Farron gently touches the new golden briars. His eyes flutter closed. “It feels like Rosie, but her magic isgood.I know it.”
Fearful uncertainty wavers inside me. Why do I have power over the briars? Why did some of them change color and strengthen around Farron’s rose?
And there’s the ever-plaguing doubt of why can I hear Caspian in my mind?
Asking questions only the stars know the answer to.That’s what he told me. I clutch my chest. Caspian is a liar and a traitor. He betrayed us and nearly got Dayton killed. I’ll never forgive him for that.
“The briars don’t seem to harm your rose,” Ezryn says. “Rejoice, for your curse has been broken for your people and yourself.”
Farron walks over to the wall, the sturdy mix of stone and bark that runs with sickly black lines. “I knew it the moment we accepted the mating bond. The beast remains in me. My magic feels… richer. The well deeper. Yet, something’s still not right. Castletree is the source of our magic, and it’s still sick. Until Caspian releases his hold on us, I don’t think I will understand my true might.”
Ezryn presses a firm hand on his shoulder. “Trust in what power you have earned. You’ll need every bit of it for the battle to come.”
“I can’t do this without my brothers,” Farron says. “Will you ride out and stand beside me to face our enemy?”
“I stand with you,” Ezryn says, “High Prince of Autumn.”
Dayton ruffles Farron’s hair and gives him a rueful grin. “Like I’d let you go out there without me.”
But Kel turns away, staring at the sun drifting through the window. “You know I would be by your side, Farron. But I cannot stand with you tomorrow. There is something else I must do.”
“Kel—” Ezryn and Dayton both start.
But Farron holds up a hand. “You will not fight with Autumn tomorrow, Keldarion?”
Kel doesn’t meet his gaze. “There are things I must set right.”
Then he turns and storms out the door and down the stairs.
I exchange glances with the other princes.
“No,” Dayton snarls. “He doesn’t get to fucking do that. It’s his damned vizier who’s attacking Autumn! He can’t abandon us. Not now.”
Farron looks to the floor. “I thought Kel might have finally found something worth fighting for.”
A joyless, muffled laugh escapes Ezryn. “Kel proves again he only fights for traitors and villains.”
No… No, they can’t be right. Kel can’t truly be leaving on the edge of battle. For all his faults, helovesus.
Or at least, he loves them.
“Stay here,” I say and rush out of the tower. I finally catch him just as he exits the stairwell to the ramparts above the entrance hall.
“Kel,” I snap, “where are you going?”
His shoulders stiffen. “I’m leaving.”
“Why?”
He turns to face me, and for a moment, a strange softness settles over his gaze.
“Are you leaving because of me and Farron?” I ask, my voice breaking. “Because I have another mate?”
“Of course not.” He drifts a hand to my chin, and his voice is low as he murmurs, “I am so grateful that you will know the love of a good man.”
I place my hand over his, holding onto it as if I could keep him here with me. “Youare a good man. Prove it, Kel. Stand with Autumn tomorrow. Fight for—”
“Rosalina,” Kel says, his voice quiet but filled with purpose, “do you have faith I will come back?”
