Because I trusted him.
Trusted myfamily.
And worse than all of that, his actions nearly killed Rosalina. I won’t let him hurt anyone ever again.
I will cover myself with blood so he cannot shed another drop.
He blocks my first swing with his hammer. I swirl around him, going for his back. I’m too quick for him to block this, but his armor is made of finest metal. My swordpingsagainst it. My own body feels too buoyant in nothing but fabric rags. But I must use it to my advantage.
Kairyn yells, swinging the hammer in a great arc. I throw myself forward, rolling across rubble, then leap up. I drive the point of my mother’s sword into the gap between his shoulder and breastplate. He roars and staggers back. It is not a killing blow, but that hammer cannot be light to wield.
Kairyn runs a gloved hand along the wound, pulls his fingers back bloody. “There it is. Took long enough to come out. Must have been hard to hide all this time.”
“Is this what you wanted?” I roar. “To corrupt me?”
“You did that yourself.”
No, no. He did this to me. He made me this way…
Kairyn paces, dragging the hammer behind him. “It’s always been inside you. The rage. The jealousy. The hatred. You were the one who removed your helmet. You were the one who desecrated the grove. You killed our mother.”
“No!” I lunge, barreling the sword down. He blocks it with a gauntlet, grunting.
“No? Look at you. You don’t care what it takes, what you have to sacrifice, as long as you can kill me.” The owl helm twitches. “You’d even sacrifice your mate.”
Across the fissure, Rose and Kel are back-to-back, pinned against the side of the throne by the two members of the Penta Conclave. Kel’s holding them off with ice shields, but each one he creates is weaker than the last. Rose has her bow drawn, but she can’t use it so close. Fear is etched across her face.
I stumble away from Kairyn. I left them alone … Those I love most in this world.
“We’re not so different, brother,” Kairyn says. “Maybe we both never reached our true potential. There’s a world outside of this one. A place where men like us do not need to hide our natures. Where we do not need to be ashamed.” He holds out his hand. “Come with me. Bemysteward. You and I possess the power to rule more than Spring. We can take down my new masters. Then the entire Vale will be at our control.”
Slowly, I turn to look at him. “I’m nothing like you.”
His breathing grows ragged. “You’ll see it soon enough. We are both forsaken.”
Using all the power left within me, I dodge around Kairyn and leap to the pillar. My steps are steady as I race across the narrow beam, landing on solid ground before the throne.
With a yell, I raise my sword, about to charge the knights—
When my feet whip out from under me.
“How dare you turn against me when you are faced with death?” The roar sounds from all around. I’m flung up in the air, a mossy green vine holding my leg. Kairyn moves beneath me, swampy tendrils of earth encircling his body and floating him over the fissure.
Magic crackles.Spring’s Blessing.
“You have always hated me. Admit it! Tell the truth!” he booms. The vines snap, and I’m slammed down to the stone. The wind rushes from my chest.
I try to hack at the vine holding my leg, but I’m whipped up before I can make a move. Another snap, and I’m blasted against a different pillar. Something cracks in my ribs. I’m not sure I’ll get my breath back this time.
“What did I ever do but admire you? Were you so desperate for Mother and Father’s love you could not bear if they gave any to me? Did you stop them from loving me?”
Crash. I’m hurtled against the ground. My sword flies out of my grip and clatters away.
Images and light swirl before my eyes. The throne room fades, replaced by green. Then Kairyn’s standing above me.
Mossy plants coil one over another, growing underneath my back, then arching up, forming a dome around the two of us. He’s barricaded us in our own chamber of mulch and moss.
Warm wetness drips down my face. I start to pull myself up—
