“She manipulateseveryone.It’s what she does. She turns people against each other so they’ll do her dirty work for her. Don’t be flattered. You’re just one of many brilliant men she’s snared in her traps. Myself included.”
A long silence echoes between us. Finally, I say lowly, “Not that it matters much anymore, but…I am sorry, Caspian.”
It’s such a little, pathetic thing. Three words. What retribution are they for dead friends, for a city that had to be rebuilt from ashes?
“I’m sorry too,” he mumbles.
And though they’ll never bring back my father or soothe the chaos his actions wrought upon my realm, I accept the words as a man starved would accept a loaf of bread.
I forgive you, I think. But not for him. For me.
His eyes glint, and I hear the soft purr of his voice in my head.I forgive you.
A lavender breeze seems to whisper through me, and I close my eyes, basking in this strange feeling. What is it?
Absolution.
It’s pleasant.
I hear the shuffle of a chair and open my eyes to see Caspian standing and leaning on the table. His dark hair shadows his face. Dressed in white pajamas, it’s hard to imagine him as the Prince of Thorns, the demonic monster who tore apart the Winter Realm.
“You’re going to have to stop doing that,” I say softly and start to amble toward the door.
“What?”
“Bearing all our sins. It’s time we started carrying them on our own.”
He releases a laugh. “I’ll try. Stars know I have enough of my own to worry about.”
I attempt a smile—or the best I can do with the wolf’s maw. “Good night, Caspian.”
“Wait…you’re not going to keep me under lock and key? Watch over me all night? Monitor whenever I take a piss?”
“I’m tired. Don’t tell Kel and I won’t.” Besides, where would he even go? Like it or not, he’s Rosalina’s mate.
And if he’s Rosalina’s, that means he’s ours.
“Hey, Ez?” Caspian calls as I’m just about out the doorway.
“Hmm?”
“You gave me advice, so let me give you some.” He pushes a hand through his hair, the movement slow and deliberate, before his gaze drifts to the wall. His eyes lose focus and become distant, as though seeing far beyond the room. “You and I share something in common,” he continues. “We’re both fighting with our whole hearts to keep our magic out. But power’s a tricky thing. Ignore it, curse it, bury it deep…it only waits, quiet and patient, until you wield it, or it wields you.”
His lips press into a smile, more bitter than amused, and for a moment, I think he might stop. But then he sighs, his shoulders sinking as if the words are heavier than he wants to admit.
“Now, I’ve got to keep fighting, but you? Your magic isn’t here to break the realms. It’s here to help you save them.”
Caspian straightens, his gaze locking on mine, sharp and clear now, all traces of that faraway look gone.
“You’ve got the chance to do what I can’t. Take hold of it, shape it, and turn it into something that heals instead of destroys.”
I open my mouth, but no words come out. Caspian keeps looking at me, steady and unflinching, like he’s daring me to argue or to agree—maybe both.
“I’ll think about it,” I say. It’s weak, I know it, but my chest feels tight, and his words are still rattling around in my mind, too raw, too close to everything I’ve been trying to ignore. Days ago, I’d attempted to kill the man in front of me. Now, he’s inside my head like a prophecy, whispering truths I don’t want to face.
“Don’t think too hard tonight. It’s been a big day, and you need your rest,” Caspian says.
“How can I sleep after all this?”
