Not from Rosalina, who will only seek to capitalize on an opportunity to claim victory over the Queen of the Below.
No.
It’s Keldarion’s face I’m staring at as he’s staring at me.
I’ve lost.
He has the same expression as when I betrayed him all those years ago.
I was a fool to believe this version of me could exist. I should know better than anyone.
This game of love and happily ever afters always has to end.
Purple thorns break through the floor and curl at my feet.
75
Keldarion
Ileap off the bed and shoot a spray of ice toward Caspian. Butthe Prince of Thorns is, as always, prepared. A tangle of purple briars rises and blocks my attack. He dances to the far side of the room.
“Kel, stop!” Rosalina screams.
An ice knife is already poised in my hands, and Caspian stares back at me, saying nothing.
“How did she get in?” I growl.
“We don’t know.” Dayton rushes beside Rosalina. “Her shadows probably. It doesn’t make any sense why she’s here. She can’t bring her army through the wall surrounding Keep Wolfhelm. She must know we’ll overwhelm her if she’s alone.”
“She’s not alone.” I prowl closer to Caspian. “Her ally is within the walls already.”
“You’re being ridiculous,” Rosalina shouts. She’s got Dayton’s cloak wrapped around her shoulders. I can’t believe I was foolish enough to consider puttingmyRose in such a vulnerable position.
“We took too long,” I continue. “Didn’t we? Was this your plan? Wait until our bargain claimed Rosalina, then bring theGolden Rose to your mother as a thrall while you take over my realm?”
Caspian’s briars writhe around him. His shoulders are hunched, a predator ready to strike. His bare chest heaves in and out.
All traces of the soft boy who kissed me are gone. His face is all angles and hard lines. “What can I say, mighty Prince of Winter? You have proven time and time again nothing I say, nothing I do, will ever make you trust me. And I amtiredof breaking myself against your shores.”
“Sira will not take one of the most perfect nights of my life away from me.” Rosalina places herself between us, and her voice is a menacing growl. “We’ll go to her together.”
Caspian straightens, that deceitful smirk crawling up his features, briars coiling around his arms. “Wonderful idea. You’ll need the Prince of Thorns to face my mother.”
76
Rosalina
My blood boils, and my ears won’t stop ringing. But there’sanother feeling simmering below the surface.
Fear.
Again and again, Sira has bested us. If it hadn’t been for Ezryn breaking his curse, for Farron and his new power, she would have destroyed us.
Still, it makes no sense that she would challenge us by herself. She’s vulnerable on her own, and she doesn’t yet possess the power to transport the entire army within our walls. Like me, fear simmers within her. Fear of my mates’ powers. Of my power. I saw it flickering in her eyes at the Great Chasm.
We walk through the halls toward the throne room. Tension hangs in the air. Before we left Kel’s room, he dressed, then stormed out, returning in full armor. Now, he speaks with Eirik Vargsaxa, demanding the forces on the wall be doubled and summoning the remaining flying Kryodian Riders to scout the area for an approaching army.
Eirik nods, then marches away. The High Prince of Winter falls into step beside me, dark sapphire cape snapping. I dressed, only throwing on my nightdress and lacing up a brown leathercorset. The princes have their tokens and divine weapons, but Dayton grabbed me a bow and attached a belt with two short daggers to it, saying, “There’s no way we’re talking to Sira unarmed.”
