Immediately, we spring away from each other, and I’m left panting and on the edge of madness.
“Where are you?” Dayton’s voice. “It’s almost nightfall. We need to make sure pretty boy Caspian’s spell works on Fare!”
“C-coming!” I call.
Ezryn cups my chin. “Next time,” he growls, “you will be.”
Then his cape snaps in the wind as he turns away from me.
35
Ezryn
Rosalina’slonghairswishesbehind her as she leaves the dusk-swept balcony and enters the bedroom. Dayton’s waiting there with his usual shit-eating grin. He sweeps an arm around her as they walk back into the living space, but not before looking over his shoulder and giving me an exaggerated wink.
Stars Above and bones Below. My weight shifts forward until my helmetclunksagainst the doorframe. I can’t do this to myself. I can’t do this to her.
Since I inherited Spring’s Blessing, I’ve known getting close to people is dangerous. In a selfish way, the curse allowed me an excuse not to engage with the outside world. I’d check in on Spring occasionally, fulfill my needs with women who wanted as little commitment with me as I wanted with them, and then return to Castletree. To the only three people in the world I am unafraid of hurting.
I bang my head against the wall. Stupid.Clunk.Stupid.Clunk.Stupid.There are more reasons to stay away from Rosalina than there are stars in the sky. She’s a human, with a lifespan so much shorter than that of a fae. She’s Kel’s star-damned mate. I need to find myownmate to break my curse.
You’ll hurt her, a familiar voice breathes in my mind. And your brothers—yournewbrothers—will never forgive you. Just like I haven’t.
“Get out of my head, Kairyn,” I growl under my breath.
I stare at the fading sun. Even through my darkly tinted visor, the bursting rays burn my eyes. This would all be so much easier if she wasn’t like the literal sun itself, tenacious and warm. An unbidden smile creeps up my face as I think of her sitting in that armchair with Astrid earlier, or the light in her father’s eyes whenever she enters a room.She makes everyone feel important.Like the sun coaxing a seed to sprout through frost-covered ground, Rosalina brings out the best in those around her.
I give my head a firm shake. The sun has nearly dipped beneath the horizon, and the others need me.
I walk into the shared living space. Five bedrooms are connected to the central room, one for each of the princes and one for Rosalina. Marigold and Astrid are sharing a room on a lower level, and George has his own space down the hall.
If it was up to me, Rosalina would be far away from Farron’s first transformation while testing Caspian’s spell, but she would have none of it.
Kel, Dayton, and Rosalina stand in the doorway to Farron’s room. Farron paces beside the bed. The curtains are drawn, so I can’t tell exactly when night will fall, but I can feel it. My wolf rising within me. It’s close.
I approach Kel and ask, “Are we prepared?”
“I put a sealing enchantment on the main door to this whole chamber. No one’s coming in here unless I say so.”
At least we won’t have to worry about any poor Autumn staff wandering in and discovering four hideous beasts in the middle of the night. I quirk my head toward Farron. “How is he?”
“Agitated,” Kel mumbles.
“If things don’t go according to plan with Caspian’s spell, he’ll be hard to subdue.”
Kel’s gaze pierces into the room. “Caspian’s bargain will work.”
I sigh. Kel and I are talking, but only about important matters. There’s a distance between us, one I haven’t felt since our argument during the War of Thorns.And that took me scaling an entire mountain and Kel almost losing a hand for us to move past it.
But Kel isn’t my priority right now. I push past him into the room.
“Careful, Ez,” Dayton warns. “It’s going to happen any minute.”
I ignore him and approach Farron. He’s sitting now, back pressed against the side of his bed, staring at the wall. I squat down and place my hand on his neck, just above the thorn collar.
“Your heart’s going too fast,” I say.
Farron’s chest rises and falls, and it’s like he can’t figure out where to focus. His golden eyes race back and forth.
