“I’ll return Caspian to the medical ward and take watch. You get some sleep, Kel,” Ezryn says, speaking for the first time in a while. I look at him, and he’s staring hard at me. As if he can seeinsideme.
Kel sighs, then nods and shambles out of sight.
Rosie leads Dayton to the doorway. “Are you coming, Farron?”
“Stay with us tonight, Fare,” Dayton says, his voice a plea. “I need you.”
I take a step when a growl sounds from the back of Ezryn’s throat, low enough for only me and Caspian to hear. “Uh, I’ll be right there. You two go ahead,” I say.
Rosie nods and, clutching Dayton’s hand, leads him out of the room.
I shift from foot to foot, feeling very much like I’m being burned alive beneath Ezryn’s gaze.
“So do I not get to go to bed?” Caspian sighs.
“Sit down, both of you,” Ezryn growls. “The three of us need to talk.”
20
Ezryn
“Whatever you say, Daddy,” Caspian purrs. “Be a good boy,Farron, and sit down before Ezryn puts you over his knee?—”
“This is not a joke,” I snarl. Though as they both sit across the table from me, they do look like petulant children. And I will treat them both as children if I have to.
“Look, Ez—” Farron begins.
“No,Iam talking.” Whatever just happened in this dining room, it’s sitting with me like a plague. I wastherewhen Dayton drew the first breaths of his second life.
And it wasn’t Caspian leaning over him.
“I know you two are lying. You did something, Farron, didn’t you? Didn’t you?”
Farron’s lip twitches, then he raises his jaw. “I will not apologize for protecting one of Rosalina’s mates. I hope if you were in my position, Ez, you would have done the same.”
My paws thud on the stone as I pace the length of the table. “What is this magic you possess?”
Farron doesn’t even have the dignity to look ashamed. “The power of the Green Flame.”
My breath hitches, sharp and uneven. Heat and cold crash through me like a storm. I can’t stop my voice from raising to a bellow: “That magickilledyour mother!”
Farron stands, his chair clattering to the floor. He slams his hands down. “And if I had been able to wield it, I could have saved her!”
I face him head-on, a war raging between our eyes. Meanwhile, Caspian puts his bare feet up on the table and leans back precariously, grinning like a fox.
With a growl, I turn away from Farron and set my sights on the deceiver beside him. “Why would you lie to Rosie? To Dayton? This is his damnedlifewe’re talking about!”
Caspian breathes out a laugh and looks up at the ceiling, as if an answer is written there. “Honestly? I don’t know. I couldn’t stand to see dear Farron sweating. Besides, what’s done is done.”
I resume my pacing, each step sending more clattering thoughts through my brain. I don’t like this. Don’t like that they’re lying to Rosalina whenIknow the truth. Don’t like that Farron is dabbling in this strange, unknown magic. Don’t like how out of control I feel.
Caspian sits forward and steeples his fingers. “Look, here are the facts. The truth will come out. Nothing comes without a cost, especially life. So you figure it out, Farron. The price you paid. And then you tell them.”
Farron sucks in a breath. “This power… It can turn the tides of the realms. It can protect everyone.Ican protect everyone.”
“I don’t care if you save the whole fucking Vale with this magic. Youwilltell Rosalina the truth,” I growl.
The Autumn Prince nods. “Just…give me some time.”
