“I did it.” Caspian pushes away from the table with his fingertips. “I brought him back from the dead.”
Interesting.I tilt my head but stay silent.
Ice crackles beneath Kel’s paw as he steps forward. “That’s impossible. How could you do something like that?”
“Nothing is impossible with the Green Flame,” Cas hisses, then looks me in the eye. “As long as you pay the price.”
His words don’t scare me. There is no sacrifice equal to Dayton’s life, nothing I wouldn’t give up for the power I need to protect my family. If the Baron demands a price from me, I will pay it with a smile upon my face.
Rosie’s whole body shakes. “Y-you used the Green Flame, Cas? But that magic is…is…”
“Is evil,” Dayton finishes for her. He stares straight ahead, body still. Slowly, he raises his hands and stares at them. “Who am I? Do I even truly exist? I shouldn’t be here…”
“Hold on,” I say before I can stop myself. Cas and I exchange a look. Whatever connection we built in the Below, it stands today. I know what he’s doing.
He’s taking the fall for me.They already hate me anyway, I can almost hear him say.
I…I can’t lose their trust. What if they want me to stop using this power? I can’t do that. Not when there’s so much danger on the horizon.
For their sakes, I have to let Cas do this for me.
Everyone’s waiting for me to speak, so quickly, I say, “This power…maybe it’s not evil. Maybe we only think it’s evil because we’ve only witnessed evil people wield it. But Caspian brought Dayton back from the dead! From thedead. How can that be evil?”
“I’m not supposed to be here, Fare,” Dayton whispers. “I’m supposed to be with the ancestors.”
“No.” I rush to his side, falling to my knees, and grab his hand. “You’re supposed to be with me. With us.” I look up at Rosalina. “Right, Rosie?”
“What does this mean, Cas?” she asks.
Caspian smooths down a wrinkle in his white shirt. “Truthfully, I don’t know. I’ve never brought anyone back from the dead before. See, the funny thing is, with death, it’s not the person who died that has to pay. It’s the loved ones they leave behind. But when one is rudely yanked from the calm of death into the living…” His eyes find mine, and his lip curls. “Well then, I have a feeling that’s when the dead themselves face the cruelest reckoning of all.” He shrugs. “But who’s to say?”
A growl erupts in Dayton’s chest, and he storms over to Caspian. In a single swift movement, he grabs Caspian by the shirt and slams him down on the table. “Get itoutof me! Whatever you did, undo it! I don’t want this!”
We all shout and lunge forward, but Kel is fastest, knocking Dayton away with his snout.
Slowly, Caspian returns to his feet, straightening his pajamas. “I’m sorry, Dayton. You’re firmly in the land of the living now. Better make the most of it.”
Sickening spouts of adrenaline course through me. Hewouldhate me if he knew the truth.
But like Thrand, like Rosie, he won’t ever understand. It’s up to me to show them the path lined by flames. From now on, they’ll never be able to go where I can’t follow.
Dayton grabs his hair, eyes frantic. “I–I’m…I’m not even real. I’m pieced together by magic. Infected?—”
“No!” Rosie rushes over to him, running her hands over his arms, touching his face. “Dayton, you’re still you. You’re here, with me. I don’t know what this means about the Green Flame, but I’ll protect you.” She pulls him to her chest. “I’ll protect you, Day.”
“Well, now that everything is settled, I’d like to get back to bed,” Caspian says.
Kel sighs. “You couldn’t be satisfied until you left a mark on each of us, could you?”
For a fae man, Caspian gives quite the wolfish grin. “Oh, I love the sound of that.”
“Come on, Day.” Rosie grabs his hand. “Let’s get some rest. We’ll feel better in the morning.”
Dayton shakes his head. “How can you sleep beside a monster?”
The words leave my mouth in a breath. “You’re not a monster, Dayton. You’re perfect.”I made you so.
Gaze down, he follows behind Rosalina.
