Her face turns into a snarl. “I discovered a coward, a layabout, a menace, and … and you! You who were the Protector of the Realms. You who had so much potential. You who broke poor Caspian’s heart!”
I throw my head back and laugh. “Poor Caspian? Broke his heart? Has this cage rotted your mind?”
“Keldarion!” George snaps.
I get as close to her face as I possibly can. “When did you first meet Caspian?”
She gives a wicked grin. “Offer still stands. Come and join me in here, Keldarion. I’ve got hundreds of Caspian stories.”
“Another thing to thank the seven realms for! That Rosalina didn’t get your twisted sense of humor!”
“A shame,” Anya says. “Would you like the rest of my story or are you ready to leave?”
“The story,” I growl. “Continue.”
“I could have possibly forgiven the fact you four were useless at keeping the realms stable, protecting your people, and upholding everything Castletree stood for, but you committed an even worse sin.” Anger flashes in her gaze at the memory. “You were my daughter’s mates. I can feel these things, you know. Many from the Above can feel the deep magic, like mate bonds. For my daughter to be mated to such pathetic, pitiful, ineffective, futile, disappointing—”
“Iget it,” I growl. “We weren’t good enough for your daughter. Finally, something we agree on.”
Her lip trembles. “I know you judge me for my actions, Keldarion. You think you know the horrors of war. Of loss. Ilivedit all, every pain, every horror. When I finally felt like I had set things to right, I left the Vale in the hands of those I trusted most. For me to return years later to see all of that work, all of that sacrifice torn to shreds—” Her words cut off in a sharp breath, and she looks up to the sky. “I didn’t intend to leave you in such a state for long. I thought you needed tofeelthe consequences of your actions. But of course, things didn’t go as I planned. Just another drop in the bucket of mistakes the Queen of the Vale has made.”
I pause, musing on the tone of her voice, her choice of words. She seems … jaded. Resentful of her role as Queen. Mostly, I sense a feeling I know all too well: shame.
I have no words of comfort for her, and no defense for myself, so I ask, “The staff—did you have to curse them, too?”
Anya avoids my gaze. “Have you seen your people die, Keldarion?”
“Yes,” I breathe. “I have been to battle.”
“What of your citizens? Have you heard a mother’s scream over her babe’s dead body? A child wailing for parents they’ll never see again? Have you watched your home be destroyed, every rock, every root?” Her voice darkens, each word a harsh accusation.
“I saw Frostfang fall to the Below’s forces,” I breathe.
She sneers at me. “A home you soon liberated. I was there when the Above crumbled. When every part of my life I’d ever known was ripped away from me. Pray you never feel pain like that.”
“What does this have to do with our staff?” I snarl.
“I wanted you tofightfor your people, Keldarion. To stand up for something, for someone. I planned to help you all reach your true potential, to free the innocent of my curse shortly after, but I didn’t know … I didn’t know …”
“Didn’t know what?” George urges.
“Didn’t know Sira would be waiting for me in the human realm. I think she was quite content to leave me there among the humans. Probably never would have made good on her bargain until I showed my face at Castletree and cursed all you princes. It was the perfect opportunity to gain control over the Vale. One she couldn’t turn down. So, she came to collect the one I loved more than George. She came to collect our daughter.”
The idea of Sira taking Rosalina … raising her in this place … My hands turn to fists.
George’s breath becomes shaky. “No, not our girl.”
“Of course I wasn’t going to let that happen,” Anya asserts. She twirls the ring around her finger. “But I didn’t have many options. I was trapped in the bargain.”
“So, you offered yourself in Rosalina’s stead,” I say.
“Smart boy.” She smirks up at me. “Sira was more than happy to agree.”
“Oh, Annie.” George falls to his knees. “Why didn’t you tell me? We could have figured something out. We could have—”
“Sira graced me with an extra day of freedom so I could see my daughter’s first birthday. I had just enough time to do a few last things to help our Rosie girl. I put an enchantment on her to conceal her faedom. I didn’t turn her human but disguised her a little bit. Then I planted a rosebush in the forest outside our home. In my heart, I knew my daughter would eventually discover the Vale, and I had to give her a way. I made sure it wouldn’t bloom for two and a half decades so that she could have a normal childhood. I wanted you to have a normal life, too, George.” Anya’s eyes fill with tears and her lip quivers. “It was the hardest thing I ever did, but I suppressed your memories. Changed them, so all thoughts of magic disappeared. Our adventures from the past were rewritten in your mind to fit a normal lifespan. Though with Castletree so weak, you seem to have begun aging as a human again.”
Both Anya and George are near tears now. “You see, I may be selfish, George, but you’re stubborn,” she continues. “I couldn’t have you following me or doing something even stupider, like trying to rescue me!” She gestures wildly, and somehow, all three of us laugh.
