But he’s wrong.
I found it when I saw the goodness hiding behind a wolf’s smile. When I forgave my father. When I peered into the dark spaces between the briars.
For a moment, it is silent. The Enchanted Vale taking a breath.
Then I look inside of myself and let the fire within rage.
Like a spark cresting atop dry leaves, I ignite. And whatever’s catching flame within me is more than my courage. It’s something beyond, something deep and ancient and powerful.
I let loose a scream. Images flash before my face: finding the rosebush, Castletree obeying my command, the briars helping me save the roses. A woman’s face, eyes filled with glittering starlight, as she smiles down at me.
Iwasmade for this world. I am part of it. It is part of me.
I will become flame itself to protect the ones I love who call it home.
White fire explodes from my body. Lucas screams, shielding his face, but there’s no hiding from this. No hiding from me.
Roaring fills my ears: the rush of water, of wind, of earth and fire. It’s as if for a single moment, I glimpse the fabric of the universe and the threads that bind it together. The stone beneath me is like a second skin. The wind is the rush of blood through my veins
And I feel my briars. Not the ones on my wrist. The ones that have not yet been made.
My consciousness reaches into the earth, weaving them into existence the way I had in the Below. The green mist evaporates in sparks of white. One of my briars cracks like lightning, shattering Lucas’s crown.
Huge, white-gold thorns erupt from the earth, shattering the icy ground. The tangle of briars slams into Lucas, pinning him down to the dirt. Golden roses bloom along my thorns, beautiful and lethal.
A crack sounds, and ice breaks. I blink, somehow registering their faces amongst my fire and roses.
Kel. Ezryn. Dayton. Farron.
My flames shattered the ice—
I freed them—
Lucas’s body lays before me, eyes blank, chest run through by a thick thorn.
I freed myself.
87
Rosalina
Thewomaninfrontof me is very beautiful.
And familiar, too.
She’s got dark eyes like mine, though hers are framed by joyful lines. Long, brown hair flows in gentle waves down her back, with a few white strands. Her skin radiates like a thousand diamonds.
Her ears… They’re pointed.
Who are you?I ask.
She only smiles and looks down into her hands. A golden rose blooms from her palm. Slowly, she tucks it behind my ear.Seek below the surface, Rosalina, and may the hidden beauty of the world be yours. Love is your greatest strength.
Then I’m surrounded by darkness.
Ineedtoopenmy eyes. There’s a battle… And the princes. Did they get out of the ice? Are they alright?
But I can’t wake up. Not yet. Something is different about the world.
