“Oh, you’re mates,” Rosalina says. Her eyes are wide, her voice shaky. She holds her hands up, stepping away from Wrenley and Dayton.
I couldkillDayton. A growl rises in the back of my throat. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell her.”
“I was going to,” Dayton says, storming up to me. “But between battling Kairyn and assisting in Rosalina’s rescuealone,there really wasn’t time.”
“Are you saying I should have been there?” I shove him in the chest hard enough for him to stagger back. “You’rethe one who told me to leave.”
Dayton shakes his head, fury lighting his eyes. His lips curl over his teeth as he snarls, “And you were so happy to run away.”
The ground shakes, and I grasp his arm instinctively to steady myself. The briars writhe beneath us and, above, some of the high glass windows crack.
“Hey, listen!” Astrid yells. “Something’s wrong with Rosalina!”
We whirl. Tears cut rivers down Rosalina’s dirt-stained cheeks. “I’m fine, r-really,” she says, staggering away from Astrid and the other servants with unsteady feet. “I suddenly feel s-so—”
Rosalina falls hard to her knees. Dayton and I lunge toward her, but a force sends me flying back, a swirl of wind surrounding Rosalina’s body.
“Rosalina!” I yell, staggering to my feet.
Her eyes are wide, and they’ve turned completely gold. Though her lips are parted, there’s no sound, only the wind breezingaround her. With eerie apprehension, I realize it reminds me of Ezryn when he lost control of his magic.
There’s another rumble, but this one comes from a different part of the castle. Flavia, the castle’s seamstress, runs from the Summer Wing, a few other staff trailing behind her. “It’s collapsing! The Summer Wing is collapsing!”
“It’s my rose …” Dayton breathes, voice ragged. “I don’t have any magic.”
“Go to the High Tower,” I say, then turn to Marigold. “Do you have a list of everyone who was stationed in the Summer Wing today?”
“Already on it, boy!” she says, pulling out a slim pocketbook from her apron.
The room shakes again and screams sound from deep within the halls of Summer. Eldy holds on to Marigold’s arm, and Astrid clutches desperately to the banister.
“Dayton, go!” I round on him. “You need to protect your rose in the High Tower!”
He looks desperately from Rosalina to a few more staff running out of the Summer Wing. “No,” he growls. “I need to save my people.”
In a fluid motion, he leaps into the form of the golden wolf and bounds into the Summer Wing.
What do I do? What do I do?Panic rises within me. Flavia and other staff surround Marigold as they try to take count of everyone. Wrenley is still on her feet, watching Rosalina with an expression of fear and fascination.
Rosalina. There’s not just wind around her now, but water. Salty, briny water. Her hair tumbles around her face, wild and unkempt. A steady stream of tears cascades down her cheeks and flows into the tempest.
Her pain hits me like a wave. Pure sorrow. A deep despair echoing in her heart where a raging storm thunders. I know this pain.
I’ve felt it myself.
Heartbreak.
“Rosalina!” I cry. “I’m here. I’m here.”
But my words don’t reach her through the storm. She’s completely still. Ineedto get to her. I throw myself into the bubble of water and wind surrounding her. The elements rip my clothes and tear at my skin. I fall back, breathless and bloody.
Another huge quake shakes Castletree. Wrenley screams, falling to her knees, gripping the thorns in a desperate attempt to steady herself. The golden wolf rushes out of the Summer Wing with several staff members on his back and one in his mouth. He drops them in a heap before he looks down at us, forlorn. “The wing is flooding,” he gasps. “One of the staff is hurt.”
He turns just as a wave of water crashes into the main hall, pouring down the stairs in a thin layer. I look from Rosie to the staff members. I can’t leave her.
“It’s Zearia!” Astrid calls. “Her leg is bleeding really bad!”
“Put pressure on it!” Where is Ezryn? I need to protect Rosie, I need to help Dayton, and I need to shelter my staff.
