The word ricochets through me, cutting deep. Every part of mewants to rush and retrieve her from the side of the mountain. To save her. Because isn’t that what I’ve always been trying to do? Protect people. But Rosalina’s plea shakes a realization loose.
It wasn’t Caspian’s shadowed past that doomed us before. It wasn’t Sira’s meddling. It wasme. My lack of trust.
I didn’t trust Caspian to stand with me, to be my equal. I didn’t trust him to endure the whispers, the glances, the sharp-edged politics of the Winter Realm. Instead, I let him go.
And Rosalina, our mate, our salvation… I haven’t trusted her enough to believe she could guide us through this darkness. If I’d broken my curse earlier…
Maybe we would have been strong enough to stand against Sira. Maybe we wouldn’t have lost Cas.
But I have no choice now.
I breathe in, the icy air biting my lungs, and loosen my grip onCaspian. My hands fall to my sides, magic dimming as I step back.
“I trust you,” I whisper, not only to Rosalina but to both of them.
The realization settles over me, a strange, fragile peace amid the chaos. If I want to save Caspian, I have to believe in the love that binds the three of us.
“Rosalina,” I call, my voice stronger now. “Whatever you’re going to do, do it now.”
“So you’re going to watch me kill your mate from up there?” Caspian calls to her.
“If you kill him,” Rosalina snarls, “I die.”
“Mm-hmm, as romantic as a broken heart is, Flower, I don’t think you’ll die from it.”
“You listen, Caspian,” she grits out. “If you touch him, I release these briars and fall down this mountain to my death.”
“There are other fae in the Below to fuck.” Caspian crosses his arms. But even now, even in this state, I recognize the snag of worry in his voice.
“Sure, in the Below,” Rosalina growls, “because that’s where you’ll stay. Trapped. You want to rule all the Enchanted Vale? You need me. You can’t survive on the surface without my magic.”
Caspian’s breath hitches.
“The Green Flame might be your birthright, but it’s also killing you. You’re half made of magic from another world, and it’s spreading rot through your body.”
She has him. His gaze focuses on her, not at all noticing the golden briars wrapping around my legs. In a swift movement, they drag me to her, suspending me above the cliff.
Here, so close, I take in how beautiful and wondrous my mate is: dark hair blowing in the icy wind, eyes flashing golden. But her chest heaves, hands trembling. She can’t keep this up.
“Clever,” Caspian says. “And what does my queen suggest?”
“Keldarion needs to break his curse, and that means he’ll have me. And I’ll come to you soon enough, better than I am now. A thrall to your every whim.”
I want to rage at her for the idea. A flash of the vision given to me by the Fate springs to mind. But she asked me to trust her, and I must do that. I will not distract her with my protests.
Caspian begins to pace, cape snapping. He snarls and hisses, “And if he refuses?”
“I won’t let him,” Rosalina growls. “You need to go. Leave Keep Wolfhelm and the Vale alone. Await me in the Below. If you come back before, I swear I will drive a briar through my heart.”
He stares at us, green eyes flashing, then a dark smile appears on his face. “Very well. I shall wait to take the Vale until you are my adoring queen.”
He bows low and, in a flash of shadow and flame, disappears.
Part Five
Winter’s Requiem
85
