I gasp and flounder. Waves crash into me with a sudden force, driving me deeper, deeper, shattering me into fragments, like stars in the night sky.
Drowning again.
Something is wrong. Something is very wrong.
All I know is Ihatethese waves, the taste of salt, the burning, burning sun that blazes each time I make it to the surface.
No, that’s not true.
I guess I just believed I belonged in these waves with him, too.
But I can’t calm this storm.
Each flicker of my heart casts me amid this tempest. I am uncontrollable and wild.
I think I’m going to drown here.
I break through the ocean, and instead of heat hitting me, I’m struck with a chilled breeze. A huge wave crests above, threatening to drive me back under. The base of it freezes, getting colder and colder, until all the sea around me is entirely frozen.
A voice plays on the wind: “Rosalina. Rose.”
I know that voice.
Mate.
The storm fades into a mist, and ice binds my legs to the briars. Large hands grip my face.
Keldarion sits across from me. His clothes are torn, chest crisscrossed with small cuts, but he’s smiling as he looks at me.His white hair falls over his shoulders in a tangle, strands shining silver in the light.
“Kel,” I say, voice hoarse. I feel so weak, even forming his name is a challenge.
“My Rose,” he says.
“I hurt you …”
“Never.” He tugs me free from the thin layer of ice encasing us to the floor and pulls me into his arms, kissing my cheek tenderly.
Everything about me feels wrong and hollow, like I’ve lost a piece of my heart. But Keldarion is holding together what’s left.
“What happened?” I collapse against his chest. A thin layer of water leaks down the stairs. Staff rush through the foyer. Farron’s leaning over someone, blood on his hands, and Caspian ishere. He’s taking off his cloak and handing it to Dayton, who’s naked.
At the sight of the Prince of Summer, a fresh wave of grief cascades through me and I struggle to breathe.
Something feels different about Castletree. Worse. Rubble and bark crowd the hall to the Summer Wing. Water seeps out beneath the debris.
“Can we fix it?” I croak.
Kel looks over at Dayton who slowly shakes his head. Confirmation of what I already feel inside. The Summer Wing is destroyed.
A heart’s cry escapes me, and tears stream down my face.
“It’s all right.” Keldarion smooths down my hair, carrying me to sit beside Astrid and Marigold. Then he storms over to Farron. “How did this happen?”
Farron steps away from his patient and shakes his head. “Like I said, we were just talking—”
“What did you say to her exactly?” Caspian asks smoothly, gliding down the steps. Dayton follows him, Caspian’s cloak wrapped around his waist.
“We told Rosalina that Dayton found his mate.” Farron gestures to Wrenley, who sits only ten feet away from me.
