The wind seems to answer my call, pushing on my back and sending me forward. My feet fly over the craggy riverbank.
“Rosalina!” I cry again.
And then I see her. A slip of pink roiling in the waves. Her head is tilted out of the water but her eyes are shut, hair spread like tendrils. She looks like a ragdoll being smashed from rock to rock.
“Rosalina!” Catch her. I have to catch her. The river widens up ahead and the roar of the impending waterfall booms like war drums.
Down below lies Sylvanita Lake, the death place of my mother.
I will not let it be Rose’s, too.
The ground lifts beneath me, my magic working subconsciously, raising the earth to shoot me forward. I’m not running—I’m bounding, the earth propelling me toward her.
I won’t let anyone, or anything take her from me. Not the monsters that prowl the Briar or the demons that masquerade as men. I will be damned if my own land steals her away.
Breath rages through my throat—precious breath that she must have so little of. A few more bounds, and I’ll be beside her.
One step. Two. Three.
I throw myself to the ground and stretch out my hand. Water spits up and splashes into my helm, blurring my vision. My arm strains so much, I think my shoulder may have popped out of the socket. But she’s drifting past me. My fingers catch the strap of her dress—
Her legs smack hard against a bulging rock, and she rolls under a swell. The strap pulls free of my fingers, and she’s gone. Tumbling away to the middle of the widening river. Ahead, the waterfall roars.
All I can do is watch her sail away from me. If Rose goes over that waterfall and breaks against the rocks, I will break with her.
I have been a dead man walking for longer than my cursed twenty-five years. Asleep to the joys of the world, to the wonders that were screaming at me to wake up.
She brought me back to life.
And for the first time in centuries, I’ve found something worth losing everything for.
My gloves are off first. I fling the breastplate to the side as I’m sprinting to the water’s edge. The boots are next, and I’m able to unhook my greaves without stopping. By the time I reach the last piece of land before the waterfall, the only piece of armor left is my helmet.
She’s in the very middle, too far for me to grab or to reach by swimming. I bounce on my toes, sucking in a deep breath.
You are an idiot,Kairyn screams in my mind.You think you can save her? Fool! You’ll only kill yourself.
“Then so be it,” I murmur.
And at that moment, Rose is sucked into the swirling vortex and plunges over the waterfall.
I leap after her.
Air and water rush past me. I keep my arms pinned to my side, legs tight together. The world blurs in a spray of cold water. Beneath me, Rose’s body is limp, her hair and limbs flinging out.
I will never break my promise.The space between us vanishes, and I wrap my arms around her waist. With all the momentum I can muster, I twist our bodies so she’s tight against me, and my back is to the rocks.
I didn’t think much further than this. There’s about two moments before we crash against the jagged rocks below.
For the first, I clutch her tighter to my chest, reveling in the feel of her skin one more time, the beauty of her delicate face even now.
For the second, I pray to the Queen who abandoned us that there’s something growing among the rocks.
I stretch out my hand, feeling for the veins of life within the lake: the glowing threads that run through all living things, be it fae, humans, animals, or plants. Then I snag the closest one: a cluster of lily pads.
Thrusting my power out, the lily pads grow … and grow. With a roar, I yank those threads closer.
The fall ends. But instead of rock, we bounce against the gigantic green pad, sailing off into the lake. I hit the water with a smack, and Rose flies out of my arms.
