“Not here.” Ez shakes his head. “The queen and the first high rulers spent years traveling the realms to find fallen stars that contained veins of mythkarite. There’s none left in the Vale. Besides, we’d need a forge to work it, one that I’m not certain exists in our plane.”
“If you want raw mythkarite, you’ll have to travel to the Above,” Farron says with a hopeless sigh.
I glance at Ezryn. “Wasn’t your brother obsessed with finding a way to the Above?”
Even with his helmet on, I can tell Ezryn is scowling. “He did far more reading on it than I ever did. Ancient stories on the Above were one of his greatest obsessions. He believed that by wielding all the divine weapons, we could open a way. It was a mad theory, completely unproven.”
“One we couldn’t even test if we wanted to,” Farron says.
“Nope,” I add. “Not with Kel’s sword in shards and my ex-mate running wild with the Bow of Radiance.”
“Not to mention the fae fled the Above for a reason,” Ezryn says. “It may not even exist anymore.”
The conversation shifts once more, back to possible binding agents that we have in supply here, but George is silent. There’s a wild glint in his eye.
“What’s going on in your head, Papa?” I ask.
All three of them stare at me, slack-jawed.
“I–I was trying something. Me and Rosie are mates, so he’s kind of like my dad—oh, never mind. Forget it. Continue, Pa—” I clear my throat. “George.”
George shakes his head. “All I know is…I’ve always been one for improvising when necessary. Let me muse on this a while longer. Besides, it looks like you boys are needed elsewhere.”
We all turn our heads to the doorway where Rosalina stands, spine stiff. If I didn’t know better, I’d think she’d stolen Caspian’s shadows for the dark energy radiating off her.
“Come on. Castletree needs us,” she says, then turns back into the cold.
We say our goodbyes to George, and I follow Farron and Ez out of the workshop. But something tugs on a thread of my mind, and I look to the side where a candle flickers atop a workbench.
Within its flames, I catch sight of a stranger’s face, smiling at me.You’ll come home to me. Soon.
54
Rosalina
Staff are situated in makeshift sleeping quarters. The mostdangerous sections of the castle are sealed off. We’ve poured magic into the roses. My own briars weave with Caspian’s to help provide support to Castletree’s weakening structure.
I sit on the steps of the main hall, racking my brain for another job. If I don’t find something to concentrate on soon, thoughts of Kel and Caspian will come back, consuming me. Better to stay busy and focus on what I can control.
Thankfully, Farron walks out of the Autumn wing. After I briefed the princes on the signs of the Green Flame I’d observed on my last visit, he’d volunteered to look into the matter. I jump up, eager to focus on this instead of what awaits me back at Keep Wolfhelm.
“How did you find the library?” I can still hear that haunting voice:Welcome, Golden Rose.
He shakes his head. “All is well, Rosalina. Everything is as it should be.”
A wave of relief passes through me. I’m not sure what changed, but I’ll take whatever wins we can get.
“Though,” Farron continues, “I recommend we keep the Autumn wing sealed until at least one high prince resides at Castletree permanently.”
I nod, hating the idea that so many of our staff are displaced.
Dayton skids to a stop at the top of the stairs, a bright grin on his face. “You two have got to come see this.”
Farron loops an arm around my shoulder, and we follow Dayton. He leads us down the corridor toward the Spring wing. His excitement is infectious, and for a reason we can’t place, both Farron and I are grinning. We round a corner, and my breath catches in my throat.
When I last entered the Spring wing, the area was dark and overgrown with carnivorous plants.
But now…it’s transformed.
