Caspian’s face is a mirror of my own. “I don’t think he had control of his wolf last night.”
When Keldarion finally leaves the privy, white hair wet and wavy down his bare shoulders, I’m ready for him.
I brace my hand on the mantel of the fire and stare into his ice-blue eyes. “This has to end, Kel.”
He grumbles and walks to his wardrobe, throwing on a clean tunic and loose pants.
“Kel,” I say.
“What has to end, Rosalina?” he says, a bone-deep tiredness in his words. “This war? Sira’s reign? My curse? Trust me, I know.”
Caspian gives me a knowing look, as if he believes there’s truly nothing we can say.
My nightdress, pink gossamer over a long-sleeved white gown, rustles lightly on the floor. “We need to end your curse. Not because I can’t stand watching you lose yourself night after night?—”
“Rosalina…” Kel growls, trying to turn away from me, but I grab his arm.
“Not only for Castletree and our people there,” I continue. “But because regaining your full power might be the only way to stop this volcano. What about the story of High Princess Eira from the Festival of Tales?” I say.
Keldarion breaks out of my grip, turning to the window.
“Kel.” The word is soft but insistent. Caspian stands and glides toward us. “I was one of the few people to witness you at your full power. As we fought, I used the Green Flame. The Baron watched. He watched, and he trembled when he sawwhat you could do. And Malekai Furiondemius does not tremble easily.”
Kel turns.
“Winter needs you, Kel,” I say. “Ineed you.”
He wrings his hands, and I already know he’s going to say the same thing he’s said a thousand times before.
But then Caspian falls to his knees, bowing his head, his dark hair cascading forward to shield his face. “I know I shattered any trust you had in me years ago, but in case it needs to be said, I am entirely in love with Rosalina.”
My breath catches in my throat. He’s said it to me once before, but it feels so raw now, a confession. For so long, I only knew Caspian as the Prince of Thorns, a boy who hides his emotions behind snide comments and the pretense of villain. But here he is before us, baring his soul.
“I would know her in any form,” he continues. “My very being is made up of pieces of her.” Caspian looks up, clutching Keldarion’s leg. “Once upon a time, in this very room, I thought I loved a heroic prince more than anyone had ever loved someone. I loved you so much, there were times I believed it was going to kill me. My whole body ached for you, and the Great Chasm was a fraction of how it tore me apart when you left.”
“Cas,” Keldarion says lowly.
“But it’s nothing compared to now,” Caspian continues. “Nothing compared to after meeting Rosalina. I thought there was no possible way to love you more until the night I stood outside the ballroom at winter solstice and watched as you danced with her, and it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. Until you took my hand and trusted me enough to let me wrap you in my thorns and rescue you. Until the three of us spent that night together and depths within depths of love blossomed inside me.
“I promise—no, Ivow—the moment our bargain sends her to me, I will release her.” Caspian shifts his gaze to me. “Why would I want her any other way than our beautiful, brilliant, funny Rose?”
“I believe you, Cas,” I whisper and wish it was enough.
Caspian takes a shuddering breath. Beads of tears prick the corners of his eyes as he looks up at the Prince of Winter. “Trust me again, Kel, if only for a day.”
A million emotions swirl in Keldarion’s eyes, an unending storm. He grasps Caspian by his arm and pulls him to his feet. With his other hand, he grips my waist and draws me closer. “Alright. Let us start with a day,” he says, and a smile spreads across his lips, “and discuss the possibility of forever tomorrow.”
70
Keldarion
Astorm of emotions sweeps through me. A part of me thoughtI would live with a wound inside me forever, a scar across my heart when I lost Caspian. Endless nights in Castletree, where I wished the wolf would consume me, because I knew he would one day.
It wasn’t until a strange human girl crept into my room and read a story to me that I noticed the first drip of ice.
Until Caspian knelt before me…
I can’t deny this feeling anymore. My mind calms, and hope flutters through me.
