He may not have accepted the mate bond yet, but there is still magic here. Proof the Enchantress’s curse can be broken.
Proof that Rosalina’s touch is magic.
I press my ear to the door, and thankfully only hear rhythmic breathing. Hopefully, Farron found rest, despite the chains of curse and thorn.
I creep from the nest to my room, careful not to wake anyone. I take one look back at Kel in Rosalina’s arms and a pang of sorrow tightens in my chest.
You deserve to let yourself be loved by her, Kel, I think.
I only wish I could be so lucky.
36
Dayton
IloveAutumn:thebright calamity of colors, the warm hearths crackling inside the keep. The first time I visited as a child, it felt like the chill breeze whispered secrets and stories of the forest and ancient fae. It’s so different from the Summer Realm, with its vast ocean horizons and open buildings. Something about Autumn is cozy, familiar, inviting.
Like Farron.
My gaze rests on the High Prince of Autumn perched on his great elk, Thrand. He adjusts the collar of his deep red tunic. It’s paired with fitted black trousers and knee-high brown boots. Over his tunic, he dons a leather jerkin with golden clasps that taper to his slim waist. His wild mane of auburn hair flutters in the breeze, a stray strand framing his jaw.
Damn, I want to kiss him.
Rosalina trots her horse up beside him, a beautiful white mare named Amalthea. Except the horse decides she’d rather graze on the grass.
“Come on, Thea,” she chides. “You just had a snack.”
I can’t help but chuckle and trot closer to grab her horse’s reins and direct us to Farron. It’s been a week since we’ve arrived in Autumn, and I took it upon myself to show Rosie the ropes of horseback riding.
She was a quick learner, charming the horses as easily as she did all of Castletree. She’s mostly able to ride on her own now, with a well-trained horse on even terrain. I do miss our first lessons, with her soft body pressed against mine on the same mount. Or the time we lost focus and were almost found by a pair of guards with her top off and my hands beneath her waistband… It’s not my fault she screams so loud when she comes—a sound I’ll never tire of.
“Thanks, Day.” She smiles across at me, a pink blush to her cheeks. Her long brown hair is tied in a high ponytail, clasped with a golden circlet. Fuck, I want to wrap her hair around my hand and pull back, exposing her throat, so I can bite and lick my way up to her lips. She wears a form-fitting top that hugs tight to her full breasts. Some laces are undone, leaving a tantalizing hint of cleavage. A sweeping cloak crafted from dark red velvet drapes over her shoulders and hangs off the back of her horse.
She suits the Autumn Realm too.
“I’ll get the hang of this eventually.” She flushes.
“Everything alright?” Ezryn calls from up ahead. He’s beside Kel, both also on horseback.
“We’re coming!” She looks to me and Farron. “Race you!”
She kicks the side of her horse, and Amalthea begins an awkward canter. Farron bursts into a laugh, the sound musical and charming—one I haven’t heard in a while.
“Come on, pup.” We urge our mounts into a run.
As we crest the hill, I’m stilled by the beauty of Farron’s realm. The rolling hills shine with orange grass. A stream snakes through the valley resembling a ribbon of silver. Below us lies the sprawling Emberwood Forest, a chrysanthemum field, and beyond that, a cluster of ancient ruins.
“It’s beautiful,” Rosalina sighs.
“Excluding that nasty frost,” I say, not able to resist pointing out the obvious. A white-blue shine clings to the trees, flowers, and ruins. “Sorry, Kel, but I don’t think your touch suits this realm.”
“This isn’t me,” he growls.
We’ve spent the first week here preparing and gathering intel from Autumn. Niamh seems more at peace having Keldarion where she can see him, but I know her ferocity. If we don’t discover the true source of this frost, she will attack Winter.
Kel’s sour-faced vizier has sent barren reports, noting the creeping frost along the border of Winter and Autumn, but no discovery or theories of its origins. We need to understand how it’s spreading if we’re to have any chance of stopping it.
Today is our first venture into Autumn’s wild realmlands. Surely, there are answers here.
