And for a single moment, I see a path to Kel. Once I’m with him, we can help Ezryn break free of his nightmares. Breathing rabid with fear, I run, darting around the confused Dreadknights and goblins. They say Caspian’s name, voices tinged with confusion and … anger.
He’s betrayed them,I realize.
A goblin grabs at me from behind, ripping my dress, but I tug it free. Almost at Kel. Another goblin leaps in my path, chittering, blade outstretched. I don’t have time to stop.
A large bramble grows beneath my feet, propelling me up, up, up in the air, just how I saw the Nightingale use hers. The thorn hurls me forward. I’m weightless.
Then I fall into Keldarion. He wraps his arms around me, pulling me close.
As if there was nothing else in the world, no goblins or knights, his lips crash over mine. It’s every longing moment of our separation being released at last. Something no dream could replicate.
My body blooms and lights at his touch, his soft mouth pressing against mine. And I pull away long enough to breathe his name.
“Oh stars.” Caspian rolls his eyes. “Do you two really need to do that now? Right now?”
Kel’s kiss deepens, hands tangling in my hair, and I don’t believe all the forces of the Above and Below could pull us apart now.
“Always surrounded by idiots.” Caspian sighs, but as he does, a great barrier of thorns grows in a tangle around us, delivering a tiny moment of respite.
The chilling touch of Kel’s body passes over me as I taste the snow and ice on his lips. Right now, I am safe. He pulls away and clutches my face. “You’re hurt.”
“I’ll be fine. It’s Ezryn. Those purple flowers spewed some pollen that trapped us in a nightmare,” I explain. “I threw myself in the water and it seemed to help wash everything off.”
“I’ll get him,” Keldarion says.
“Hope you turtle doves are ready,” Caspian calls, voice straining as he attempts to keep up the briar barrier. “Because the goblins really want to say hello.”
“Let them come.” Keldarion shoves me between himself and Caspian, then unsheathes the Sword of the Protector.When did he get that?It was under my bed here in the Spring Realm.
Caspian lets the barrier fall. The enemy charges. His thorn blade pierces one, and it comes back sticky with black blood. “Where’s your bow, Princess?”
“I don’t usually bring weapons to a party.” I duck under the swing of a Dreadknight.
“That was your first mistake.” He spins, and there in his hands is a bow made of thorns. “I trust you remember how to make the arrows?”
I take it gladly. Cas nods for me to follow, and we keep a close tail on Kel, toward Ezryn’s hunched form. He kneels in front of his mother’s sword, silent but shaking.
Kel sheathes his sword, then gives a mighty roar, heaving Ezryn up and hurtling him into the lake. Water splashes on the shore, but there’s no time to see if it works.
A host of Dreadknights surge toward us. I craft an arrow from my bracelet and notch it in the thorn bow. It flies, hitting its mark perfectly in a goblin’s skull.
“Nice shot,” Caspian purrs, striking a Dreadknight with his blade before kicking them.
Suddenly, I’m yanked back by a wet glove, and I’m face to face with Ezryn. His armor gleams with water, but there’s a familiar stillness to him.
Kel takes my position beside Caspian, keeping the horde from getting too close.
“Rosalina.” Ezryn’s voice is rattling. Hoarse.
Tears brim in my eyes. “You’re all right.”
“You are not.” Deep anger tinges his words. He quickly pulls off his gloves and puts one hand on my neck and the other on my scratched arm. Immediately, warmth passes through as my wounds fade away.
The shallowness of his breath, his shaking fingers … Whatever those nightmare flowers did, it left him weak, and now he’s using the last of his magic to heal me. “I’m all right.” I pull away. “Really.”
“Halt. All of you,” a female voice says. My blood goes cold.
The Dreadknights and the goblins obey immediately. The four of us gather in a tight cluster, the princes all pushing me to the center. I strain to look through their tall forms. There’s a sea of Dreadknights and goblins stretching so far, I can’t see the end of it. And she brought them all here to kill one High Prince.
