“Because,” I say, “Keldarion is my mate.”
Ezryn scrambles back as if the very words have pierced him. Dayton waves his head back and forth. “Kel, is this true?”
I stare across at my mate, knowing he cannot deny it now. Not with this magic blooming between us like a star igniting.
Something passes over his features, hard and unreadable. He pushes away, and I land on the icy ground. The moment he’s no longer touching me, there’s that crackle of magic, and he shifts back into the giant white wolf.
“Kel?” I gasp.
“It is true,” his deep voice drips with ferocity, “and I could not have asked for a crueler fate in all the stars. The Enchantress’s curse is nothing compared to the utter torment of being mated toyou.”
And with that, the Prince of Winter prowls from the room.
14
Rosalina
“Ooh,that’salittleshivery,” Dayton says.
I dip my finger into the healing ointment and run it over the gash along the golden wolf’s eye. “Come on. Aren’t you a brave, strong gladiator of the Summer Realm?”
“A big, strong gladiator can still get shivery.”
A laugh bubbles out of me, and I wipe my hands on a cloth. “Hey, I think I’m getting pretty good at this healing wolves thing.”
I cork the lid back on the ointment bottle. Dayton and I are in the healing chamber of Castletree, a place I’ve never visited. It’s located in the Spring Wing, and flowers bloom from the floor and trail up the walls between the dark purple thorns. The healing chamber is vast and airy, filled with plush chairs. In the middle of the room is a trickling fountain, its waters shimmering with a soft pink light. There are several beds covered by soft pastel curtains with dried flowers and leaves hanging off each bedpost, filling the room with a strong floral scent.
I approach a shelf of intricate glass vials filled with fae potions. Each one shines with a different color, casting a glow across the room. I scan the labels, trying to decipher their uses. Did Ezryn make all these, or did he bring them from the Spring Realm? It was the medicine in one of his caches that helped heal Kel after goblins attacked us.
I walk back to my patient: the giant golden wolf, his fur littered with rotten seaweed and shells. Ez had been too weak to heal him tonight, and he’d mentioned they have a harder time accessing their magic in their wolf forms. So, it’s up to veterinarian Rosalina to heal my Summer Prince.
Lucas is unconscious but stable. Ez will continue his healing tomorrow and hopefully get him back to the human world in the next day or so. Now, Ez has gone with Papa to get him settled. Though, I hope he’s prepared for Papa to ask a million questions about every leaf and root throughout the Spring Wing.
Running my fingers down Dayton’s golden fur, I ask, “Are you feeling any better?”
“Oh, this? This is nothing.” He gives a wolfy grin. “Not when I’ve got such a cute nurse.”
“When you’re like this, I’m a vet.” I can’t help but smile back, but it fades quickly. “Farron did this to you. Is he…”
“Don’t worry. He’s fine. Well, physically.” Dayton looks down. “I was as gentle with him as I could be.”
My fingers knot into my leggings. “He’s in the dungeon, right? Do you think it would help if I went and—”
“No.” Dayton cuts me off. “Don’t get anywhere near him, Rosie. It doesn’t matter how strongly Farron cares for you. When he’s like this, he doesn’t know friend from foe. Trust me, we’ve tried.”
I nod, my heart breaking for my poor Autumn Prince. I can only imagine the guilt he’ll feel in the morning for hurting Dayton, the fae I’m pretty sure he’s in love with.
“So,” Dayton eyes me with his teal gaze, “I shouldn’t have doubted your ability to find our mates. At least one of them. Did it feel as sparkly and magical as you described to me?”
“Yes,” I reply. “Like a fire bursting from my chest. When I was next to Kel, I felt his dreams as if they were my own. But it was all happening so fast, I didn’t really put it together until I was back in Orca Cove.”
Dayton shakes his head. “I can’t believe it. He must have known you were his mate, and he sent you away. No wonder Ez is fuming.”
“Ez is mad?”
“Ezryn’s parents were mates. If anyone understands how strong that connection is, it’s him.”
I wasn’t sure what I expected when I reunited with Kel. But the way he held me like he never wanted to let me go… For a moment, I thought maybe he realized he was wrong to send me away. I should have known better. I chew my bottom lip and try to focus on the positive. “But this is good, isn’t it? It’s proof that there are mates out there. There’s hope for you to break your curse.”
