Caspian drags his fingers down Kel’s chest before turning to me. “Let me take this monster down to the Below,” he says. “I will give you the vengeance you deserve, Rosalina. There are ways to break a soul in those chasms with nightmares you cannot possibly imagine. I will make sure he suffers every single one of them before I release him to oblivion.”
My heart thumps in my breast, the only sound besides Lucas’s whimpering. Even the other princes aren’t speaking, instead watching Caspian watch me. “Trust me.” Caspian grabs my hands, and something in me relaxes at his touch. The angry fire quiets, not dimming but settling to a comforting glow. “Princess, you need not tarnish your soul to know justice has been served. Lay that burden upon my shoulders. Let me be your darkness.”
This isn’t a bargain or a deal. I’m not sure why, but there’s something about the fierceness in his expression that makes me think, at least in this, I can trust the Prince of Thorns. “Caspian—”
“Trust you?” A soft voice slinks between us as Perth Quellos steps forward. “Wasn’t that what brought Winter to its knees all those years ago?”
“Ah, Perth,” Caspian says smoothly. “Trust me, it takes a lot of determination and just the right amount of begging to bring Winter to his knees.”
“Enough,” Keldarion snaps, snatching the arm of his advisor. “You will leave while we settle this matter.”
“What matter could bring the Prince of Thorns into your company again, High Prince of Winter?” Perth’s voice is slick as an icicle. “After I worked so hard to quell those rebellions that arose from your little Solstice Ball?”
“I invited the Prince of Thorns,” I say. “I wanted to attempt a diplomatic approach to our thorny problem.”
“Ahh yes, the human.” Perth takes a step toward me, but Ezryn moves quicker, blocking his path. Perth hesitates, no doubt remembering the treatment Ezryn gave him last time we were together. “Did I hear that right, sire? Your mate, is she?”
Keldarion heaves in a breath. “That is correct.”
“Most interesting,” he says. “Any more secrets I should know of here in Castletree?”
Yeah, one giant slobbery wolf problem. Or rather,fourgiant slobbery wolf problems.
“Look, it’s great we’re catching up,” Dayton says, “but this guy’s moans are really getting on my nerves. Can we just let Cas take him already?”
“Gladly,” Caspian says, shadows curling around his boots.
“I may have an alternative to murder,” Perth says, steepling his fingers. “There is an entrance to the human world in the Winter Realm. Allow me to fix his hands and I’ll send him on his way.”
“He deserves—” Keldarion roars.
“Death,” Perth says. “Yes, so you’ve said. But is this not your mate’s decision?”
Kel grits his teeth, then turns to me. “That it is.”
I look to my princes; I know their choice. Give Lucas to Caspian and let him face every nightmare of the Below. Or I could simply ask them to end him quickly. Maybe we could throw Lucas through the mirror to Castletree, but I’m not sure Perth knows about it. Perhaps it’s another of Castletree’s secrets.
The decision lays heavy on me, but I’m done giving Lucas everything I have. If he’s to die, his death won’t be from my hands. And though Perth may be a cruel man, Kel trusts him. After the vizier takes Lucas away, I’ll never have to think about him ever again.
“Take him away,” I tell Perth Quellos, trying to emulate some command in my voice.
“Rosalina, no—” Caspian snarls. “You can’t let him live.”
“My decision is final,” I say, stepping away from the princes. But when I look at Lucas, there’s no gratitude in his expression, only a vacant stare.
Keldarion’s lip curls into a snarl, and he thrusts his hand forward in a sweeping gesture. A surge of power ripples through the air. The ice binding Lucas to the pillar shatters like brittle glass. With a gasp, Lucas tumbles to the ground, his limbs shaking as he struggles to sit up. Keldarion towers over him, eyes blazing with an icy fire. “If I ever see you again, I will not show you the mercy my mate has granted.”
Perth kneels beside Lucas, tsking. He waves a gnarled hand, his jeweled crown emitting a strange greenish glow, and slowly Lucas’s fingers snap back into place. “Very well. Come with me, human.”
“Learned some new tricks since I last saw you, Quellos?” Kel mutters.
“We can’t all wield a Blessing. Some of us must study our way to higher power,” Perth retorts, walking to the door.
Dayton stomps over and switches the handle to the emblem of the snowflake. It opens with a creak, and a gust of bitter wind flits in.
Lucas stumbles unsteadily to his feet and hobbles after Perth. He pauses beside me.
“Goodbye, Lucas,” I say, lifting my chin defiantly.
