I gasp. There’s an urgent, almost painful tug in my chest. Like a shooting star’s trying to blaze out of my rib cage.
It’s not a mate bond.
It’s not a star either.
It’s a storm, one that thunders and lightnings and rains before erupting into life.
I need to follow the winds of that storm.
“Come down, Rosalina. I will not ask again,” calls Faustrius.
I stand and walk to the railing. Looking down at the Chasm Master, I offer him a sweet smile. Then I leap off the side of the bridge house and plummet through the air.
41
Rosalina
Ifree-fall through the air, arms and legs splaying out. As I’mabout to hit the ground, a wind that smells like cherry blossoms sweeps me up. I gasp out a sigh of relief and put a hand over my heart. I thought I’d used up every drop of my magic reserves, but Spring’s blessing is practically beating out of my chest. It feels like it’sdancingwithin me, tugging me forward and flooding my body with magic.
The wind is like wings on my feet, carrying me over the horns of the underfae. I use my hands to help channel it, urging it to gust me westward on the bridge. Toward the ruins of the airship.
“Get her!” Faustrius roars.
I yelp and try to strengthen my gale. With a pained look, I glance at the base of the bridge house where Kel lies in a bloody heap.I’m coming back for you. I don’t know if he can hear me anymore.
But I can’t fight them all, even with Spring’s blessing.
There’s only one person who can.
Faster, faster, faster, I urge the wind to carry me. The underfae have all gathered at the bridge house, and I leap over them like a bird flying above the jaws of a pack of crocodiles.Arrows whiz by my head but get blown away in my breeze. Even the snows of Winter cannot withstand the coming of Spring.
I feel him before I see him, and when I see him, my heart blooms. Ezryn is heading toward me. He’s drenched in blood and running with a slight limp, but there’s purpose in his movement.
The sight of him makes Spring’s blessing somersault around my heart. A laugh escapes me, despite everything, at the sensation. “I’m going, I’m going,” I tell it lightly.
We collide. I sweep him up in the sweet wind, looping my arms around his neck while he pulls me tight against his chest. With our feet off the ground, I’m weightless in his arms. My hair flows like a halo above us.
Despite the blood, despite the battle, despite the end approaching, he kisses me. And I kiss him back with everything I am, everything he’s given me since I stepped onto the bridge leading to Castletree. Everything of his I’ve carried for him. I was happy to do so. It was never a burden.
I tangle my fingers through his thick hair. The kiss is passionate, urgent. Whatever needs to be said is said through this touch.
Breathlessly, I pull away. Our feet connect with the ground, and the wind tugs at his hair playfully. A familiar friend.
There are no words needed to understand. I feel it thrumming between us.
“Are you ready?” I ask.
“Yes. This time, I’m ready.” He looks down and touches his heart. “Thank you for protecting me.”
I know he’s not talking to me.
We both know how dangerous this is, for both our sakes. I take his hand and bring it to my lips, laying a kiss upon the bloodied knuckles. “Are you afraid?”
“No. You’ve always known me, Rosalina. But now, I know me too.”
I grab the back of his neck and kiss him again. Then I rest my head in the crook of his shoulder. I don’t know how to do this, but the magic guides me. It’s been waiting for him to return.
The blessing of Spring washes through my body. It’s like I’m lying in a meadow, breathing in air so fresh, and the world is blooming around me. Wind swishes through my hair too, that same playful tug.You’re welcome, I tell it.I’m glad I could be a safe place before you found your way home.
