“Humiliate the only person who’s never lost in the Sun Colosseum?” Caspian says. “Unlikely.”
“He hasn’t played in my games,” Kairyn snarls.
My breath is ragged. It’s getting warm beneath the covers. Caspian’s leg twitches, and he makes a deep sound in the back of his throat, which I’m not entirely convinced is faked.
As he moves his knee, I can just see out of the bottom of the covers. The Nightingale is in her prismatic armor standing next to Kairyn’s massive frame. My body quivers in anger at the sight of them. One of my fists tightens, entwining in the sheets, the other on Caspian’s thigh.
“We must devise something truly horrible for him to face in the arena,” the Nightingale gleams. “Thank you for nothing, brother.”
There’s the slam of the door, and Caspian immediately grabs me by the shoulders and drags me out from beneath the covers. We’re nose to nose, breath mingling.
“Rosalina—” I start.
“Nearly positive she must be the siren,” Caspian says. “I’ll go to the surface and check.”
“Thank you.”
He swallows, and I watch the muscles in his throat bob. “Sorry about that.”
“Did you just apologize to me, Cas?”
His smile turns devious. He grabs my hand and drags it lower and lower until I can feel the hard shape of his cock. “Can’t say I didn’t enjoy it though.” He moves his leg, rubbing against my hips. “And you did too.”
“Cas.”
He tilts his head. “What? Your Summer boy is confused, and you miss getting fucked.”
Ahh. I know what he’s doing. I understand because Dayton did this to me for years. He felt something inside him, something he didn’t understand, so he needs to dismiss it with a crude remark. But two can play at that game.
I squeeze his hard shape. “I was actually thinking about how it would be to fuck you.”
“Do you want to end up in the fucking labyrinth?” Caspian’s face turns red, and he pushes off me, standing. “I’m going to Summer.”
Then thorns erupt around him, and he disappears.
It’s late when he returns. The light never changes down here, but the fire has dwindled to crystal cinders. I realize I’ve fallen asleep in his bed, wrapped in the soft blankets, and for some reason I don’t make a motion to leave.
Caspian stands before the wardrobe, methodically removing all his layers until he changes into soft, loose pants. They look much too large for him, and I wonder if they once belonged to another High Prince that frequented these rooms. He goes to the door and tests the lock twice, then raises a barrier of thorns. Then he checks the lock of his balcony three times before crossing to the privy. It’s so quiet, I can hear his rapid breath. He’s paranoid. Does he do this routine every night?
The bed sinks with his weight. “Tired of the floor?”
“Just don’t touch me,” I say, then, “Was it her?”
“Yes,” he says. “She was sleeping. I just watched her for a little while. Rosalina makes a very beautiful siren.”
“Good.” I roll over, holding my pillow. Dayton will take care of her. Stars, she can take care of herself. But it doesn’t stop the ache of missing her. “Thank you for helping us, Cas.”
“I know it’s not enough,” he says, so softly. “You know, I only ever wanted you princes to see the real me, to feel something when you saw me. I think, for a long time, to be hated was enough because it wassomething.It was better than nothing.”
Is this his way of saying sorry? Of offering an explanation? I don’t know. I’m not sure about anything anymore since coming down here. “Was it really all an act, Cas?” I whisper. “All those years ago? Working with Kel, befriending us, saying you hadabandoned the Below and wanted to help the realms? Was it all a set-up to steal the rose from the Gardens of Ithilias and begin your War of Thorns?”
Caspian grumbles something, then mutters, “Yes. It was all an act. My mother sent me as a spy. I was destined to betray Keldarion. To betray you all.”
I shift, searching the darkness to find any hint of truth in his eyes. For so long, I’ve berated myself and Kel—and even Rosie, at times—for being so foolish as to fall for the Prince of Thorns’ manipulation. But lying here with him now, I’m reminded of how he was in the past. “I don’t believe you. Maybe the plan was to deceive us, but at some point, you wavered, didn’t you? You were our friend, and you did love Kel.”
“Kel sent an army to destroy Cryptgarden,” Caspian snarls. “At least one of us succeeded at deceiving the other. It was my fault for ever believing I would be accepted outside of the Below. I stuck to my mother’s plan, and I stole the rose back. So what? Kel would have done the same in my position. They call it the War of Thorns, but it was my mother’s campaign. Once the rose was destroyed, I had no interest in any of it. I’d already done enough damage at that point.”
“The Great Chasm.”
