Chapter 116
CHAPTER 116
Rosalina
M y thorns whip Kairyn and me through the hole and out of the cavern. I blink against the bright sunlight, barely able to see as I guide us down to the flat rooftop. Waves crash against the sides, and the only visible monuments left of Hadria are towers.
The capital of the Summer Realm has sunk into the sea.
My feet hit the stone and the vines tremble away, leaving me to support the unconscious Kairyn. Gently, I lower him to the ground and look for Wrenley.
She’s awake, standing, a hand pressed to her temple.
And she’s not alone.
Sira stands beside her, shadows licking at her edges. The Bow of Radiance is suspended before Wrenley, held aloft by a pedestal of shadow.
I look from my sister to the Queen of the Below. What is she doing here? I thought she left when she got the bow!
She’s come back for Wrenley.
That bow was my mother’s. It belongs to me. A primal rage erupts through me, and white-hot flame explodes over my hands. Vines with spikes sharp as serpents’ fangs crack out of the ground and bob beside me. “Give that to me.”
Sira raises an eyebrow and crosses her arms, smirking at Wrenley. “Take the bow, darling.”
I look at my sister. “Don’t do it. You don’t have to listen to her.”
Wrenley blinks, expression disoriented.
“Take the bow,” Sira snarls.
Wrenley reaches forward and clasps the grip.
I saved her life. Maybe it doesn’t mean anything to her, but it means something to me. I won’t give up on her. I take a tentative step forward. “Wrenley, come with me. You don’t need her. I’ll keep you safe.”
Wrenley looks at Kairyn, lying unconscious beside me. “What did you do to him?”
“He’s alive,” I breathe.
A look of relief flashes on her face. Her iridescent vines lurch up from the ground, wrapping around Kairyn, fast as a snake’s strike. Within a moment, he’s sunk down beneath the earth.
Wrenley’s grip tightens on the bow. Her whole body shakes, gaze faraway. “You don’t understand. I told you and told you! Neither you nor Cas ever listen!”
“That’s a good girl,” Sira purrs. She pets Wrenley’s head. “Now, Rosalina darling, you be a good girl too. There’s no need to make your own sister shoot you, is there?”
Shadows start to lick across the ground toward me. I remember how they tangled up my arms, pinning me to the Tower of Nether Reach the last time Sira imprisoned me. I’ll never be at her mercy again.
But if it comes down to a fight between me, Sira, and the Nightingale, I know one thing for certain.
Whoever has the Nightingale—and that bow—on their side wins.
I let my flame and thorns fall. “Wrenley, listen to me. So much has happened between the two of us. But I want to get to know you. The real you. This time, I am listening and I hear how scared you are.”
Sira lets out a mocking laugh, and Wrenley just looks at me, resignation in her eyes.
“There’s another way, Wrenley,” I beg. “Sira would have let you die for that bow. But that’s not how things work in our family. We look after each other, no matter what. We are family.”
“No.” Wrenley’s eyes dart back and forth. “I’ve never been a part of your world. Never can be.”
My voice breaks. “Our mother wants to meet you, Wrenley. Our mother. We can save her together.”
Wrenley shuts her eyes and grits her teeth. A pained sound emits from her throat, before Sira steps forward. “Foolish words from a fool’s daughter! Be silent or I’ll rip your tongue from your mouth.”
“Get away from her!” a booming voice shouts across the sky. There’s the flap of wings, and I look behind me to see a Pegasus surging toward us, carrying Dayton.
He leaps off its back onto the stone rooftop, tucking into a roll. When he gets to his feet, a bright light flashes in his hand: the Trident of Honor.
His gaze is fiery, set on …
Set on Wrenley.
“I’ve had enough of this warmongering Summer Prince,” Sira says. “I’ll get just as much satisfaction from ripping Summer’s Blessing out of your sister. Now, Wrenley, shoot him.”
“She’s not going to do what you say anymore,” I call. “She doesn’t need you, Sira.”
A smile twitches at the corner of Sira’s mouth. “You petulant child. All you surface folk worship your great Queen. If only you knew how selfish she was. Even the most sanctified are susceptible to the right bargain.” Sira runs a hand through one of Wrenley’s curls. “My darling daughter knows that she was collateral for her first mother. That’s why you’re so well-behaved most of the time, isn’t it? You know I look after you. It’s very rare I have to enact the power I gained through Aurelia’s bargain. But I will do it. Won’t I, daughter?”
Panic laces through my chest. Aurelia made a bargain with the Queen of the Below? No, it can’t be true. “You’re not her mother,” I say.
“I am ,” Sira snarls. “Wrenley, shoot him. ”
Wrenley’s chest heaves. “Mother, please. Summer is already lost. There’s no point in killing him.”
I hold my breath. I see it in her gaze—there may yet be some lingering attachment to Dayton. To me. Wrenley won’t do this. There is still good in her. I know it.
“I SAID SHOOT HIM!” Sira’s voice explodes through the air with a thundering roar, a voice so terrible, it sounds as if she dredged up all the echoes of the dead to scream with her.
A glazed look crosses Wrenley’s face. Her blue eyes seem to darken before shifting completely to black. Her body tenses, each muscle seeming to move of its own accord. Then she lifts the bow, draws the glowing string, and shoots.
Dayton staggers back, once, twice. The trident falls from his hand and clatters on the ground. He looks down, fingers tentatively prodding at the hole gaping through his stomach. Then, he looks to me.
“Rosie,” he says, and then that’s it.
He collapses to the ground.
Our mate bond goes slack.