73. Rosalina
73
Rosalina
I tumble into a soft cloud of pillows and sheets. After staying up all night, a nap is certainly in order.
The curtains are shuttered closed, but the golden sun seeps in through the cracks. Though my body is exhausted and sore, I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep. Not with an impending army on our doorstep.
My door creeps open, and the familiar clank of metal sounds as Ezryn steps in. I start to rise, but he says softly, “Don’t get up.”
I settle back to the pillows. He sits beside me, running a gentle gloved hand over my cheek.
“I hope I didn’t wake you,” he says.
“Not at all.”
His visor tilts down. “It’s hard to rest on the edge of battle. No matter how many wars I’ve fought, it never gets any easier.”
“Maybe we’ll rest easier together.” I tug on his arm. “Lay down with me.”
A breathy sigh reverberates from his helm. “I wish I could, Petal. But I came to say goodbye.”
“Goodbye?” I force my blurry eyes to focus. “You’re not leaving too, are you?”
“No, I’ll be back by sunset. There’s a scouting party riding out to spy on Quellos’s numbers and weapons. I’m going to accompany them.”
The thought of Ezryn leaving so soon after Kel causes a hollow pit to form in my stomach. “I’m sure Autumn has capable scouts.”
“I would prefer to see for myself.”
I sigh. “You can just say you don’t trust anyone else to do the job.”
He gives a little snort of amusement. “When I return, I’ll also assist in preparing the land around the wall for the attack.”
“Is there anything I can do?”
“You’ve already rescued the High Prince of Autumn,” Ezryn says. “You, Farron, and Dayton need to rest. No one fights in close combat like the Prince of Summer, and your mate will need all his strength to lead tomorrow. This is the best use of my power.”
I’m silent for a moment, musing on his words, before I put my hand over his. “Will you stay with me for just a little longer?”
He tilts his helm. I feel his hidden gaze on me like a caress. “Until you fall asleep.”
The bed sinks as he lays beside me, his body stiff. I curl over him, nestling my head into the crook of his shoulder and laying my leg over his. My finger swirls lazy patterns over the intricate designs on his chest plate.
“This can’t be comfier than the bed,” he murmurs, but his arm has wrapped around my body.
“It is,” I mumble. “I could stay here forever.”
His fingers drift through my hair. “If only.”
“If only,” I echo, trying not to let my eyes droop. If this is my last quiet moment with Ezryn before the battle, I want to cherish it for as long as I can.
But sleep claims me anyway. As I’m fading away, I hear Ezryn whisper, “Trust in me, Rosalina. This is how I can show you, Farron, Dayton, and Kel that I… I can protect you all.”
T he setting sun shines brightly on the horizon, casting Coppershire in golden light.
I cross my arms over my chest. “This is the worst part, the waiting.”
Farron lets out a long sigh. “I know what you mean. I almost wish they would arrive now.”
It’s agony, knowing Perth Quellos’s legion of monsters will be here by tomorrow. We’ve prepared the city. The soldiers are armed, defenses manned, and supplies stocked. I woke from my nap after a couple hours. Ezryn has left with the scouting team to gather intel on numbers and capabilities. Keldarion is gone without even a hint of where he went. Some whisper he won’t return… But in my heart, I know he’ll come back.
“Even my books fail to keep my attention,” I say finally. “I must really be nervous.”
Farron pulls me against his chest, lips dipping to my neck. “Well, I could think of a few things to distract you.”
I giggle, melting into his arms and savoring the taste of my mate’s lips over my skin.
Farron, my mate. The thought still lights my whole self. I take his face in my hands and kiss him, knowing with every part of me that he’s mine. It was meant to be. From the first moment I met him, slumped in that dungeon cell, I was called to him.
“Rosie, I can’t just have you once. I need you again.”
I let my arms loop around his shoulders. Though I’ve only napped for a few hours, I feel surprisingly awake. I wonder how long Ezryn stayed with me after I’d fallen asleep. “Wasn’t the order to rest before tomorrow?”
“You, me, the bed? That’s restful.”
My core heats, aching for him.
“Farron, wait. There’s something we should do.”
His face furrows in a grimace, already knowing what I’m going to say.
“We need to talk to Dayton.”
Farron shakes his head, and I feel the turmoil pass through him, though I’m not sure if it’s from almost killing the Summer Prince in his wolf form or facing the man he loves after the awakening of his mate bond.
Placing a gentle hand on his arm, I try to ease some of his worries. “I hope you know I would never want you to give him up.”
“I’m your mate. I belong to you.”
“And because of that, I know your heart is big enough for both of us. Plus, I have another mate. Not that he wants anything to do with me.”
“I know Kel. Before he left, there was a deep pain in parting from you.”
“It’s just the dumb bond.”
“Hey, you don’t get to call it a dumb bond now.” He places a kiss on my ear.
“Remember what we spoke of in the hot springs… Does this bond change any of it for you?”
Farron pulls back. “You mean when Day said that if you were with anyone else, he’d kill them and fuck you in their blood?”
Crimson stains my cheeks. “Yes. That.”
Farron tilts his head to the side, considering. “Kel is your mate. I know Dayton well enough to see how much he cares about you. And Ez is so important to me. The idea of you being there for him makes me happy. So no, it hasn’t changed at all.”
“Okay,” I say.
“Unless you want me to growl and get all jealous. I could try that.”
“Well, one of the guards does like staring at my chest—”
Farron grips my shoulders. “Nope, I don’t like that at all.”
“I’m only kidding.”
“I know, but it still makes me want to tear his throat out.”
I shake my head, but my smile turns serious. “It doesn’t bother me if you’re with Dayton, but the thought of you with anyone else—”
Farron places a firm kiss on my lips. “Sweetheart, there is no one in the world for me but you.” He tilts his head back and groans. “And that stupid bag of muscle in the other room.”
“Who we should go see.”
Farron takes my hand, and together, we find the Prince of Summer.
H e’s laying out his armor on a large table: a beaten gold breast plate and a bronze helmet with the engraved motif of shells. The crest is shaped like waves silhouetted by a sunray. He’s twirling two short swords.
Dayton turns to us, his golden hair loose and tumbling over his shoulders. I feel an overwhelming sense of love through the bond—Farron’s feeling for Day. But it’s not just his. My own burns bright beside it.
Dayton seemed so happy for Farron when he found out about the curse being broken. But does he secretly resent me for being Farron’s mate?
Silence looms in the room, and I feel his heavy gaze. The short swords clatter over the armor as he drops then, then moves toward us.
Dayton cups a hand to my cheek, the other tight on Farron’s shoulder. His turquoise eyes sparkle with an unsaid question.
Farron presses his lips to Dayton’s. As soft as a first kiss, slow, tentative, exploring. Dayton grasps the back of Farron’s neck.
Surprise flickers in his eyes. “This better not be a dream.”
“It’s not, Day,” Farron says. “Nothing will ever part us.”
Dayton swallows, then he turns to me, and a shadow falls over his expression. “And what about you, Blossom?”
Nerves bubble in my stomach. His gaze is so intense, but I force myself to meet it. “Dayton. Daytonales.” I say his true name firmly, proudly. “You are brave and fierce and protective, and I cannot keep away from you any more than the tides can resist the pull of the moon.”
The warmest wave of emotion travels through the bond. But Dayton doesn’t reply.
Oh shit. I’ve gone too far. “Of course, if you want to continue with only Farron, that’s okay, too.” My cheeks burn, and I quickly move toward the exit, not looking at either of them. “And I totally won’t creep in anymore doorways—”
Dayton crosses the room in a flash, and pulls the door shut. He cages me in with his arms.
“You think I’d let you leave?” The scent of sunshine and sea washes over me.
Dayton towers above me, and behind him, Farron has a knowing smirk.
“Rosalina.” Dayton grips my chin. “Look at me.”
I drift my eyes from his chest to meet his striking gaze.
His voice is a rough rasp. “If you’re the tide and I’m the moon, pull me deep into your waves. I want to drown in you.”
Then he kisses me.