“Good question…” Caspian trails off, then raises a dark brow. “Say, I don’t suppose you can play moonlight mastery while you’re in that form?”
I think of the game Caspian and I spent countless hours playing decades ago, before the war, before we betrayed each other, before we were the High Prince of Spring or the Prince of Thorns. “Oh, I can play,” I say. “Just be prepared to lose.”
He smiles. “Then let the game begin anew.”
21
Rosalina
The howling wind rattles the windows as I curl in a chairby the fire. The High Prince of Summer stands above me, facing the flames, his teal eyes catching their glow. His expression is drawn, more shadowed than I’ve ever seen it. He hasn’t said a word since we’ve returned, and I’ve left him to his silence, sitting with my own.
There’s a light rap on the door, and Farron enters. He says nothing, but his presence speaks louder than words—steady, grounding. I’m thankful for it because everything in me is threatening to come undone.
I don’t know how to process what’s happened or what Dayton—alive and breathing again—truly means. My chest aches with the memory of losing him. It makes so much sense now. How I’d felt our mate bond disappear…then return.
How could Caspian not have told me what happened when he came to my cell? Kel’s words sting worse than ever:He’s not to be trusted.
Dayton clears his throat. “I understand if neither of you wants to stay after what I’ve done.”
I blink, unsure I’ve heard him right. “What you’ve done?”
His gaze drops to the fur-lined rug at his feet. His hands twitch at his sides like he wants to reach for something—or someone—but stops himself. “I died. Left you. And worse, I came back. What am I? I lost myself when we were making love. No one would be blamed for turning away. Not you, not Farron.”
“That’s ridiculous.” My words rush out in a whisper. I stand, stepping closer to him.
“You’re powerful, Day. Now that you know what’s inside you, you won’t lose yourself to it again,” Farron cuts in, low and sharp. “Embrace the gift that was given to you. The flame.”
The flame. The Green Flame that brought him back. If it saved my mate’s life, is it truly evil? Caspian has wielded it to protect us. Perhaps this powercouldbe used for good. But the look Dayton gave me, the distance in those green eyes… he wasn’t himself.
“I didn’t ask for it,” Dayton says, his voice breaking. “This isn’t the way of our world. Why do I deserve a second chance?”
My heart twists, and I grab his hands, cold and trembling. “You’re here. That’s all that matters.”
Farron moves toward us, stopping at Dayton’s other side. For a long moment, he looks at him, his face unreadable. Then he exhales and reaches out, clasping Dayton’s shoulder.
“I love you,” Farron says, voice rough. “So I’m going to insist we stay. And more than that, I’m going to suggest we get over this fear you’ve recently developed.”
“Fear?” Dayton raises a brow.
“That you’ll lose yourself to the Green Flame again,” Farron says. “I propose you make love to Rosalina again.”
Dayton shakes his head. “I’m not using Rosie as an experiment to see if I’m stable.”
“I wasn’t scared of you,” I say. “It was just…different.”
The thoughts war in my mind—the euphoria of being with my mate again and the intensity that had ended our lovemaking. How do I make sense of this new power inside him?
“Fucking is the answer?” A small, choked laugh escapes Dayton, and some of his tension lifts.
“I’ll be here the whole time,” Farron says. “Nothing will happen to our mate.”
I press my lips to Dayton’s shoulder. “I always want you, Day. My body is yours. Always.”
“Good. I’m glad we’re all in agreement,” Farron says, “because I plan to devour every inch of you both tonight.”
A spark of excitement shudders through me, and I bite my lower lip. It’s not just Day I’ve missed. I’ve been away from Farron for too long. “What do you have in mind, Autumn Prince?”
“Do you remember one of the first times we were all together? Dayton instructed us how to make love?”
