“Careful.” Astrid steps over a thick vine that curls like a snake across the floor. “Some of these plants are deadly.”
“Deadly?” I ask.
“Oh yes,” she says matter-of-factly, as if she’s discussing the weather. “That one there ate Yuki two nights ago.” Astrid points to a cluster of bulbous plants near the wall. The petals unfurl to reveal rows of teeth. My stomach turns.
“Poor lad is just a little rat,” Marigold adds. “Swallowed him right up.”
“Gods, Marigold,” Dayton gasps. “How are you so calm about this?”
“Oh, we got him out. Flavia came in with her scissors.” Marigold waves her hand. “He’s fine now, but like with Winter, we decided to evacuate all the Spring staff.”
I stare at the plants, their slow, predatory movements sending chills down my spine. The vines twitch as we pass, sensing us.
“At least Autumn has plenty of rooms,” I say. “The library could house lots of the misplaced staff until we fix this.”
Marigold stops in place. “That’s not where we’ve been staying.”
She leads us through the grand dining room, the kitchens, the ballroom, all places of Castletree not touched by one of the seasonal realms. Among the purple briars are lines of bedrolls. All the staff forced from their rooms.
Despite it, Dayton and I are greeted kindly, and it fills my heart to see so many familiar faces. The Summer staff are particularly happy to greet Dayton and tell him of their curses being broken. But most of all, they are curious about when we will return to Castletree.
“We’re making the best of it,” Astrid says. “It’s like one big sleepover with your friends every night!”
I turn to her and Marigold. “What’s happening in Autumn? Farron has broken his curse.”
Astrid shifts from foot to foot. “People say it’s haunted.”
Marigold shakes her head. “Spend too long in there, and a voice creeps between your ears. Not a pleasant one, mind you.”
“Show me,” I say.
This time, I lead with Marigold, Astrid, and Dayton following. I know the way to the library in Autumn like I know the back of my hand. After so many days spent there with Farron, it’s one of my favorite places in all the world.
I creak open the door and enter. Everything appears normal. Leaves crackle beneath my feet, and shelves are stocked with rows and rows of books, the space smelling of cider and woodsmoke. I breathe it in and sigh.
Dayton grabs my arms, fingertips clutching so tightly, I swear my arm will bruise. “Rosie, we have to leave.”
“No, it’s fine—” I turn back to the library, and like a flash of lightning, everything changes.
The leaves on the floor turn from crisp and crackling to soft mulch, the scent of cider to rotten apples, and green flames lick among the briars and stacks. Not burning, but…floating like ethereal candles.
I’ve seen this color green before. On Perth Quellos’s cursed skeletons, the reanimated goblins, in a vision of Sira…
Welcome, Golden Rose, a voice says in my mind. Deep, commanding. Otherworldly.
A gut-wrenching scream sounds, and Dayton collapses to the ground. He squeezes his eyes shut, clutching his hair.
“We have to get out of here,” I shout. “Now!”
Marigold and Astrid get on one side of Dayton with me on the other, and we help him up. We rush out of the Autumn wing.
“Keep going!” I let go of Dayton, letting Astrid and Marigold take his weight, then turn around. Summoning a host of golden briars, I tangle them at the entrance to the Autumn wing, blocking the way. My heart rattles in my chest, and I stagger to my friends, all sitting at the bottom of the grand staircase. “No one is to go in the Autumn wing.”
Not until we figure out why the Green Flame is there.
Dayton has his head between his knees, breath heavy. Laying a hand on his back, I sit next to him. “Are you alright?”
“He was in my mind.” Dayton looks up at me, and for a moment, his eyes flash more green than blue. “The things he said…they’re not true.”
