I sigh. There’s no way I’ll let Wrenley near any member of my family ever again, but I can’t tell Papa that. He’s faced enough heartbreak in recent days.
Instead, I walk to him and squeeze him one more time.
Heading out of the lab and across the courtyard, I’m grateful for the icy breeze. Tears freeze in the corners of my eyes, but I don’t let them fall.
I should be thankful for my sister. She taught me one thing.
The old Rosalina died when Wrenley shot Dayton. A new Rosalina has been born, and she will not break for anyone.
6
Dayton
Frostfang. Never in the seven realms did I think I’d be excitedto see this frozen slab of questionable life choices and numb toes. And yet I’m on the bow of the airship, snow slapping my face and damn icicles sticking to the ends of my hair, grinning like an idiot.
“She’s down there,” I say as Farron approaches.
“I know.” He places a gloved hand over my own. “I feel her too.”
Ahead, Frostfang rises against the white-capped horizon, a city sculpted in layers of glacial stone and dark pine houses. Towering above it all is Keep Wolfhelm, with its massive wall of ice gleaming around the perimeter.
Farron’s auburn hair catches the faint light, like the final falling leaves before winter’s grasp. “Last time I was in Frostfang, it was for that ball, remember?” he says. “The one Rosalina organized to find our mates.”
“If I recall, she was the only one any of us looked at all night,” Ezryn says, approaching us. “That should have been a sign.”
Farron chews his lips and leans over the banister. “She’s with Kel now. How did Cas get her out of the Below? I don’t think he’s here.”
I give Farron a shove on the shoulder. “What? Worried about your new boyfriend?”
Farron told me on the journey here that he kissed the damned Prince of Thorns. He’d said it was merely for distraction, but the flush on his cheeks was very telling. I already have to adjust to sharing Rosie with that thorny bastard, but now Fare too?
“No.” Farron runs a hand through his hair. “Sometimes I can feel him. He’s far away from here.”
“Rosalina’s safety is all that matters.” Ezryn leaves to help direct the ship’s landing. It’s practically a second home to him now, and he’s familiar with all the procedures. Though without his armor, this Ezryn is a stranger to the Winter fae.
We’d already sent word ahead of our arrival so as not to scare the fucking shit out of Frostfang with our massive flying ship. At least leaving half the armada in Spring and the rest in Summer, we’re much less imposing.
The ship—dubbed theFlutterwingby Delphia—is an ugly monstrosity of wood and steel. With great black sails and a noisy propeller in the back, we’re not exactly the picture of grace that Delphia’s name would suggest. But what else could you expect from something designed by Kairyn? To give credit where credit’s due, the boy’s smart. I couldn’t have designed anything like this, let alone figured out how to make it fly.
He had help with that part though. The engine is a glowing green crystal. I don’t like going down to where it’s stored. Every time I get near it, I feel as if I’m being watched…but from the inside.
The whole thing weirds me out. I’d rather be on deck, even with the freezing breeze.
TheFlutterwingdescends slowly, creaking and groaning against the wind as it dips beneath the keep’s high walls. Keep Wolfhelm dominates the city’s heart, a fortress hewn from rock and ice, with its jagged spires stabbing skyward. The gigantic wall enclosing it is a pale, otherworldly blue. Torches flicker at intervals along the battlements, casting golden halos that barely touch the cold stone.
As the ship’s hull touches down on the courtyard, a faint mist rises where the engine’s heat meets the frozen ground. Winter soldiers stand at attention around the landing area, their silver armor glinting beneath layers of thick fur. They watch us, suspicion mixing with wonder—probably the same look I had the first time I saw a ship soaring in the air.
Enormous doors carved with the shapes of wolves and elks lead into the heart of the keep. I stare at that door.
Each breath is a cloud of white in the air as I try to steady my raging pulse. She’s close,soclose. Somewhere beyond those doors is Rosie. The thought fills me with a fire fierce enough to melt the surrounding ice.
Distantly, I hear Ezryn talking to one of the guards who has approached us on the gangplank, and Farron has drifted beside the Spring Prince, eagerly explaining the workings of the ship. But I keep my eyes fixed on those large wooden doors.
Suddenly, they burst open, and a figure is running through. A group of clamoring guards follow behind, shouting, “Princess, wait!”
“That ship has to be inspected for safety.”
“If you wouldpleasefollow protocol.”
