Chapter 123
CHAPTER 123
Rosalina
T here are a million questions I have for the Prince of Thorns. What truly happened down Below with Farron? Does he know his adopted sister is my blood one?
But that can wait. Right now, there’s only his eyes, swirling like a galaxy, long dark lashes lowering. “How did you know?” he asks.
“I think my heart knew for a long time,” I say, unable to stop my smile. To finally say the words my heart has been telling me all these months.
Caspian is my mate.
“You shouldn’t be smiling like that for me,” he says softly, hand cupping the side of my face. “I’ve already got enough of an ego.”
I throw my arms around his shoulders, kissing him deeply. “Why did you take so long to tell me?”
He hesitates. “I didn’t know I ever would. Rosalina, I may not have bars around me, but I’m a prisoner of the Below as much as you are. I just happen to have a unique way to free you.”
“Won’t they realize you helped me escape?”
“You know me, Flower. I always have a plan.” He kisses me before I can catch his expression. “Are you sure you want this? We don’t need to make it intimate.”
I work on the clasp of his cloak. “If I’m to have you, Cas, I’ll have you properly.”
My gaze catches on something shimmering below his shirt. My moonstone necklace. “You kept it safe.”
“Of course I did.” He moves to remove it. “I suppose I should give it back to you now.”
“Keep it,” I breathe. “If we can’t stay together, then at least a part of me can be with you.”
A galaxy of emotions shimmers in his eyes, and his shoulders relax as if in surrender. “Very well, Princess. I shall not forget such a gift.” He sweeps off the cloak and spreads it on the ground before gathering me in his arms and lowering us to the velvety surface. “We have to be quick.”
Wild anticipation floods through me, fear and nerves and longing.
Caspian is my mate. Warmth blooms bright inside me, a feeling like morning mist running through my veins. It’s always been simmering there, but finally, finally , he had the courage to tell me, and I had the courage to believe it.
And with Dayton’s bond returned to full strength within my chest, I finally feel complete.
“You’re so beautiful,” Caspian murmurs, smoke-filled shadows in his voice. He kisses my neck.
“So are you,” I whisper as he slides the strap of my white tunic off my shoulder and places his mouth on my bare skin. “I thought so the first moment I met you, when you saved me in the Briar.”
He blinks, the iridescent lights of the crystals casting a rainbow across his face. “I hadn’t felt anything in so long,” he rasps. “It felt like my heart was caged in shadows, but something burst forth when you crawled through the rosebush. I followed that feeling straight to you.”
Something clenches in my heart. All this time, he’s been watching over me. Not just me, but Castletree, and in his own way, the Enchanted Vale. “You could have kept me then, but you brought me to Kel.”
Caspian rolls the dress off my shoulders, and I lift my hips to wiggle out of it until I’m completely bare. His hand, the long delicate fingers, hover above me, almost like he’s afraid to touch me. “I knew that’s where you’d be safest,” he says. “Now, back to his safety you must return.”
His kiss crashes over me, and my skin rubs against the delicate fabric of his clothes. I unlace his shirt and slip him out of it, revealing his bare chest.
“Come with me.” I press my lips to his collarbone. “Kel and I will protect you in Winter.”
Sadness flickers across his features like the twinkle of starlight before he lowers his head to my neck. “The bargain will only send you. I belong here.”
“No,” I say, but my words cut off in a desperate cry as his mouth works my breast. Desire curls deep inside of me, like a caged animal thrashing to break free. “You belong with me.”
“I wish it were so, Flower.”
Desperately, I unbuckle his belt, and he kicks, breaking free of his pants entirely. He rises above me, dark hair falling over his eyes. “Of every wicked thing I’ve done in my life, this might just top them all.”
“Wicked?” I gasp.
He smiles, and it’s so soft and dazzling, a part of me melts inside. Caspian runs a rough hand along my body, gripping my thigh.
“This will save you, and the cost is only my greatest desire,” he whispers. “Tell me, Princess, is that not wicked?”
I draw him toward me, capturing his lips. “Then let us descend into the shadows together.”
He enters me then, slowly, swallowing me with his desperate kisses. His hands slide beneath my hips, raising them as he plunges deeper and deeper.
I’ve waited for this moment for so long. He’s always been under my skin, but now, I finally have him inside of me. Stars crest at the edges of my vision, and Caspian weaves his hands in my hair.
“Rosalina, I would betray every god in every universe just to feel like this with you.” His voice lowers to a growl as he slides to the hilt, and the sensation is otherworldly.
We find a rhythm, and my fingers dig into his back, feeling every rippled scar. Pleasure streaks hot down my spine like the strike of lightning, and I arch my back, meeting his thrusts.
“Caspian,” I moan, head thrown back, eyes squeezed shut as I cling to him for support.
He kisses me sweetly at first but with an intensity that grows. His motions becoming more desperate. I wrap my legs around his waist, binding us closer still. There is no going back now. This has sealed our fates.
Magic prickles in the air, and my heart wars with itself, desperate to climb this peak with him, but knowing that the moment it’s over …
“I have dreamed of this, Princess,” he whispers against my neck as he kisses a path to my collarbone. “In the deepest dark of the Below, when I thought I would never see light again, all I could think of was you.”
His words inflame me further, and I kiss him deeply. His breathing becomes more ragged, and a coil of desire tightens inside me.
“Caspian,” I moan, my voice a mix of pleasure and need. “I have dreamed of you too.”
Our movements become wild, eyes locked, hearts beating in sync. Magic swirls around us like a tempest. It crackles in the air, electric and alive, flooding our every touch, our every breath. A soft glow emits from my chest, and then his.
Like the crystals in this cavern, we are glowing.
Caspian gasps, “What is this?”
I lean up to kiss him deeply. “It’s our mate bond,” I whisper against his lips. “We’re completing it.”
Caspian’s breath hitches and I can see the emotion painting his face. The happiness, the guilt, the fear. It’s all there in his lavender eyes.
“Don’t be afraid, Cas. This is right.”
Caspian doesn’t have a curse to break, but it’s like he’s shattering all the same, washing away the layers as light blooms across his skin. Long dark hair falls across his shining eyes.
“Call me your mate,” I say.
He lets out a guttural cry, lifting my hips as he drives his cock deeper, then collapsing his weight on top of me. He grabs a fistful of my hair, and his lips move to my ear as he whispers desperately, “You are my mate, Rosalina. I do not know how you are bound to me, by the stars or by fate. But I know you belong to me, and I to you. Mate. My mate.”
I tilt my head toward him, heart bursting with joy. “Caspian, I’ll never doubt you again. I’ll never doubt my heart again. It’s been calling to you for so long.”
“Every piece of you is mine,” Caspian growls, his voice ragged with want. He bites at my neck, before lapping at the bruised skin.
Caspian thrusts like he’s been waiting for this for a thousand years, stretching me to the brink of pain. A strange warmth bubbles inside me, as if the deepest parts of my soul are merging with his.
His fingers dig into my hips, pulling us closer. His lips find my nipple, teeth grazing the sensitive skin as he sucks fiercely. I arch my back, hissing in pleasure, feeling the connection between us deepen with every stroke, every kiss.
“Touch every part of me, mate,” I gasp, my voice hoarse with desire.
The cavern seems to pulse in time with our rhythm, the stalactites above glowing softly as we move. Our bodies slide against one another, our skin slick with sweat.
He thrusts deeper, hitting a place inside that sends shockwaves of pleasure coursing through me. My core pulses around his cock. I dig my nails into his shoulders and rock my hips. More, more, more.
Anything, darling , his voice caresses my mind. I would give you this world if you asked.
His words drive me into a frenzy, and he reaches down between us, finding my clit. I cry out, and my spine arches off the cold, damp ground as the pleasure envelops me. My heart swells with love and lust. I grip his shoulders tighter, my nails digging in. Raw hunger emanates from his gaze as our eyes lock.
“I wish I had time to push you to your limits, Princess,” he rasps, “to test just what they are.”
His thrusts become more feral, and our bodies dance in a primal cadence. The cavern hums in harmony, the walls blurring in my starlit vision. Caspian’s eyes are ablaze with desire, mirroring my own, as he thrusts deeper and harder, his hips grinding against me in a rhythm that sends tremors through the cavern walls. The stalactites above shudder, their crystalline forms resonating with our passion.
Stars, I wouldn’t be surprised if we take down all of the Below.
His lips leave a trail of fire on my skin. With each thrust, I’m transported closer toward oblivion.
“It’s almost time, Rose,” he whispers.
“No,” I say, tears pricking my eyes. “Not yet. Don’t send me away yet.”
His movements slow, he leans down and tenderly kisses my eyelids. “Not yet, then.”
I stare up at the canopy of crystals above us, and for a moment, I forget everything. The bargain, the Vale, my magic. All that matters is this feeling.
The world narrows, reduced to just the two of us as we move together in desperate tandem. The magic sparking between us grows brighter.
“Rosalina, Rosalina,” Caspian mutters, a sort of delirium overtaking his voice. “You are a rose that blooms in the shadows, a star on the darkest night.”
I clutch him. “Cas, I’m so glad you saved me.”
“I love you, Rosalina,” he whispers against my lips.
The words, so unexpected, send me over the edge. I love you too. I cling to him as wave after wave of pleasure washes over me. His arms tighten around me, and he cries out, his body tensing.
I arch my back, body writhing to crest with his even as tears spring to my eyes. The magic intensifies, swirling around us.
With a great sigh, he collapses on top of me, kissing my cheek, my nose, my temples.
“How long does it take?” I gasp. “How long does it take?”
There’s a strange smile on his face as he looks at me. “Sometimes instantly, sometimes a few moments.”
“If it works,” I say.
His lavender gaze flicks to the thorn bracelet. “It’ll work.”
He sits up, loosely pulling on his pants and throwing on his shirt. I wrap his cloak around my shoulders, unable to take my eyes off the Prince of Thorns.
The ground rattles beneath us, tiny pebbles vibrating and then the first hint of a thorn breaks through.
“See?” Caspian raises a cocky brow.
“Okay, yes,” I whisper. “You love Kel very much.”
He leans toward me. “Give the icy bastard a kiss from me.” Then his lips press over mine, even as I feel the purple thorns wrap around my body to claim me.
Something splashes into my mouth, a metallic sort of taste. Caspian coughs, and I pull back. Blood sputters from his mouth and splashes over my chest.
He looks down at his body, where a prismatic thorn impales his ribs.
“Very good,” a dark voice slithers.
Sira.
The Queen of the Below stands behind us, the Nightingale beside her. My sister’s eyes are a void black, the same as when Sira told her to shoot Dayton. Behind them, dozens of soldiers stand and wait.
“I knew your brother was up to something distasteful,” Sira says.
“Caspian!” I scream. Rage billows inside me so hot, I feel it can burn through the crystals’ barrier. How could she do this to her own son ?
Caspian clutches his chest as blood pumps out between his fingers. But he just smiles. “You’re too late.”
Too late … too late.
“No!” I scream, but the magic of his bargain is already consuming me. Thorns swallow my body, dragging me under. “Caspian!”
He doesn’t turn back to me as the guards drag him away, and I’m wrapped in thorns and shadows. My mind fills with mist. Keldarion. Keldarion, I’m going to Kel. I belong to Kel.
The last thought I have before my mind is entirely consumed with Kel is that I never told Caspian I loved him back.