His teal gaze widens, and a look of pure, unfettered joy crosses his face. He shoves Wrenley away, where she falls to the ground in a cloud of dust and sand. The Summer Prince leaps down, the trident and the lance shimmering back into his tokens. He crosses to me in two steps, taking my face in his hands.
The light blooms between us like a newborn sun.
He tilts his head, giving me a curved smile. “Told you all along we were mates.”
A half-bubbling sob bursts out of me. “You’re such an idiot—” I start before my mate cuts me off with a kiss.
CHAPTER 85
Dayton
Rosie crashes against me like a wave upon the shore, and I can’t pull her close enough. My mouth opens against her lips, drinking in the taste of her, this wonderful, glorious feeling bursting through me.
A laugh erupts from my chest as I kiss my way along her jaw to her ear. “So, if getting shot by half a dozen arrows and having amazing sex wasn’t enough to unlock our bond, then what in the seven realms did it now?”
“I think,” Rosalina trails a hand down my chest, “I’ve been in love with you for a long time, but you couldn’t believe it. Just like you couldn’t believe you were worthy of your Blessing.”
“Nah, that idea sounds like it’s all my fault,” I whisper without meaning the words.
Rosie stiffens, then she whips out a hand, a golden briar erupting from the ground to smack away a prismatic thorn.
No! The Nightingale is here? But as the thorns fall away, all I can see is Wrenley staring at us. Her hair is disheveled, her face wild. Those bright sapphire eyes—
“I almost fucked the Nightingale!” I choke out.
“Yes, you idiot!” Rosie snarls at me.
“I distinctly remember younotstopping me from almost fucking the bloody Nightingale.”
“Okay, we can argue about who’s the bigger idiot later, but can we please go get my bow?”
“Pretty sure it’ll still end up being me.” I give a lopsided grin. “And yes, whatever you say, Blossom. If you asked for the stars, I’d pluck them from the sky.”
I turn, and Wrenley—the Nightingale—is still staring at us. “The bow,” she mouths. Then she turns, sprinting across the arena.
“She’s going for the bow?” I choke out.
“We have to stop her!” Rosie yells, and we both take off in pursuit.
“Pretty sure the bow will stop her for us if she touches it!” I yell.
Something pained flits in Rosie’s gaze, and she sprints faster. I summon the lance and trident from my necklaces, using the weapons to knock back our enemies as we run.
Voices rise up around us, excitement in the air as people notice Rosalina’s golden briars. But Rosie seems wholly focused on catching the Nightingale. The bow gleams above us in the Emperor’s Box. How are we going to—
A huge prismatic briar explodes from the ground and wraps around the Nightingale’s waist, shooting her into the air. Rosie skids to a stop.
“Don’t try it!” I shout.
But of course, she never listens to me. A golden briar bursts from the ground and propels Rosie higher and higher, right after the Nightingale. Who leaps from the air and into the Emperor’s Box.
“Don’t touch it!” Rosalina screams. “It’ll burn you—”
There’s a huge flash of light. Fuck, I have to get to her. I summon a rush of magic of my own. Wind bursts beneath my feet, carrying me high into the air.
I land in a crash on the Emperor’s Box. Rosalina’s arms are over me, helping me to my feet. I turn, expecting to see a charred acolyte and the bow … but there’s no sign of either. Only a patch of prismatic briars.
“What happened?” I ask.
