I closed my eyes, my magic forming the connection between Rosaline’s mind and mine as I took her hand.
A flurry of blue and yellow flower petals swept my mind down the tether and placed me in the middle of a field of wildflowers outside of a hovel. A young girl, no more than eight and thin as a twig, picked flowers beside me.
The girl’s mother stood on the side of the road. Her lips were painted bright red and she bared her calf to the road, her draped skirts failing to hide her pregnant belly.
“Rosaline!” called a boy.
I turned to see a large blonde boy running toward us.
Riyan. He was soyoung.
Rosaline smiled, but then her eyes widened with fear when Riyan ran up to her. His hair was past his shoulders, his sleeves were in shreds around his arms, and he was barefoot like he had burst out of his shoes.
His face looked nine years old, but he was over six feet tall.
Riyan’s eyes were full of tears. “Rosie, I…I grew.”
Rosaline gripped the flower stems. “What happened?”
“There was an accident with Grandmother and…” Riyan ran a hand through his long golden hair. “No time to explain. Grandfather is sending me away. To Hyton.”
He handed her a small leather pouch that clinked as it moved. “Here, ten marks. That should be enough to get your family to Hyton Palace. Grandmother says they’re always looking for maids.”
Rosaline’s eyebrows flew to her hairline as she weighed the pouch in her hand. “Ten whole marks…are you coming with us?”
A tear rolled down Riyan’s cheek. “No. I have to…I have to go, but I want you to be all right. Thank you for being my friend when no one else would.”
And then he leaned down and kissed her.
The memory ended as the two children said goodbye. I pushed out of Rosaline’s memory. I left Rosaline’s mind behind and returned to the feeling of my palm in hers.
I opened my eyes to find her crystal blue ones shining back at me.
“Bloodstone had the coldest winter in a generation that year,” she said. “My family wouldn’t have survived it. He…he saved our lives.”
A chill crept along my shoulders. Riyan’s selflessness and caring was never just a push from a corrupted blood bond…that was just who he was.
Beneath the blood on his hands and the magic in his veins, there was always a good man.
Regardless of what anyone had tried to make him—a beast, a monster, an heir, a rival, or a threat—Riyan wasgood.He was good, and kind, and…and…
…and what did that make me?
I pulled my hand from hers and my throat trembled. “Should I even know what is in the box?”
Rosaline’s fingernails tapped on the edge of the white box. “I can’t see into someone’s mind like you, but I was with Fraleigh long enough to learn how to read what is never written down.”
Her eyes met mine. She could see me.
But somehow I did not mind it.
She smiled and gently pushed the box into my lap. “You don’t need this but…maybe it will finally put a real smile on your face.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. My fingers pulled at the pink ribbon and I lifted the lid of the box. On top of rippling black satin was a large and slightly crumpled note. The handwriting was nearly illegible, but I was still able to make out the message.
Serafina,
I know I’m not what you wanted. I know none of this is what you wanted.
