54. The Prince of Thorns
The Prince of Thorns
The Green Flame sings.
It coils around my spine, warm and alive, filling every weak space. I see. The truth, the future, the way.
Farron and Sira—what fools they are. Believing themselves powerful, important. But they’re nothing more than stepping stones. Pawns to the Baron. To my father.
And he’s coming.
Aurelia’s death will open the gate. With her last breath, the final tether will snap, and he’ll enter our world. The Enchanted Vale will burn, yes, but it’ll be ours. Father and son. Green fire across the sky, smoke rising from the bones of weak princes.
Sira’s purpose is complete. She was the match. Now it’s time she’s snuffed out.
I smile.
My father’s will pounds through me like a second heartbeat. His hatred for the traitor burns brighter than mine. Farron, the unworthy heir. The coward who turned away. We’ll start with Dayton, his precious Summer Prince. Make Farron hold him as he dies. Then the High Prince of Spring will fall.
Farron’s life will be last.
He will beg.
I raise my hand, and the flame leaps with me, vibrant and wild, casting emerald shadows across the cavern. My body feels endless. Limitless. There’s no fear anymore. No doubt. No love.
Only purpose.
Only fire.
And I am ready.
“And what of this one?” the Baron says in my mind but also from the flickering form. He’s almost here.
I follow his gaze.
Keldarion.
Charging, blades of ice glinting in either hand. His expression is carved from fury, but there’s something else under it, something I know all too well.
Grief.
“He too must die,” the Baron says.
Flames coil over my body, forming a ball in my hands, one to launch at the High Prince of Winter.
“No,” I yell, forcing myself out of the way, flames whooshing around me.
“Kill him,” my father commands.
I straighten. “This one is my pet. Mine alone to break.”
Make him kneel.
Something inside me shatters at the thought.
No. No.
Not my pet. My—
My love.
Thoughts crack like glass.
Cas. Kel’s deep voice rings in my mind. I try to grasp it, grasp him, but it’s as if I’m the stolen rose, trapped in a jar, pounding on the glass.
Kel looks at me. No. Into me. And I see him. He sees me. Just for a heartbeat.
Fire swirls at the edges of my vision. He will kneel before the Green Flame or die by it.
I move.
We clash, two storms, blades and flames, ice and fire. I drive him back. He meets every strike. His eyes never leave mine, even as green magic drips from my hands. I want to hurt him. I want to hold him.
And stars help me—
If I kill him, I’ll die too.