My skin bursts to life as our bodies connect. I capture his lips, feeling him groan into them. His fingers run over my back, down my bare ass as my dripping pussy grinds against his hips, the hard outline of his cock.
“Rose, why do you smell like Cas and Ez—” He pauses, pushing me away.
“Keldarion, I belong to you.”
He falls to the bed in a huff. I hate how displeased he looks.
“You are not wanted here.”
In a rush, I come back to myself. Keldarion sits up, and I tumble over, Caspian catching me and pulling me against his chest in a protective embrace.
Keldarion runs his hands through his long, white hair and surveys us all. “Is this what waking up with the lot of you is going to be like from now on?”
Caspian strokes my head and looks up at Keldarion with the biggest, brightest eyes I’ve ever seen. “Sorry, Kel. I couldn’t help myself.”
“Couldn’t you?” Kel says, tilting his head, an equal softness in his gaze as he stares at Cas. A softness I’ve only ever seen directed at me. My heart lightens at the thought.
Now that they’ve reconciled, will Kel be willing to break his curse? The question lingers on my lips, but I stay silent for now. This is brand-new, and Kel must still be wrapping his head around everything. Better for us to talk in private.
“Y’know.” Dayton sighs. “Iwas the one who suggested a forest orgy so long ago. Just think how much simpler our lives would have been if we had all made sweet love together.”
A laugh bursts out of me and, surprisingly, from Keldarion too.
“Alright, Day,” I say. “Next time you suggest a forest orgy, I’m in.”
“You know,” Keldarion says, “I have a better idea. Time to return to Winter.”
58
Farron
Warm steam wraps around me, softening the chill that stillclings to my bones from the long trek through the snowy hills.
The trek that only Dayton and I did. We were halfway up this hill before we turned back and realized the others weren’t behind us. Imagine our surprise when we saw Rosie, Ez, Kel, and Cas all standing outside the building surrounded by briars.
“What?” Cas shrugged. “Forgot I had a briar patch up here. It was too chilly to walk.”
Isdamp Hytte is a place I’ve come to quite enjoy in Winter. Keldarion first took me up here years ago. My mother thought my swordplay was lacking and sent me to Frostfang to learn from the oh-so-amazing hero prince. After my muscles were jelly, Kel had led me up here to relax.
The steam hut is tucked into the hillside, surrounded by snow. There are many throughout Winter, but this one is usedby the royal family alone. It’s situated right beside a frozen lake, which I have less fond memories of.
Last time I was here, my scrawny frame wrapped only in a towel, I had felt so much lesser than the Prince of Winter, but now Kel and I are equals. It’s not just that I’ve filled out since then, my body strong with lean muscles, but my power has grown, my confidence. We’re both high princes, both mates of Rosalina.
You have broken your curse, a voice reminds me.You have an ember of the Green Flame.
“What are you smiling about, Fare?” Rosalina asks. She’s got her wavy hair piled atop her head and a towel wrapped around her body, though her curves are still visible. I wish I could part this steam so I could see her clearer.
The steam hut is cozy with smooth wooden benches surrounding the room. A tub of water shimmers in the corner, its surface moving with tiny ripples as droplets condense and fall from above. Hot stones sit in a bucket nearby.
Through the slats of a narrow window, the frozen lake glitters like a sheet of shattered diamonds under the sunlight. Beyond it, the hills roll endlessly, their white expanses broken only by the dark silhouettes of towering firs. I lean back against the warm wood, letting the heat soak in.
“Just happy we finally all get a break,” I say.
We may have stopped the underfae army, but we still have the realms to rally, Wrenley to find, and Sira to kill.
All in time, Autumn blood.
All in time.
