Caspian looks down at his hands. “No… I didn’t do that. My thorns may be the briars of a rosebush, but they don’t bloom with flowers.”
Delicately, Rosalina touches the silken petals. “But it wasn’t me. Itfeelslike you.”
Before I can ask how she knows what Casfeelslike, she places the crown atop his head then grabs his hand. He stiffens beneath her touch, but she guides their fingers down to the thorns that still lace along the floor.
“Relax. You’re trembling,” she whispers, then looks up at him with a smirk. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
“Oh—” He swallows. I’ve only seen Cas nervous a handful of times, and every time it was adora—
I grab another drink and down it in a single gulp.
Rosalina holds their hands above the thorn. She gasps as light flickers beneath their palms. “Can you feel that?” she breathes. “It knows we’re talking to it.”
Caspian looks over at her, brows lowered. “We’re… talking to it?”
Then slowly something sprouts from the light. A tiny bud.
“Caspian,” a stern female voice says. Looking in from the entrance to our alcove is a fae woman. A dark hood and a mask shield most of her face, and a cloak covers her body.
Caspian rips his hand away from Rosalina and stands, prowling over to her. “What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing.”
Caspian doesn’t look back as he grabs her arm and drags her from the enclosure.
“Who was that?” Rosalina asks.
“I’m not sure,” I admit. “I’ve never seen her before.”
Rosalina creeps to the edge of the willow tree. I follow, leaning my body protectively over hers. “I wonder what he did to upset her,” she says.
Caspian and the woman stand in the shadow of the thorn staircase. She has her arms crossed and glares up at him. They seem to be in a heated argument.
Finally, the woman throws her hands up and storms away through the crowd. Caspian stands still for a moment, running a hand through his hair. Then he turns toward us.
Rosalina tugs me inside, and we fall back to the cushions right as Caspian steps through the sheer curtains.
“What was that about?” Rosalina asks.
He’s silent for a heartbeat, something softening in his expression as he gazes down at her. “A minor disagreement on tonight’s entertainment schedule. Nothing to be—”
A clamor sounds at the entrance, and Ezryn and Dayton walk in.
“Why are you here?” Dayton growls at Caspian.
Caspian bends to swipe the book Rosalina made off the table. “Collecting my present.”
Ezryn crosses his arms. “We’ll be departing shortly. Have we satisfied our end of Farron’s bargain?”
“Oh, yes. Where is he, anyway?” Caspian asks.
“Getting one last drink,” Dayton says.
“You finally left the little pup alone. You two were hardly separated all night,” Caspian says slowly, then something dark flickers in his gaze. “Well, enjoy the rest of the party.”
Rosalina crawls to me, grabbing my hand. “We did it,” she says. “See? Not so bad.”
Ezryn looks out at the revelry. “We’re not home yet.”
