The ​Crown of Gilded Bones

The Crown of Gilded Bones is the third book in Jennifer Armentrout’s fantasy romance series, Blood and Ash. The novel continues Penellaphe Balfour’s journey to claim ownership of her identity, which she must reconcile with her destiny to become queen and goddess. Penellaphe’s once-shaky romance with Casteel Da’Neer grows into an unshakable bond on which the heroine depends as she fights to avoid an inevitable war among kingdoms. As a 2020 Goodreads Choice Award in Romance, the Blood and Ash series topped several bestseller lists, including USA Today.

This guide refers to the 2021 eBook edition published by Blue Box Press, an imprint of Evil Eye Concepts.

Plot Summary

The Crown of Gilded Bones transitions directly from A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire (Blood and Ash Series, Book Two), opening with the same scene that closes the prior novel. Penellaphe (Poppy) displays a tremendous new power and slaughters a mob of violent Atlantians (inhabitants of the Kingdom of Atlantia who possess superhuman abilities like extreme strength and speed). Subsequently, Poppy enters a transitional period of questioning her parentage and the source of her power. Her mother-in-law, Queen Eloana, recognizes Poppy as a deity, one who is descended from a god. The entire wolven race (a werewolf-like species) breaks their bonds with the Atlantians, linking themselves to Poppy and further proving her powerful lineage. If she is a deity, Poppy is the rightful Queen of Atlantia. However, Poppy isn’t quick to submit to the titles and roles prescribed to her, even if they have been conferred by the gods. Poppy has just escaped years of being confined to the role of “The Maiden” (a young woman thought to have special powers) for the Ascended (which are vampry, vampire-like creatures and tyrannical rulers of Solis). Now, Poppy refuses to be pigeonholed into any position of power. Casteel Da’Neer (Cas), who is Poppy’s husband and the prince of Atlantia, supports Poppy’s freedom to choose her course of action.

Before Poppy can begin to ask questions about the source of her power, Alastir Davenwell, the king’s advisor, stages a coup and kidnaps Poppy. He tortures Poppy in a crypt while referencing a prophecy that identifies her as the cause of Atlantia’s destruction. He believes that Poppy is the daughter of Malec (the former King of Atlantia and Queen Eloana’s first husband), and he also believes Poppy to be a descendent of Nyktos, a powerful “Primal” god. Alastir is part of the “Unseen,” a terrorist group that doesn’t obey King Valyn and Queen Eloana, though they claim to act in Atlantia’s best interests. Cas teams up with his lifelong best friend, Kieran Contou, who is a wolven. The two of them rescue Poppy, only for her to be shot with a crossbow and nearly killed. To save Poppy’s life, Cas drains her of her remaining blood and force-feeds her his own blood, a process known as Ascension. (This is how vampry—the Ascended—are created), which is illegal in Atlantia. Although Poppy thirsts for Cas’s blood when she wakes, she does not turn into a vampry, and this is yet another indicator that she is descended from the gods.

Poppy and Cas embark on a journey to Atlantia, resting at Saion’s Cove. Poppy observes a colorful and accessible community that prioritizes school, industry, and the health and safety of its residents, though she recognizes how little space remains in Atlantia. Although Poppy and Cas want to avoid war, they intend to demand more land and the return of Malik, Cas’s older brother, from the Ascended in Solis. Additionally, they will insist that Queen Ileana, King Jalara, and the other Ascended discontinue their practice of ascending more mortals and creating Craven—zombie-like creatures that are created when the Ascended drain mortals of blood but do not turn them into fellow Ascended. While Poppy and Cas want to save as many innocent lives as possible, they do plan on executing Ileana and Jalara for the centuries of tyranny and mass murder that the two have perpetuated.

Poppy and Cas discuss these plans with King Valyn and Queen Eloana at Cove Palace while attempting to learn more about Poppy’s heritage. Eloana confirms that Poppy looks very much like Malec. It is explained that Eloana and Valyn captured and entombed Malec centuries ago, punishing him for creating the first Ascended (Isbeth, his heartmate). However, Poppy’s existence proves that Malec lives, and the king and queen theorize that the Ascended freed Malec and used him to create Poppy. Poppy’s adoptive parents were killed in a Craven attack when Poppy was a child, an incident that nearly killed Poppy, leaving her physically and emotionally scarred. Cas realizes that his parents and Alastir orchestrated this attack, and he struggles to rectify his parents’ dishonesty about Malec and their brutal decision to order the death of a child.

An Ascended named Ian, who is Poppy’s adoptive brother, summons Poppy and Cas to Spessa’s End, an Atlantian territory that borders Solis. He invites Poppy and Cas to meet with Queen Ileana in a fortnight, spewing Ascended propaganda. He denounces Atlantia’s ability to effectively fight Solis and hints at the creation of a new species, Revenants, who cannot be killed and are immune to nearly all magic attacks. Though Ian appears to be a pawn of Ileana’s, he privately instructs Poppy to travel to Iliseeum (the land of the gods) to wake Nyktos the King of the Gods and summon his draken (dragon-like guards). Poppy feels certain that her brother’s warning proves that not all Ascended are devoid of emotion and can live peacefully if given the chance.

Poppy and Cas travel to Evaemon, the Atlantian territory that houses the capital city and royal palace. There, they claim the title of King and Queen of Atlantia, requesting Kieran to serve as their royal advisor. They journey to Iliseeum with a small group of wolven guards. They meet Nyktos, who teaches Poppy more about the history of Primal gods—who are far more powerful than mere “deities”—and explains that only a god born in the mortal world can travel between realms. Nyktos provides few answers about Poppy’s power and lineage, and the group leaves Iliseeum without the draken. They travel to Oak Ambler to meet with Ileana, arriving early and sneaking into their agreed meeting place—Castle Redrock. On the way, they see a large, caged feline, which the group will later learn is Ires, Malec’s twin brother.

Queen Ileana refuses all of Poppy and Cas’s demands. She reveals that her real name is Isbeth. She is the first Ascended; because Malec is a god of Primal descent, he was able to ascend Isbeth and transform her into a god-like creature. Isbeth is Poppy’s mother. Before Poppy was born, Malec and Isbeth had a son, whom Isbeth adored. As the War of Two Kings started, Malec insisted that Isbeth retreat to Vodina Isles alone for her safety. Malec intended to make peace with Eloana and eradicate Solis and Atlantia of the Ascended before ruling as the sole king of the reunited territories. Isbeth waited for decades for Malec and her son to return. When King Jalara finally updated Isbeth, declaring her son and heartmate dead, Isbeth became Ileana and has sought revenge ever since. Now, Isbeth kills Ian in front of Poppy, who then attempts to kill Isbeth with her power. However, Isbeth uses her own magical abilities to choke Poppy, nearly killing her. Cas surrenders himself to Malik, his older brother and apparent traitor to Atlantia, to save Poppy’s life.

Poppy confronts Eloana, who would have known about Isbeth’s godlike power. Eloana confesses to killing Isbeth’s son and admits that her bruised ego and defeatist attitude has prevented her from being honest about this. Considering the clues to her own lineage, Poppy realizes that she is a goddess with Primal blood, and she that she is a goddess, not a mere deity. Poppy returns to Iliseeum to call the draken guards into service. Nektas, a draken, explains that Ires, the large cat that Poppy saw imprisoned in Oak Ambler, is her father and Malec’s twin brother. The draken wish to return Ires and Nektas’s daughter, Jadis, to Iliseeum. Poppy clarifies that while she intends to start a war with Isbeth, she wants to preserve as many innocent lives as possible.

Poppy meets with King Jalara in the forest outside of Oak Ambler. Knowing that she is a goddess, Poppy summons her power without trying, instantly killing the mortal guards with whom Jalara travels. She decapitates Jalara, giving his head to an injured Revenant guard with a message for Isbeth: Prepare for war. Release Cas or Poppy will kill Malec. Poppy knows that Malec is alive and is still entombed by Eloana and Valyn. She vows to destroy all of Solis if Cas should die. Poppy’s story continues in The War of Two Queens, the next book in the series.