Slowly, I reach into my bag and flash my own book, a fae fairy tale I borrowed from the Autumn library. “I also brought a book into battle. But what’s so important about that one? Why go to such lengths to trick Farron?”
Caspian checks that we’re still concealed, then leans down. “I didn’t trick him. I offered him a bargain. Control over his wolf were my terms. It pays to be specific in bargains, Flower, something our dear Autumn Prince learned the hard way.”
“Don’t speak about mymatethat way,” I spit.
“Right, yourmate.” Caspian flicks my hand off his chest. “At the very least, you should be thanking me for helping you unlock that bond.”
“Shut up.” The breath is heavy in my throat. “Why are you here?”
“To offer you a bargain of your very own.”
“Like I’d ever trust you.”
“You don’t have to.” Caspian raises his hands. Two small thorns coil around his wrists as if they were wriggling snakes. “Remember how powerful you were when you helped that great oaf out of the ice? I’ve brought the briars to you. With these bracelets, you can keep the magic of the thorns with you always.”
My heart pounds in my chest as a terrible but beautiful image passes through my mind. If I had thorns on this battlefield, I wouldn’t be at the whims of the wraiths or need anyone’s protection.
“I can summon the briars myself,” I say, raising my chin. “I’ve done it before.”
“Try.”
I place my palm on the earth, trying to sense the sorcery of the briars like I did in the Below. I grit my teeth, willing to feel anything, but all I sense are the two thorns around Caspian’s wrists.
He kneels and lightly raises my chin. “You’ve been able to use my briars. Perhaps some day, you’ll be able to call them all the way from the depths of the Enchanted Vale. But while you’re trapped in that human skin, the source of your magic is too far away. I’m the only one who can help you.”
I look from the thorn bracelets to the battlefield. Distantly, I feel a tug in my heart pulling me to Farron, but he’s so far away. Why had I felt like he was close? I need to get this scroll to him.
Gritting my teeth, I snarl at Caspian like a wild cat, “What do you want for them?”
“A kiss,” he says, dark eyes sparkling. “From you. Lip to lip. It pays to be specific, you know.”
My heart rages in my chest. Keldarion will hate me for this. The others will, too.
I know better than to make a deal with the Prince of Thorns. I sense there’s a trick in here. Maybe one neither of us sees.
But I will do everything in my power to save my mate, to save the Autumn Realm. So, I grasp Caspian’s palm. “Deal.”
His eyes widen in surprise, then he softens, letting out a long sigh. The bracelets encircling his wrists uncoil, slithering forward. Only one vine remains on his wrist while the others wrap around each of mine, forming tight circles. A bargain.
I let out a small gasp as I sense the magic coursing through me. The thorns feel like an extension of myself, tapping into a deep well of power within. Testing their strength, I use the thorns at my wrist to cause vines to burst forth and slither over the ground.
“It works.”
“Of course it does.” Caspian hasn’t blinked. He’s just staring at me.
As I continue to test the power, the new vines detach from my wrist and weave through the earth. I feel a deep connection with each thorn. Bursting forth with even more energy, I create small vines that wrap the book I’m holding in my hand, hovering it above the ground.
“It’s your turn to fulfill the deal,” Caspian says, and there’s a peculiar rasp in his voice.
My heart beats at an odd cadence. I send forth more briars, continuing to explore this magic, letting the vines playfully wind up his thighs.
“Now, that tickles.” His smile shouldn’t be that beautiful.
“I would know,” I say, leaning forward. “You did that to me. Remember? The first day we met?”
He chuckles darkly. “I could never forget. But that wasn’t the first day we met.”
No, it was when I first passed into the Enchanted Vale… He was the shadowy figure who had saved me from the goblins and delivered me to Castletree. “Why do you insist on rescuing me?”
