become or die with their humanity still intact like those who met the sun the first chance they got. They had a choice, Poppy. You will be giving them a second chance.”
Frustration rose, but I pushed it down, fully understanding where they were coming from.
Why had I expected Casteel to be open to this? I glanced at the others. Were any of them? My gaze lingered on Delano as he stared at his plate. Meeting a handful of Unbound couldn’t undo centuries of hostility and heartache. It didn’t erase the pain of loss that everyone in this chamber had experienced at the hands of the Blood Crown. I got that. But the thing was, they hadn’t been born into those lies. They hadn’t been groomed since birth to believe them. They had no idea what it was like to confront the truth and be forced to face the role they played in it. “That’s not much of a choice.”
Casteel’s gaze met and held mine. “What would you have chosen?”
