As the blessing trembles out of me and into Ezryn, I feel his heart relent. He is strong enough to take this power. Strong enough to bear his grief and strong enough tolivenot despite it but in honor of it.
And just as I pull away, the blessing’s tether between us slipping from my fingers, I sense a difference. Something else within his heart…changing.
My sweet mate allowing his curse to break.
42
Ezryn
Since the day my mother passed Spring’s blessing, I have livedwith shame. With fear. With grief and malice.
But I have seen how grief tormented my father. How malice drew my brother underneath its inky waves. How shame and fear turned the one my mother chose to protect Spring into the Prince of Blood.
I won’t let these dictate my life anymore.
Rosalina told me I was filled with forgiveness. I didn’t want to believe her. Or maybe I couldn’t. But she’s right. I forgave Kairyn. I forgave Caspian.
Now, I forgive myself.
Rosalina looks like a goddess, swept up in cherry blossom wind and bespeckled with snow. Holding her in my arms reminds me of my strength.
Our mate bond, consummated long ago, has waited patiently for me.
It is time.
I hold Rosalina as tight as I can against my chest and squeeze my eyes shut. In my mind’s eye, there is only darkness. Then I spot a shape, sitting politely, waiting for me to join him.
I walk over. The wolf is hideous and terrifying as always, the bones tangled in his fur, the poisonous mushrooms sprouting around his ears. But his eyes are kind. They’re my eyes, and though I never saw them, somehow, I know they’re my mother’s eyes too. And hideous and terrifying as the wolf is, I know he’s only ever wanted to keep me safe.
I stroke a hand over his snout, between his ears. “Thank you.”
He nuzzles his head into my shoulder. I wrap an arm around his huge neck and lean against him.
We stay in our embrace as the flowers come.
It washes over me, a gentle drizzle. First, sprigs of grass sprout up, followed by patches of clover. The rain comes down harder. When it hits me, it sounds like it’s pinging off metal, even though I’m wearing only fabric and leather. Flowers spring up in every color. Red and blue and purple and yellow as the flecks of gold in Rosalina’s eyes. But the flowers don’t stop blooming at our feet. They start to blossom on the wolf. The bones fall, clattering to the ground. The rotted moss on his paws turns a verdant, healthy green.
I step away and spin in a circle. This place—this place that livesinsideme—is vibrant and blossoming and alive. I’m not afraid here.
“I’ll keep this safe, just as you kept me safe,” I tell him, my friend.
The wolf looks at me. Then he throws his head back and howls.
My eyes shoot open, and I’m back on the bridge. Rosalina’s staring up at me. My skin is…glowing.
I’m the same and not the same. My chest feels full, my body brimming with power…but I am in control.
Told you, you needed to have a little faith.Rosalina smirks.
I smile down at her. “The curse is broken.”
“And the High Prince of Spring has returned.” She rises up on her toes and kisses me.
I kiss her back hard, then pull away and stare out at the bridge. “I’ve got a plan for the underfae, but you need to get us out of here. Can you briar us back to Frostfang?”
A pained expression crosses her features. “My own magic is depleted. I can’t even grow a briar, let alone transport all six of us.”
I grab her hands and feel this fresh surge of power running through me. It’s familiar and new all at once. The hole that’s ached in my chest ever since I gave up the blessing of Spring finally feels filled, but it’s more than that. With my curse broken, it sings unbridled through my blood.
