“You don’t hate yourself because you let your brothers leave without you. You hate yourself for hiding your strength your whole life. For muting your potential with drink and gallivanting.”
My vision grows hot, and I press back the attacks. “Sounds like a fucking great time to me.”
Justus laughs bitterly. “Say it, Daytonales. What would have happened if you’d shown your true potential? The potential I saw in the mountains while training you? The one you only reveal like glimpses of the sun through clouds?”
“I don’t know what you’re going on about, old man!”
“The Blessing doesn’t always go to the eldest when passed willingly. Your mother could have chosen any one of you. Damocles had the Blessing when Hadria fell. It passed to Decimus before it came to you. Neither of them could save the city, yet you did.You, Daytonales.”
With a sudden burst of adrenaline, I seize the moment, unleashing a flurry of strikes in rapid succession. Justus defends himself skillfully, but I manage to find a gap in his armor, grazing his side with a well-placed thrust. “Damocles was the greatest. He always wanted to be High Prince. He said he was born for it.”
“What if he was wrong?” Justus yells. “Tell me what you know!”
Justus’s trident slices forward with precision. I meet his strikes head-on, parrying each blow. The clang of tridents shatters the air, yet all I hear are the words of the Enchantress:Here stands the fool, who escapes within the flesh for fear of his fate. Who languishes his time and talent. Here stands a beast who will let his realm go to rot as long as his mind is muddled enough not to comprehend.
I wasn’t cursed because they died. I was cursed because I abandoned my realm, because I refused to wield the gift as a High Ruler should.
“Tell me what you know!” Justus screams again.
“She should have chosen me!” I shout back. “If my mother had passed the Blessing to me, they all might still be alive.”
With a swift feint to the left, I catch Justus off-guard, closing the distance between us in a flurry of motion.
“What does that mean, Day?” Rosalina calls. She’s moved closer to us, eyes shining.
What does that mean? What does it mean?Hero,that’s what she called me. If I let go of the fear, of the guilt, what does it mean? My skin seems to hum, a torrent of fire inside my chest. Tears and sweat drip down my cheeks.
“It means,” I growl, “I was meant to be the fucking High Prince of Summer.”
With a surge of determination, I channel this newfound energy. The Trident of Honor glows bright beneath my palm, light dancing along its length.
Justus’s eyes widen in astonishment. For a moment, time seems to stand still as the world holds its breath, captivated by the raw power coursing through me.
With a resounding cry, I clash my trident against his. A great burst of light shines between us, and Justus falls to the ground, his trident snapped in two before him.
He stands, smiling. “Well, High Prince of Summer, it seems you’re ready to reclaim your realm.”
CHAPTER 57
Rosalina
Nerves roil in my gut as we approach the ocean. I step inside Dayton’s large footprints.
Today, we return to Hadria …ifI can get the attention of the sirens. Justus was adamant they are the key to us returning to the capital, though I’m still not entirely sure what that means.
After finally winning the match against Justus, Dayton tucked the trident back into the protection of Summer’s token. There’s a confidence radiating off him like rays of the sun.
The water is warm as we step into its depths, waves swirling around our knees. Looking over my shoulder, I see palm trees swaying in the gentle breeze, their fronds casting dappled shadows upon the sugar-white sands. Justus sits beneath one, watching us.
“Any idea what we’re supposed to do?” I whisper to Dayton.
“Hey, I did my thing. This is all you.” He nudges my shoulder with his own. “Though, when we were drowning, I think a part of me called for help without realizing it. Maybe that’s how the sirens found us.”
“Somehow I don’t think they’re going to hear me from here.”
“Remember what Justus said? The Queen was connected to everything in the Vale because she created it. I have her Blessing. Perhaps that’s what the sirens felt.”
I turn to look up at him. “That sounded surprisingly wise.”
