Dayton and Farron, divine weapons raised, rush Ezryn, green flames licking at their feet.
I stare at the man across from me. Once, I hated him with a ferocity that consumed me. But now when I look at him, all I feel is love.
My ice blade extends to a great sword, and I grip it with both hands. “I will free you from this nightmare, my love,” I vow and swing, a ruinous scream tearing through my throat.
A golden briar rises from the ground, knocking my sword away so it shatters on the ground. Rosalina appears between us. “Then you’ll have to get through me first.”
A cruel laugh echoes from Caspian’s chest. “Well, this is going to be fun.”
80
Rosalina
Keldarion’s expression is pure agony. His pain radiating throughour bond pierces me like a shard of ice. It’s all-consuming, a storm that threatens to drown him—and me along with it. He truly loves Caspian, so much so that he would tear out his own heart to fulfill Caspian’s last request.
Too bad it’s a stupid fucking request.
“We can save him,” I plead.
“Perhaps, my Rose.” Keldarion’s voice is heavy with resignation as dual ice swords materialize in his hands, their edges glittering. “But not before he does something he’ll hate himself for.”
I see the subtle twitch in his wrist, the signal of an attack, and my body moves on instinct. My dagger flashes in my hand, slicing clean through one of his swords.
Keldarion growls, his other blade pivoting in a blur of motion. He halts just shy of striking me, his expression caught between fury and heartbreak. I might not be able to outmaneuver him with a blade, but I can get in the way.
“Kel, please?—”
A dark chuckle interrupts me, low and venomous. I spin to find Caspian standing at our backs, his cruel smile curling like smoke across his lips. His eyes are a haunting color, a green that doesn’t exist in this world.
“Rosalina,” he purrs. “Of course you’re defending me. That soft heart of yours will be your undoing. Especially when I take you Below.”
“You will not touch her,” Keldarion snarls, yanking me behind him.
Caspian huffs a laugh, low and predatory. “Her other mate. How sweet. But five is far too many. I will be her only. She will love me, worship me, as she should.”
My heart pounds in my chest, my gaze darting to Ezryn, who is locked in battle with Day and Farron, both consumed by the Green Flame, their movements unnatural.
How am I going to save them all?
“The real Caspian would never dream of hurting us,” I say.
“A lost and forlorn boy, too afraid to accept his destiny,” he murmurs, distant and detached. His lips twist cruelly again. “Mourn him. He is gone.”
A sword of writhing briars forms in his hand, green flames licking along its edges. He lunges at Keldarion.
Kel blocks, their blades colliding in a burst of frost and flame. Caspian presses forward, forcing Kel to retreat. Their strikes are fast and brutal. I can barely track the movements.
Caspian twists, his blade angling for a deadly strike.
“No!” I scream, throwing my hand out. Briars explode from the floor, surging toward Caspian and wrapping around him like golden chains.
Green flames roar to life, devouring the briars in an instant. The heat scorches my skin even from a distance.
The Prince of Thorns’s laughter echoes. He hurls a ball of fire at Kel, who dodges. It strikes the wall with a deafening crack.The stone gives way, crumbling into nothing as the cold Winter air surges in, biting and bitter. Snow swirls wildly, and the fir trees outside bow inward, caught in the unnatural currents of Caspian’s magic.
Caspian turns back to Keldarion. “Ready to see Winter fall by my hand? Again?”
He walks to the broken wall. Shadows curl around him like living tendrils. He rises into the air with a wave of his hand, carried by the dark power. He’s always resisted using his mother’s magic. Now he embraces it.
