“This is Ezryn. Remember I told you about him? He’s my… friend.” The word sounds odd, too intimate and distant all at once.
“Yes, yes, High Prince of Spring, how do you do?” Papa mumbles but walks closer to the portal, holding a hand up to it. It licks at the edges of his fingertips.
Ezryn doesn’t respond. The ripped skin on Lucas’s chest has knitted back together, but his breathing is shallow. The hoodies are wrapped like a tourniquet around his torso. Ezryn heaves him up over his shoulders. “My magic is weak in the human world,” he says. “I’ve stabilized him, but we’ll need to take him to Castletree if he’s to recover.”
I nod, not letting myself think too hard about what that means.
Ezryn strides to the portal and looks between my father and I. “Alright, O’Connells,” he says smoothly. “Let’s get you home.”
12
Rosalina
Thesharpsparkleofmagic wraps around me as we leap through the portal. I grip Ezryn tightly; it’s so strange to feel the shape of his arm beneath a jacket when he’s usually covered in armor.
My sneakers hit solid ground, and I take a deep breath. I know with just a taste of the thick air:I’m back. I’m here.
Home.
I blink as my eyes adjust. We’re on the bridge outside Castletree. My heart races with memories. The spires soar among sturdy tree branches, those cursed thorns snaking up the side. But there’s something different, something that wasn’t here before, and certainly shouldn’t be here now that spring has crested.
A thick layer of ice smothers the tree. Icicles drip off the turrets and swirling frost clings to the windows.
What has happened to Castletree?
Ezryn carefully sets Lucas down on the stone bridge. Beside him, my father positively vibrates with excitement. You’d think the man would be a little more cautious, figuring he was thrown in the dungeon last time he was here.
“He’s stable for the moment,” Ezryn says, standing. His nineties ski gear looks even more out of place in the Enchanted Vale. “We’ve got bigger problems to deal with.”
“Tell me about it,” a cocky voice says.
Dayton leans by the door, a fae man again. He wears loose pants, with only his seashell necklace gracing his muscular chest. But there’s a deep red gash across his skin, and a slice along his right eye.
“Day.” I throw myself at him. His arms wrap tightly around me, and I burrow into his body. “You’re hurt.”
“Ahh, Blossom.” He presses his lips to the top of my head. “You’re here. I could take on an entire army.”
I lose myself in his warmth, the scent of salt and sunshine. “Farron?” I pull back slightly, gently touching the side of his face.
“Got him in the cell. He’s fine.” Dayton shrugs. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say that damn beast is getting stronger.”
“He couldn’t stand seeing Rosalina in danger.” Ezryn steps toward us, casting a disdainful look down at Lucas.
I’m sure he’d love to have left him there. Deep inside, there’s a part of me that wishes that, too. But I couldn’t just leave him to die.
I push my thoughts away and—without letting go of Dayton—reach out to grab Ezryn’s gloved hand. “Thank you for helping him. For bringing me back. Both of you.”
Something sparks inside me, and I double over, clutching my chest.
“Rosalina!” Ezryn, Dayton, and Papa all reach for me, but I wave them off.
“No, I’m fine,” I mutter and stand, glaring at the castle. “Kel knows I’m here.”
It isn’t a question, but Dayton answers me anyway. “Yeah, he knows we left to find you. Wasn’t exactly all sunshine and rainbows about it.”
“It’s time to deal with that bigger problem you were talking about, Ezryn,” I say.
“I agree.” Ezryn glances toward the sky. The sun dips below the horizon, and the sharp crackle of magic ignites around us.
