His golden hair is a halo, face soft for the first time all day. “I told you to watch your footwork.”
“I know.”
He shakes his head, and that near-void look returns. “No, Rosie. I don’t care. You’re free to fuck who you want and so am I.”
He straightens and turns, not offering to help me up. Nausea roils in my stomach, and I scramble after him. “What do you mean?”
He chucks his swords across the sand. “We’ve trained enough for today.”
I reach out for his arm but hesitate before grabbing it. “Dayton.”
“I need to talk to you, but not here.”
“Okay.”
In silence, we walk to my room. The moment my door closes, he says, “Wrenley’s coming down later. We’re going to break my curse.”
The room spins. My vision fades in and out. Steadying myself on the wall, I open my mouth, but find it empty of words. There’s no sentence in all the world that could describe how I feel.
“We both know I can’t face the Bronze Knight as I am now. Everything is ruined if the match is lost. I can’t overthrow Kairyn, free my people, or protect … protect you.”
I always knew this was coming, that this was where his path would lead. But now that the moment is here, I’m not ready for it. Not ready at all.
“Rosalina,” Dayton says.
Power ripples out of my body, and my siren disguise fades. I squeeze my eyes shut, forcing it all down. I can’t let what happened to me last time happen again. That power destroyed an entire wing in Castletree.
Surprisingly, I find my eyes are dry. “I understand. But I can’t stay here.”
“You’re leaving? Our fight is tomorrow.”
“Do you expect me to just sit here while you’re fucking her next door?” I gesture to the wall, hating the jealousy tinging my words.
The anger seems to ignite something in the Summer Prince. The void expression on his face fades to a smug smile. “Well, you said you understood. So why not?”
“I’ll lock my door and make a small thorn portal to Castletree. I’ll be back by the morning.”
“That’s it then?”
“No.” I kneel beside my bed and crack open the small bushel of thorns. Inside sits Dayton’s seashell necklace. Delicately, I take it in my hands and stand. “You’ll need this for tomorrow. Your trident will be invaluable once I take control of the bow and we confront Kairyn.” I drop the necklace into his palm without touching him. “Once you defeat the Bronze Knight with your newfound power, of course.”
I move to turn, and he grips my wrist, tugging me back toward him. “You understand there’s no other way. If I don’t do this, I will be a wolf forever. All the fae of Summer in Castletree will be cursed forever. Ihaveto do this.”
“I know.”
My heart clenches with a sorrow so profound, it feels as though the very earth beneath my feet mourns alongside me. Dayton stares down at me, his eyes a storm-swept sea, silently pleading with me to say more. The ache in my chest intensifies with every passing moment, a part of me desperate for him to leave. The other part wants to cling to him for every second we have left before …
Before …
Memories crash against my mind: the first moment we met, every time he made me laugh, the dreams that he could be mine. They feel like glass shells, shattering against the rocks, each piece bleeding my heart.
“This is how it has to be,” I whisper, ripping my hand away. “You are bound to do right by your realm. My destiny led me to Summer, as well. To help my mother’s people. My people. We are bound by duty to walk separate paths.”
“Unless …” Dayton says, and his voice is hoarse, cracked.
Unless. A stupid star shower of hope fills my heart at the word. Tears blur my vision as I look up at him.
As if my gaze was the only invitation he needed, he crosses to me and takes my face roughly in his hands. “Tell me not to do it.”
