Chapter 26
CHAPTER 26
Rosalina
“I saw her. Anya. Trapped between the crystals, speaking with this raven-haired lad.” Papa’s hands tighten on Caspian’s face. “What do you know of her? Tell me!”
My chest heaves rapidly. I place a hand on my father’s arm to lower his grip away from Caspian. Is what Papa saying the truth? Is my mother alive and has Caspian spoken to her? Or are these the ravings of a sick man?
I hold Caspian’s gaze. His own chest moves quickly, in time with mine. He doesn’t speak, doesn’t even blink.
“It’s true,” I breathe. “You knew where my mother was and you never told me.”
A symphony of low growls erupts behind me, and I turn to see three wolves stalking toward us. Rage exudes from each of them, from the pulled-back maw of the Winter wolf, revealing his icicle fangs, to the trembling fire ruff of the Autumn wolf, flames licking each step. The Summer wolf makes my heart seize; Dayton’s wolf looks like a shipwrecked beast, the golden fur dripping briny water, tangles of seaweed and shells encrusting his body.
“You knew where the Queen of the Vale was this whole time?” Keldarion growls. The staff scatter before this monstrous pack, and even Papa staggers away. “All these years, you’ve let her rot?”
My father said he saw green crystals; I’ve seen them, too. They belong to Sira. Which means my mother is in the Below.
I hold out my hand to stop the three wolves from getting any closer to Caspian. He’s backed up against the wall, not even daring to wield his sharp tongue.
The wolves stop at my command. I stride toward the Prince of the Below and unleash my rage upon him.
Golden briars surge out of the ground, sending pieces of the stone floor flying. I fashion my thorns sharp as daggers and explode them all around Caspian. A prickly cage spikes into the wall, imprisoning him, the thorns all inches from his skin. He flinches back, throat bobbing. His fear only fuels my anger.
“All this time, you’ve known who I am. What I am,” I breathe, words choked with sorrow and rage. “You know what my family means to me. What my mother means to me. How could you keep this a secret?”
“Because he’s never been on our side,” Dayton growls. “Ezryn’s right. We should gut him while we have the chance.”
“Silence!” I yell, and my voice booms through the entrance hall. I point at Caspian. “Be honest, Caspian. Because right now, the only reason I can think why you wouldn’t tell me is because everything has been a lie. Whatever goodness you have shown me was all fake. Whatever feelings you made me believe you had—”
“It’s not fake, Rosalina,” he breathes. Caspian closes his eyes and sighs. “Yes, I’ve known the whole time. I’ve spoken to your mother in the morning, then come and listened to you cry from missing her in the evening and I never told you.” He shoots a glare toward Papa. “If it were in the Fates’ designs, I never would.”
A scream erupts from my throat, and I shoot my hand forward. One of my thorns grows longer, jerking right against his Adam’s apple. “You lied to me!”
“I never lied to you,” he whispers. “I just never shared.”
“A lie by omission.” My emotions roil in my chest: hurt and betrayal and anger and, somewhere deep underneath them, relief because she’s alive, she’s alive, she’s alive!
The wolves flank me, and I lace my fingers through Kel’s fur on one side and Farron’s fur on the other, the juxtaposition of cold and heat shocking.
Caspian breathes shakily through his nose. “Listen, Rosalina. It does you no good to know this truth. It will only torture you. Your mother is imprisoned. She has been for decades. There is no way to break her out. It would be suicide to even consider it.” His eyes flash. “I will not tell you how to find her, not even if my life depends on it. For what awaits down in the depths where she is kept is a fate worse than death.”
I snarl and throw my hand forward again, inching that thorn harder and harder against his neck. A drop of blood blooms on his skin, and he sucks in a breath.
One more push and …
Someone puts a hand on my shoulder. I turn to see Papa. His face is so pale, eyes sunken. I drop my hand. My golden briars wither, and Caspian falls to the ground, clutching at his neck.
Papa needs me right now. Caspian is …
Caspian is no different from what he’s always been. A spider, spinning truths, waiting for any stupid fly to stick to his words.
I meet Caspian’s shining gaze. “You have until tonight to tell us everything you know or else I will let my mates decide what to do with you. A Princess does not treat with traitors.”
Arm around my father, I stride from the entrance hall, leaving Caspian to the wolves.