Caspian holds out his hand and I stare at it, knowing the fate of my realm lies in a deal with darkness incarnate. “Do we have a bargain?” he asks.
I pocket the seed, then take his hand. A cold wind rushes up from our connection, blowing my hair back as the bargain’s magic springs into existence. “We have a bargain,” I say.
Caspian throws his head back and laughs, the dark sound coming from every corner of the room. “I always knew I’d get my hands on you sometime,” he drawls. In a flash, he grabs my throat.
Dayton steps forward but I wave him back, holding steady. Caspian plucks two thin thorns from one of the brambles on the floor. They wriggle out, one lacing around my neck like a choker, the other doing the same around his.
When he pulls away, I claw at the binding. The sharp barbs poke just light enough not to break through my skin, but tight enough I can’t rip it off.
“I thought all bargains were tattoos,” Rosalina says softly from the side.
“Sometimes,” Kel responds. “Bargains are bindings, so it can be anything circular. Tattoos are often used for long-term agreements.”
“But with you five geniuses, I don’t think it will take you too long to figure out this little frost debacle,” Caspian says mockingly. “I’m sure our bargain will be over before you know it.”
26
Rosalina
Daytonholdsmyhandso tight, I’m surprised my fingers aren’t broken. He clenches his jaw, and a bead of sweat runs down his brow.He hates this.
But there’s one person who hates it more. Keldarion looks in control on the outside, unfazed. But I can feel the caged beast of his rage blooming in my veins.
Farron staggers away from Caspian, pawing at the choker of thorns.
“Fare,” Dayton chokes. He takes Farron into his arms, both of them shaking.
I ache to comfort him but the best I can do is caress his disheveled hair. “Are you alright?” I ask.
“Yeah, just dizzy.”
“Don’t worry,” Caspian says. “That’s a common side effect of staring into my eyes.”
Both Dayton and I fix the Prince of Thorns with matching glares. A part of me hates that Farron made a deal with Caspian, but I understand. What choice did he have? He must take control of the Autumn Realm, but how can he do that if he’s in constant fear of his beast breaking free and wreaking havoc?
I know what it feels like to make a deal with a beast to save the ones you love. It’s what drove me to bargain with Keldarion when I was first imprisoned in Castletree.
What fear did Kel have when he made his own deal with the Prince of Thorns? Keldarion pushes away from the table with such fury, the whole room stills. He turns to Caspian and snarls, “You’re done here.” Then he storms to the door. “Perth will be here soon. I will await him in the entrance hall. Ezryn, make sure Caspian leaves.”
As soon as Kel’s gone, Ezryn grips Caspian’s arm. “You heard him. Dinner is over. It’s time to go.”
Caspian slowly tears his eyes from the doorway to Ezryn, gaze glassy as if lost in thought. “What?”
“Return Below, Caspian. It would be unfortunate for Keldarion if Perth knew you were here,” Ezryn says. He’s so much taller and broader than Caspian, but the Prince of Thorns doesn’t seem intimidated at all.
“Haven’t you filled your chaos quota for today?” Dayton sneers, sitting back down at the table. Farron’s head slumps on his shoulder.
“Fine, I’m leaving.” Caspian dusts his shoulder where Ezryn grabbed him. “But before I go, might we have one game of Moonlight Mastery?”
A thicket of thorns rises from the ground and unfolds like a blooming flower. In the middle is a small purple box.
“If I recall,” Caspian says, “you, High Prince of Spring, lost our last match.” He plucks a scroll from the purple box and unfurls it.
I squint at the scroll. It’s divided into three sections by a large T, with anEand aCabove each column. Below the horizontal line is a series of tallies. A scorecard?
Ezryn looks between the box, to the door, and back at the box. I sense an incredible internal debate going on within him.
Caspian begins to roll up the scroll. “I mean, if you don’t think you can win—”
