Chapter 55
CHAPTER 55
Caspian
T here’s always been a beauty to the Summer Realm that captivates me. Especially in the Serenus Dusk Chambers attached to the Sun Colosseum. The gauzy drapes surrounding the bed flutter in a sea breeze that cools the sandstone room. Glittering shells and jewels are encrusted on everything from the bedposts to the vanity. If I got up from the bed and wandered to the window, I’d have a stunning view of the arena, and then beyond it, the turquoise sea stretching out until it melded with the sky. Where I’ve always felt cloistered in the other realms, there’s a sense of freedom in Summer that I can’t deny.
I stretch out over the bed and undo a few more laces on my shirt. The sweltering heat, however, I could do without.
It won’t be a long visit here; not only can I feel my lungs filling with sludge, but I don’t know what kind of trouble Farron is capable of getting into while left alone in Cryptgarden. Dangerous games are my favorite, but I’m used to playing them alone. One wrong move and the Autumn Prince could be discovered. A chill runs up my spine despite the heat. Not that I care what happens to Farron, per se, but I am giving this hero-thing a try. It wouldn’t do to lose my partner so quickly.
I know the reason for my visit is approaching because the walls seem to shake with each reverberation of his step. Not that I am here to visit Kairyn, but where that walking pile of scrap metal goes, so does my sister.
Birdy swings open the door and storms in. She’s not in her armor or mask. I like her like this, with her hair down, and the curve of her mouth visible. It’s etched in a frown right now, but there’s always a chance I can see it in a smile.
“You lost her? You lost her?” the raspy voice of Kairyn says as he follows behind her.
“Yeah, well, you lost her first!” Birdy snarls, rounding on him and slamming the door.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the happy couple.”
They both jerk their gazes to me. I can only imagine Birdy’s glare is echoed on Kairyn’s face.
“Do you always have to show up unannounced?” Birdy asks. “Get off my bed. Why are you even here?”
“Just checking up on you. Very nice accommodations here above the arena. Your cages are always gilded, aren’t they, Birdy?”
She ignores me and strides to the vanity. She sits down and runs a brush aggressively through her short hair. It’s curlier than usual, smelling of saltwater.
Kairyn leans against the door, head tilted back in exasperation. It’s a strangely casual posture for him, one I’m not so familiar with.
“Don’t mind me,” I urge. “Carry on with your argument. Something something lost her?”
“The Golden Rose,” Birdy snaps. “I lost her location once she went out to sea. It’s not my fault. You know I have no mobility on the ocean.”
“Yes, tricky thing about the thorns is you can grow them in the ocean soil, but the swim is the killer.” I flash a grin at Kairyn.
“Maybe fate is on our side for once and she drowned,” Kairyn mutters.
“We aren’t so lucky,” Birdy growls.
So, Rosalina’s gone missing. That’s better than her being in Birdy’s clutches. I can only assume Rosalina and Dayton have a plan.
Whatever it is, I won’t say it’s going to be brilliant, but it’s probably going to be spectacular.
Kairyn walks over to the vanity and stands above my sister. Slowly, almost delicately, he lifts a strand of dark hair and tucks it behind her ear. “We’ll find her.”
Birdy leans her head against his hand. I sit up and blink. Birdy does not like to be touched.
“And the High Prince of Summer, too,” she whispers. “It’s coming together, Kai. His Blessing will be mine.”
Kairyn stiffens. “Let me kill him for you. I could do it. With Ezryn’s Blessing—”
She stands suddenly and faces him. “It’s not Ezryn’s Blessing—it’s yours. We’ve talked about this. If you kill Dayton, it will go to his damned sister, and you lost her, too.”
“Dayton.” Kairyn says his name like a curse. “Now you’re calling him by that ridiculous nickname.”
“It’s really not that ridiculous,” I chime in, examining a thread on my cuff. “Sea Puppy would be a ridiculous nickname. Or Fred, because what does that have to do with it all? But Dayton is actually quite a normal—”
“Why are you even here?” Kairyn growls, stomping toward me. “You’re a layabout. A distraction. A good-for-nothing—”
“Careful.” I smile. “You’re starting to sound like my mother.”
“No, Caspian, you be careful,” Kairyn says darkly. “If you don’t remember whose side you’re on, you’re going to get your sister killed.”
My movements are quick, graceful. Deadly. Before Kairyn even has a chance to step away, I’m holding a sharp dagger made of pure shadow to the sliver of neck that shows between his helm and his chest plate. I smile up at him, though I know my eyes are radiating darkness. “I don’t care what they call you. High Prince. Emperor. God. I will keep my sister safe above all else. Suggest otherwise again, and I’ll protect her against the man capable of mutilating his own brother.”
Silence echoes in the room. Kairyn’s chest heaves up and down. “I did what I must.”
“Is that what you tell yourself in the dead of night when you remember what you did to him?” I breathe.
Then there’s a hand on my wrist, yanking it away. “Caspian, stop it .” Birdy gives me a glare that could dim a will-o’-wisp. “I don’t need you showing up and keeping an eye on me. I’ve got everything under control. Soon, I will sit on the throne of Keep Soltide with Summer’s Blessing. I’ll oversee all the realm—”
“Ah, so your metal dog will run Spring and rule over a bunch of thralls, and you’ll sit in your seaside palace, leader to a group of subjected fae who hate you.”
“Hate me. Fear me. Love me. I care little for it,” she spits. “But I’ll be out of that wretched squalor in the ground, and you’ll rule the dirt and darkness, Cas. Like it or not, Mother will see we are ascended. Better I have some say over my fate, lest she chooses for me as she chose for you.”
I take a shaky breath in through my nose. “All the pieces must be in place. Sira’s not ready for such moves yet.”
“The time will come soon enough.” Kairyn walks over to the window and looks out. “The celestial lands await. Sira will see herself once again in the Above.”
“Right, right, Mother does love to look down on us all.” I choose my words carefully. “Little problem with the weapons though, isn’t there? You’ve got four under your control, even if you can’t wield the bow yet, but that sneaky little Summer trident’s gone missing, hasn’t it?”
“ She knows where it is,” Birdy rasps. “I should have interrogated her myself.” She looks up at Kairyn. “You’re too soft.”
“What would you have me do? Torture her? She’s my brother’s mate,” he says.
“My brother! My brother! My brother!” Birdy spins in a circle. “Will I never cease hearing of Ezryn? He’s as good as dead. You have his Blessing! Forget him!”
Kairyn leans over the windowsill, the breeze blowing back his black cape. “He’s alive. He hunted my soldiers through the sands. He came to me in the prison. I hear his voice sometimes, screaming out my name—”
“Green Flame, rid me of this incessant chatter of fucking Ezryn,” Birdy cries, covering her ears with her hands.
My teeth grind together. These two are nearly as dysfunctional at making a plan as those four princes. “Back to the Above … Any luck with finding someone to wield the Bow of Radiance? Word is it’s the grand prize in your twisted little games.”
Birdy paces across the room. “It’s ridiculous. This idiot’s willing to let every peasant and pauper good enough with a sword put their hands on it. They’ve all burned up, of course. But I could do it. I can wield it—”
“No!” Kairyn yells. He turns away from the window and storms over to her. His hulking body basically enshrouds her. “It is too much to risk. We’ll find someone strong enough to withstand it.”
“ I’m strong enough, Kai,” she says softly.
He takes her hand, so small in his giant gloved ones, and lightly runs a finger over her palm. A wave of nausea comes over me that has nothing to do with the sludge.
“I know you are,” he murmurs. “But as I trust you with your plan, trust me with mine. If there is someone else capable of wielding the bow, I will find them. There is no reason for you to risk your life.”
She rolls her eyes but doesn’t pull away as quickly as I expected. When she does, her eyes linger on the shadow of his dark helm. “There is no time to waste. I’m going to the docks to get word on the storm.” She flicks her gaze to me. “Lovely visit as always, Cas. Next time you see me, you may be addressing me as High Princess of Summer.”
“You’ve always been a princess to me, Birdy,” I say softly.
A smile seems to fight to grace her lips. She quickly turns and strides out the door. Kairyn goes to follow, but I grab his arm.
“You can’t let her try to wield the Bow of Radiance,” I say. “Whatever you do, don’t let her touch it.”
“I know,” he says back. “You’re not the only one who would do anything to protect her.” Then he whips his arm away from me, turns, and storms out the door.
I stand alone in the room, the only sound the crash of waves outside. Kairyn doesn’t want her to touch the bow because he’s afraid she’ll turn to ash.
But I know if she touches that bow, it’s the realms that will burn.