Chapter 103
CHAPTER 103
Ezryn
O ur bodies are slick with sweat, our heavy breathing the only sound. Rosalina leans against the wall of the closet. Her hair is tangled, face flushed. The exquisite look of a woman well fucked.
I try to back up to give her some room but end up shoving my foot in the mop bucket. I give it a kick, freeing myself with a thunk , and Rosalina bursts out laughing. My wet shirt sits beside it. A part of me thinks Rose did that on purpose so I’d have to stay shirtless.
I shush her with a kiss. “We’ll get caught.”
“If no one heard me screaming your name already, then I think we’re safe.” She runs a hand down my chest, her touch like a soothing balm.
My mate back in my arms, both of us reunited with Dayton and Farron … perhaps everything is not so hopeless after all.
Though, Rosalina and I should get back above deck. I’m sure Valeria and Mozi will have recruited Dayton into helping the rescued gladiators settle in with the rest of the fleet. Seeing Dayton again was like looking at the sun itself: a glowing, colossal entity with the confidence to bathe the world in light. Mate of my mate . Though he had quickly told me the story, I had felt the change as soon as I saw him. I always knew the brotherhood I shared with Dayton went beyond friendship—we are bound together in a fate from the stars.
“You kept your promise,” Dayton had said to me when we first reunited, his eyes on Delphie. “You kept her safe. I knew you would.”
“Actually,” I’d managed to say, “she kept me safe.”
And to see Farron again after all these months … I almost didn’t recognize him. There wasn’t time to hear about the journey he’s been on since last I saw him in Spring, but I can tell it weighs on him. There was an emptiness to his expression … a voidness in his eyes I’ve never seen before. I’ll have to speak with him when I can.
But all of that had to wait. I’d needed to take care of the most important business: claiming my mate. Although this closet is hardly worthy of Rosalina, it has served its purpose. The only private bedchamber on the airship is the captain’s quarters, which I left free for the High Prince of Summer; this is his realm after all, and he deserves the command.
Rosalina doesn’t seem to have minded our shabby quarters though. She’s staring up at me like one might stare at the sun. Our mate bond seems to sing between us.
“We should probably get back up on deck,” I murmur. “Dayton will want to hold a council soon.”
Rosalina laces her fingers through my hair and pulls me down until my head rests in the crook of her neck. “Soon. Just one more moment here.”
One more moment. I wish I could live in this broom closet with her forever, our own space without war, without meetings, without pain. I breathe in her scent, fingers trailing over her hips.
“This kind of reminds me of the first time you kissed me,” she says. “I followed you into the closet and then you punched out a light. Do you remember?”
“How could I ever forget?” That world feels so far away. “I could break this light for you, if you want?”
She laughs, then runs her hands along the scruff growing over my chin. “No, I love to see your face. It is my right as your mate.”
“Everyone has a right to it now,” I murmur.
She pushes me back slightly so she can look me in the eye. “What happened out there in the desert, Ez? Did you see him? Your brother?”
“Yes.” I look down, unable to hold her gaze. “We faced each other once again.”
“And you live, even though he has Spring’s Blessing …”
“He was blinded by rage. I used his anger against him.” Memories of my brother’s screams flood my mind.
“Is he still alive?”
The weight of the question hangs in the air before us. The words stick in my throat. Though I know why I chose the path I did, I don’t know if anyone else will understand it. But I must try. “Yes. I could not kill him.”
“Oh,” she says.
I grab her hands and stare at her deeply. “Listen, Rosalina. I know how dangerous Kairyn is with that Blessing. I had the opportunity to end his life. But it was as if I could see my own life laid out before me. If I killed my brother, I would become like him. His rage, his sorrow, his pain … It would pass to me. I would not be the man you fell in love with.”
A soft smile crosses her face, and she trails a hand over the curve of my tattered ears. “This is why I fell in love with you, Ezryn. Because of your gentle heart.”
Gentle. A word I never thought would be used to describe me, a man cursed for his malice. “I have to hold on to the hope that there is still good in him,” I whisper.
Rosalina rises to her tiptoes and presses her lips to mine, a whisper of a kiss. “I stand by you, Ezryn.”
I grab my pants off the floor and rummage in the pocket. Then I hold out the Queen’s token of Spring. “I took this from him. Without it, he won’t be able to wield the Hammer of Hope nor travel to Castletree on a whim. Though he may be the High Ruler, he does not deserve to wield such power.” I put it in her hand, closing her fingers around it. “You should look after it.”
“It belongs to you,” she whispers.
“No. It belongs to a deserving ruler of Spring. Until that person is found, you must safeguard this.” I implore her with my gaze. “There may be an opportunity to grant this to someone who can save Spring. Please, Rosalina. Look after this. For my people.”
She closes her eyes and nods. “I’ll keep it safe, Ez.” Then she wraps her arms around me. “I’ll keep you safe.”
I hold her as tight as I can, treasuring each inch of her skin on mine. “One more moment here,” I murmur.
“One more moment.”