“I’ll take over Wrenley’s bargain.” I step toward Sira. “Long ago, you let Aurelia trade her place for Rosalina. Let me take my sister’s place. You’ll have full control over me, like you always wanted.”
Surprise flashes in my mother’s eyes. Then a smile appears on her face. I’ve got her.
“Two conditions on my end. First, Wrenley goes free unharmed, and”—I heave in a breath—“allow me to say goodbye to my friends.”
“My darling boy,” Sira says, so softly it could almost be with love. “I knew you would return home to me. Very well. Say your goodbyes.”
I turn from her and the horrific image of my sister, blade to her gut. First, I stand in front of Kairyn. “Mates with Birdy? Well, there are many things I wish I could say. I’ll start with this. I don’t think you’re going to find a helm to cover your newheadgear, so don’t be afraid to show her who you really are. Horns and all.”
Kairyn barely reacts, his focus wholly on my sister, no doubt trying to pierce her mind. His hands tremble within his chains. But Sira won’t let her control slip a second time.
I turn to the eldest Spring Prince, my reflection wavering in his golden armor. “Ezryn. How about a goodbye kiss?”
Ezryn shakes his head. “I know well the paths of the Below, little prince. I got you out before.”
The words touch something deep within me. But where I’m going, no one will be able to follow.
“Day,” I say, stepping to the next in line. “Sadly, I imagine you’ll have a better chance of winning our bet. I think I would’ve liked the end result even if you’d won though.”
Dayton gives me a rueful smile.
I turn to Farron. “Trust the fire in your heart. Yourownfire. It’s stronger than you know.”
“I won’t let her hurt you,” he says, touching my arm.
The hardest goodbye is next. Silent, angry tears run down Rosalina’s cheeks, and I brush them away. “Tell me you have a plan, Cas.”
“I have a plan,” I say and kiss her softly, deeply. “I’m sorry.”
Keldarion is last. I shove my hands in my pockets and stare up at him. His face is twisted in torment and anger. What’s a hero supposed to do when he can’t commit a daring rescue?
“You were never going to betray us,” he says.
“Never.” I laugh, then drop my voice to a whisper. “I have one last thing to ask of you, my love.”
Keldarion draws me into his massive body, and my lips slide to his ear.
“You’re the only one strong enough to do this. To spare Rosalina from this fate. Please, Kel, if you ever loved me, kill me as soon as I accept the bargain. Kill me before she commands meto let the Green Flame take over. Show me whatever is between usisreal. Let your final act of loving me be a blade to my heart. Kill me if you ever loved me.”
79
Keldarion
Kill me if you ever loved me.
His words carve through my chest, leaving a raw, gaping wound. Before I can fathom a response, Caspian steps away. My feet feel rooted beneath me, my limbs heavy and useless as I watch him—no, I let him—stride toward Sira.
Her black gaze devours him as though she’s been waiting for this moment for centuries. For so long, Caspian has defied her. For us. For me.
Caspian halts before her, his shoulders squared, jaw tight. Even now, he looks untouchable, a prince forged of thorns and blood. My friend. My enemy.
My love.
He clasps her hand, and Sira smiles as shadows unfurl around her. The air crackles with the scent of ash and decay, a magic so dark it suffocates the very breath from my lungs.
“Cas—” The word claws from my throat, a desperate plea. He doesn’t look back.
The shadows surge, sinking into his skin and coiling through his veins. His sharp cry echoes in the frozen silence, and I take ahalf step forward, my heart screaming at me to stop this, to save him, but my body betrays me.
