Keldarion roars, the sound raw. He leaps forward, icy winds swirling at his feet and lifting him into the air as he charges after Caspian out of the keep.
“Kel!” I shout, but he’s already gone.
I turn, my heart hammering in my chest as I look to Ezryn. He’s locked in combat with Dayton and Farron, the Green Flame twisting them into shadows of themselves.
Ezryn deflects a strike from Farron with his hammer, his muscles straining. “Do what you must, Rose!” he growls, voice reverberating through his armor. “I’ll break them free of this curse!”
I waver, my heart splintering between the chaos inside and the storm brewing outside. Sira ordered Caspian to destroy Winter. I can’t let it fall. Ezrynwillfree the others.
I race toward the broken section of the throne room, the icy wind hitting me like a slap. Past the grove of fir trees stretches the massive wall of ice that surrounds Keep Wolfhelm. It towers into the stormy sky, surface glassy. Jagged spires of frost rise along its edges, each one sharp enough to pierce steel.
And there, at the top of the wall, are Keldarion and Caspian.
Caspian moves with inhuman grace, his shadows enveloping him as he strikes at Kel. Keldarion deflects the blows with his ice-forged blades.
My breath catches, but I force myself to move. This is not our ending.
Determination surges through me, and I summon my briars. They explode from the ground, golden and glowing with life, forming a bridge from the broken throne room to the wall. The wind howls, tearing at my hair and dress, but I don’t stop. I can’t stop.
“Hold on,” I whisper to no one but myself as I push upward, the resolve burning bright within me. “I’m coming.”
Though to save Caspian or Keldarion, I’m not sure.
81
Ezryn
Rosalina races after Caspian and Kel, and I shift my concentration to the situation before me. I told Rosalina I’d break Dayton and Farron out of this curse, so I will. Whatever it takes.
Stepping back, the blood thundering in my ears drowning out all other sound, I try to make sense of it all. Farron and Dayton would never turn against me. Not of their free will.
But their free will is gone, and in its place, my friends’ bodies are held hostage by the Green Flame. They fan out slowly, eyes flickering with unholy light. A green silhouette glows behind each of their forms as magic pools in their palms.
I look between them. “Dayton, Farron, listen to me. This is not who you are. You must gain control over yourselves.”
“Kill the metal one,” Farron says.
“Kill the metal one,” Dayton agrees.
Instinctively, my hand reaches to the token, but I don’t summon the hammer. “I won’t hurt you.”
A sneer appears on Farron’s lips, one unfamiliar to his face but not unfamiliar to me. I’ve seen Caspian level me with such alook. “Weak. Shall we boil him in his suit or impale him with his own pauldrons?”
“Let’s strip him of his armor, then of his skin,” Dayton growls.
The war hammer materializes in my hand. I give it a few test swings. “Alright. Maybe I’ll hurt you a little.”
My mind whirs, taking in everything I know about the threat and what I have to use against them. The throne room is already a battlefield of huge briars cracking through the stone, slick, ice-covered ground, and shattered pillars. I can use those for cover at least.
There’s movement atop the dais. My brother, his wrists still chained, struggles to stand.He’s come to!Kairyn shakes his head before his eyes begin to search the throne room. For what?
Wrenley. Where is she? She must have woken up before him. I catch sight of her behind the throne. Her arms are wrapped around her knees, her eyes wide and unseeing, and she rocks back and forth as if in a stupor.
“Wrenley! Get out of here!” Kairyn screams. “Run!”
The sound of her name seems to shock her to attention. She turns and stares at Kairyn, a look of horror on her face.
“Run! Go, Wrenley, run!” he roars.
