The ​Crown of Gilded Bones

Kieran and Cas both intrinsically sense that Poppy is no longer a mortal. If she is a deity, she will be the only one of her kind. Poppy asserts that Alastir’s actions are really a self-serving grab for power. Cas and Kieran are enraged upon learning of Alastir’s betrayal of Poppy’s family. They have kept him alive to extract all possible information from him, but Cas tells Poppy that she is entitled to kill him herself. Poppy tries not to think about being Queen of Atlantia or being a deity, two roles that she feels very uncomfortable assuming. Cas reassures Poppy that he doesn’t care about her potential familial relationship to his mother’s betrayer. Still, Poppy worries about how her lineage will affect the dynamic with her in-laws. Cas believes that Poppy is her own strong entity and that her bloodline is unimportant because she controls her destiny.

Cas and Kieran observe Poppy’s newfound strength and agility as she mounts her horse without using the stirrup. Poppy notices the trees bent at a strange angle, but Cas doesn’t know what happened to them; he assumes they have been damaged by a storm. The group reaches the mist, a protective barrier that guards Atlantia.