“Before Kel releases you. See if you can find yourself. Will you try?”
“I’ll try,” I say doubtfully, but already, I’ve forgotten exactly why I need to do that. I’m heading to Kel. Kel is most important?—
“Give Kel a kiss for me,” Caspian murmurs.
The briars swallow me whole and rip me under the earth.
Give Kel a kiss for me.
I can do that. Of course I can.
Anything for Kel.
29
Rosalina
Where is he? Where is Kel? Nothing else matters. Not thebriars detangling from my body as I’m spat out into the snow. Not the wind ripping through my skin, tearing at my hair, and pulling at the blanket wrapped around my shoulders. Pain lances through my skin, this cold like nothing I’ve ever experienced before.
But who cares? Let the wind rip me to shreds or the cold turn me blue. As long as Keldarion is here, the elements can ravage me however they will. My body does not belong to me.
It is his.
See if you can find yourself. Will you try?
Whose voice is that, playing in my memory? Not Kel’s. It doesn’t matter. Nothing before this moment matters. The only one I must find is Kel.
My name is Rosalina O’Connell. I was born in Orca Cove. My father is George O’Connell. My mother is Anya O’Connell.
I shake my head. What are these useless thoughts? Keldarion is the only person I care about. Ibelongto him. Anything that once was doesn’t matter.
I like s’mores Pop-Tarts and Marigold’s blueberry pancakes. My favorite color is blue, and my favorite book isPride and Prejudice?—
No. I must find him. Blinking, I peer through the snow cutting a diagonal across my vision. The sun is a gleaming orange line, soon to set. Before me, a large tent made of animal skins is stretched over a tall pole. The flap swooshes open, and a giant silhouette appears against the glow from within.
I know him even by his shadow.
“Keldarion,” I cry, lurching forward. The blanket cascades from my shoulders, and I fall, naked in the snow at his feet. Tears stream down my face as I stare up, so overwhelmed with peace at the sight of him.
He glowers down, his long, white hair flicking in the wind. His beautiful mouth is set in a scowl. Despite wearing only a loose shirt and black leather trousers, he looks like a king.Myking. My god! What is grander than a god? That is what he is to me. My world, my universe, my entire cosmos. I am but a gnat to his greatness.
I who am no one, who have no name. Only his belonging.
“Rosalina,” he growls.
Who? I look around, worried someone else is with us.
Keldarion yanks my wrist and pulls me into the tent.
I collapse on the floor. I need to touch him, need to feel his skin. “Keldarion, I belong to you.”
Keldarion closes the flap, then stomps over to me. Despite his immense height, the tent is steepled in such a way he can stand without his head grazing the top. I clamber to my knees, hands reaching for him?—
He snatches my wrist. His lip curls in disgust. “You are not wanted here.”
My senses spring to life. First, I feel the ache in my body from the sudden temperature change. It’s so warm in here compared to the freezing tundra outside. The air smells faintly of peat. A small fire burns in a stone-lined pit at the center, its flame casting an orange glow over everything. The smoke drifts lazily upward toward a vent at the peak of the tent. I run my hand across the soft fur beneath me. The ground is covered in thick pelts. There’s a cot in the corner layered with woven blankets.
Then I notice I’m completely naked. Kel is still scowling at me like I’m some sort of pariah. I cover my breasts with my arms and tuck up my legs. “Well, so much for a warm reception. Could you pass me something to wear, please?”
