“When you rescued me.” Wrenley gives me a half-lidded gaze. “You really are a good person, Daytonales.”
“Haven’t been told that too many times in my life.”
She shakes her head. “It’s going to be your downfall.”
“Well,” I say, removing her robes, revealing the silk chemise below. “You’re about to learn just howgoodI can be.”
Her breath hitches, and I kiss her again, trying to summon the time I rescued her to the forefront of my mind, picturing the shell she gave me, the light that bound us together in the field. Trying to feel anything.
I break away, gasping. I have to do this. I have to kiss her and …
The air feels suffocating, thick with the scent of perfume and dust. I swallow hard, trying to suppress the rising tide of panic. Anguish, shame, and a bitter sense of betrayal swirl together in a tumultuous whirlpool, threatening to drag me under.
Rosie’s words echo in my mind:I cannot keep away from you any more than the tides can resist the pull of the moon.
I force myself to take a deep breath, willing my trembling limbs to obey as I run a hand over her collarbone.
Farron’s voice invades my soul. When we make love, it’s different than anything I’ve experienced before. It’s magic. It’s enchanted. It’s golden.
I shake my head, ridding myself of auburn hair and the scent of crisp leaves and apples. The feel of his body entangled with mine.Get out of my mind, Fare.
I have no choice in this. Wrenley’s hand touches my chest, no doubt feeling the hammer of my heartbeat. My body is not my own; it is merely a pawn in a cruel game of gaining power.
My heart must be locked away. If this is what it takes to be High Prince, then so be it. I lean down to Wrenley, steeling myself. Once this is done, a part of me will be lost forever.
The part that belonged to them.
“Ready, Wren?” I whisper.
She nods, hands gripping the ends of my shirt and pulling it over my head, causing my hair to fall wildly around my face. I slide my hand along her body to the hem of her dress and begin to drag it up.
Leaning down to capture her lips, it feels like cracks are forming all over my body.
And I …
“I can’t do this,” we both say at the same moment.
Her hands push hard against my chest.
Immediately, I stand, backing across the room. She sits up, drawing the blanket around her. “Wait, you can’t do this?” she gasps.
“Wrenley, you said—”
She shakes her head, and the sad, desperate girl changes into one of anger. “Because you’re in love with Rosalina, is that it? How can I be with you when you won’t let her go?”
I throw my head back, hands in my hair. “I was trying.”
She stands in a flurry, throwing on her robes. “You need to forget her, Dayton. She already has mates, and they’re not you.”
“I know.”
Wrenley opens the door but pauses. “I really wanted to help you, Dayton.”
The door slams shut, and I’m left alone.
Rosie is gone.
What if she doesn’t return by tomorrow? What’s even the point of fighting without my curse broken? I won’t be able to win. I won’t be able to protect her. We’ll never get the bow.
