Chapter 7
Rosalina
It feels like forever ago that I had my first meeting with the four seasonal princes. I’d been a scared human girl trying to bargain for her freedom.
Now as I head to the meeting hall, that girl seems far away. I’m not a human. I’m a fae princess. And I’m not fighting for my freedom anymore but the freedom of the entire Enchanted Vale.
The corridors of Keep Wolfhelm stretch before me, cavernous and silent, drenched in the shadows of flickering torchlight.
I pull my cloak tighter, feeling the chill settle in my bones, seeping up from the icy floors.
The walls are adorned with tapestries woven in deep blues and whites, each one depicting scenes of fierce battles, legendary creatures, and endless wintry landscapes.
The silence of this place is broken only by the occasional murmured word from the soldiers who stand stoic and watchful at their posts.
I’ve been avoiding Keldarion since his less than warm welcome. Though I’m not sure why I expected anything different. I thought he’d started trusting more. Trusting me and Caspian.
I needed some time to think before our meeting.
I’d headed to the ramparts of the tall wall of ice that surrounds the entire keep.
Beyond it, I watched the city of Frostfang.
So much life stretches beyond the walls—people moving through snow-dusted streets, children laughing, traders with carts piled high with goods bundled in fur.
But here, inside, it’s as if all that life is locked away, separated by the wall.
The keep feels like a world unto itself, closed off from its people, just as Keldarion is closed off from everyone around him.
He’s hiding behind layers of duty with a heart as frozen as his realm.
Kel is the very embodiment of this place, a prince more at home with ice and steel than his people.
But somehow, I’ve got to convince that prince to let me go to one of the most dangerous places in the Enchanted Vale. Not because I need his permission but because I want his support.
Two staff members open a set of massive wooden doors as I enter the grand meeting hall of Keep Wolfhelm.
Huge columns of frost-veined stone line the room, supporting high, timbered beams overhead that arch like the rib cage of a great beast. A faint, silvery light spills through narrow slits in the stone walls.
The four princes are already seated at the long table, Kel at the head with Dayton and Farron on one side and Ezryn on the other. Very similar to our eating arrangement at Castletree. Except there is an empty seat next to Keldarion.
I take it and sit. “I see we’re not going to go hungry.”
A great feast is laid out on the table. There are dark loaves of bread, sprinkled with coarse salt and wild herbs.
Crisp crackers spread beside creamy wedges of cheese, their edges tinged blue.
Bowls of winter berries, black and vivid red, glisten like jewels among the platters, while slender goblets hold deep, amber-hued mead and spiced wines that still steam in the cold air.
Everything is arranged with such care, and I can’t help but feel a creep of loneliness.
It reminds me of Castletree when I first arrived.
People lost of purpose. Stars know Keldarion has not graced these halls much in the last twenty-five years.
The lady’s maids Kel assigned me were so excited to bring me warm clothes and tie my hair in the fashion of Winter fae.
And looking at this food… When was the last time a feast like this was created?
Are the fae here now remembering grander gatherings and warmer nights?
Kel places a plate in front of me, and I try to banish the sadness. It’s not queenly. Sira doesn’t spend her days crying over chefs excited to cook meals again.
I meet each of my mates’ gazes, summoning a fire in my stare. “Are we ready to begin?”
Ezryn starts by detailing the recapture of Spring, followed by Dayton telling the full story of Hadria’s liberation.
Kel and Farron both explain the events that transpired in the Below, why the rescue of my mother is impossible, and the curious remnants of the rose.
Finally, I talk about what happened once I was captured.
Thankfully, none of them have quite the visceral reaction Kel did when I speak of lying with Caspian, though I note the tension in Ezryn’s jaw.
After the talking is over, I stand and slam my palms on the table. “It’s clear what must be done.”
Dayton raises a brow and gives me a weak smile. “Really, Blossom? You got a clear idea from all that?”
“It’s simple when you think of it. We have to kill Sira.” Silence is all I’m met with, so I continue. “The Enchanted Vale is in grave danger. We can’t rescue my mother, and we can’t break her bargain. The only way to set the queen free is to kill Sira. If she’s dead, we could free Caspian.”
Ezryn taps his finger on the table. “Killing Sira would solve many of our problems. But she rarely leaves the safety of the Below.”
“Besides,” Farron says, leaning forward, “Sira was born in the Above. She’s one of the original fae that saw the Gardens of Ithilias. Her magic is potent. It’s why she’s so powerful. Why Queen Aurelia—and you, Rosie, for that matter, being second generation—are so powerful.”
“We princes rival that power because of our blessings,” Keldarion says, “but a regular fae against someone from the Above would stand little chance.”
My voice rises. “I’m not suggesting we send one of your soldiers against her. I’m saying all of us work together to do it. Dayton and Farron have broken their curses—”
“Their magic still falls short of its potential.” Kel’s eyes flash dagger-sharp. “Not with Castletree so weak.”
“Well, it’s only going to get weaker,” I counter. “It’ll keep getting weaker until we free my mother.”
“We can’t just enter the Below. We don’t have the force needed to fight our way to Sira,” Keldarion says.
“With the Queen’s Army holding Spring, Summer so scattered,” Ezryn says, “and Autumn needing its forces to hold off the rogue goblins of the Briar, we only have Winter soldiers at our disposal.”
Keldarion gives a low growl. “Caspian mentioned something before. He said Sira had her eye on Winter, and she was waiting for me to withdraw my soldiers so she could attack.”
“So that you believe him on?” I cross my arms.
“I’m trying to think things through rationally, Rosalina,” Keldarion growls. “You’re behaving recklessly. An aggressive assault may get us killed.”
“My compassion killed Dayton,” I yell. Silence rings in the air, and I meet the wide-eyed teal gaze of Dayton across the table.
My words are thick with venom. “I will not wait around for Sira to order Wrenley to kill another one of us with the Bow of Radiance. Believing we can reason with these people will only get more of us killed. I thought I could save my sister. I was wrong.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” Dayton says. “But maybe it wasn’t hers either. You saw the way the bargain took control of her. I don’t think she wanted to ki—hurt me.”
Rage nearly explodes out of my body, and I curl my fists at my side. “I can’t believe you’re defending her, Day. She tried to take your realm. She pretended to be your mate, and she shot you. You’re the one who’s brushing it off like it’s a scratch.”
“I am fine!” Dayton shouts back, standing.
“It’s alright.” Farron places a hand on Dayton’s chest. “That was a terrible day, but we’re all safe now. Day’s okay.”
“Rosalina is right,” Ezryn says. “The Nightingale is a great danger with the Bow of Radiance. There’s no telling what she may do under Sira’s control.”
“We’ve removed all thorns from within Keep Wolfhelm,” Keldarion says. “This fortress is near impenetrable. As long as we stay within these walls, we’ll be safe.”
“Oh, the classic Kel solution. Hiding,” I spit. “How did that work for you the last twenty-five years? How did that work for your realm?”
His lip twitches, but he stays quiet. I search the table and find the bread rolls have been placed far away from me.
Finally, he speaks again, throwing a piece of paper on the table: “There is another problem. A letter arrived this afternoon from Castletree. It’s Marigold.
She’s asking if one of the princes can come back and offer some magic.
It’s not going well. I’ve opened the door between my keep and Castletree. ”
My heart clenches. Castletree.
“It should be me,” Dayton says. “I haven’t returned since I got my full blessing.”
A strange sensation flits around my heart—the blessing of Spring, pulsing inside me. “I should go as well. First thing tomorrow?”
Dayton nods.
Ezryn steeples his fingers. “Everything will be for nothing if Castletree falls.”
“Castletree must be a priority. I agree we need to break your mother free and rescue Cas,” Farron says, “but don’t let what Caspian did be in vain. The last thing he would want is for you to get hurt trying to save him.”
I shake my head, tears threatening to break free. “What’s the point of all this magic inside me if I can’t help the people I love?”
“You can help them, Rosie,” Dayton says, and I feel his arms around me. I realize he’s gotten up and crossed to the front of the table. “When we help Castletree, all our magic gets stronger.”
“I’ll return to Autumn and check on the goblin situation,” Farron says. “If we can push them back, it would free some soldiers to help in an assault of the Below.”
A handful of Autumn soldiers against the Below? Useless. Kel’s disapproving voice rings in my mind.
At least Farron’s trying, I shoot back.
Keldarion gives a long sigh. “I’ll speak with our generals and Eirik Vargsaxa of the Kryodian Riders. See if we can draw in some reinforcements from the outskirts. For now, our best plan against Sira is a strong defense.”
I move away from Dayton and grip Kel’s face, making him look at me. “You know the Below. If it wasn’t an act, if Caspian is being punished for helping me, what are they doing to him?”
Something wars in Kel’s eyes. “Terrible things.”
“Don’t you care at all, Kel? If not for the memory of what you had but for me? He saved my life.”
Even ice catching the light has more emotion than Keldarion’s face. It’s like staring at a statue, dead and devoid of feeling.
“I told you how he got me out.” Tears break free, but I don’t wipe them away. “Sira had me so deep in her dungeon that no thorns could grow, no magic could penetrate, but you know what could?”
Keldarion grits his teeth, square jaw so tense I think it might crack. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Kel,” I say, desperation clinging to my words, “it was your vow. The magic of your bargain broke through it all.”
“Rose,” he growls, a warning in that word.
But I fall closer to him, tears falling into my mouth as they brush against his jaw. “The love you had when you both made the bargain was so strong. It was your love that saved me, Kel. We can’t leave him down there to suffer. You care. You have to care.”
“Get away from me,” Keldarion says, a primal, animalistic sound. He pushes me away so hard, I fall to the ground.
Ezryn and Dayton are on either side of me in an instant.
Farron rushes to his feet. But my eyes are on Keldarion.
He lurches from the chair so fast, it clatters to the floor.
He staggers back. His fists clench, his jaw tightens, and there’s a glint in his gaze—something wild and untamed.
The air around us changes, thickening, then plummeting to a bone-chilling cold.
“No,” I whisper.
Frost spreads across the floor, spiraling outward in a frenzy of jagged crystals. Ezryn draws me to my feet, pulling me against his chest.
Overhead, the stone ceiling trembles, and with a sudden, thunderous crash, shards of ice rain down, scattering like glass.
“What the fuck is happening?” Dayton gasps. And it’s Farron crouched in a protective stance in front of the Summer Prince, his stare set on Kel.
Keldarion’s figure shudders, contorting as his body twists and shifts, his shoulders broadening, muscles straining beneath his skin as if trying to break free.
I can only watch, rooted to the spot. His flesh turns pale, and fur erupts along his arms, spreading over him in waves.
His face elongates, sharpening into a muzzle, and his eyes blaze with light.
“Was there a sunset we missed?” Dayton gasps.
But of course not. It’s only the afternoon.
Keldarion grows and grows until he towers over us, bigger than I’ve ever seen his wolf form.
He is a beast of frost and fury. Icicles protrude from his fur, glinting like daggers, and long, glowing blue lines trace across his body.
His breath comes in ragged, frosty clouds, each exhale sending tiny shards of ice swirling into the air.
A shiver runs down my spine as he looks at me, his eyes gleaming with a fierce, unrestrained wildness that I’ve never seen before, not even in the coldest moments of his rage.
This isn’t Keldarion. This is the curse taking hold of him, twisting him into something monstrous, something untamable.
The power radiating from him suffocates.
The ground beneath me shakes as his enormous paws press into the frozen stone, sending cracks splintering across the floor.
Kel! I scream in my mind, reaching out across our bond. Kel, are you there?
For a moment, I don’t see him—like Farron when the beast completely took over his mind—but in a flash, it’s back to those ice-chip eyes.
I step forward, and Ezryn tries to tug me back, but I shake my head. “If he’s going to recognize anyone, it’s going to be me.”
Fear creeps into my heart, raw and visceral, and I feel very much like that human girl again, running from the beasts of the Briar. No. I am a princess of the Enchanted Vale. I stare straight into the eyes of the Winter wolf. I’m your mate. You won’t harm me.
The curse is spreading, deepening, sinking its claws into him. I could fight this curse with my love if he’d let me. I reach a hand out, trembling, but a howl erupts from his throat.
The wolf bows his head and growls, revealing daggerlike teeth. “Get out,” he rumbles. “All of you.”
I want to fight him, want to fight this. Kel?
There’s no reply.
Ezryn tugs me away, taking me to the door where Farron and Dayton stand. With a heavy heart, I leave the Winter Prince behind.
I’d told Kel he was a beast, but my heart aches at how true it really is. Caspian’s love. My love. At one point, had I been so foolish as to believe it would be enough to save him?
I wrap my arms around myself as the truth creeps in.
The High Prince of Winter will be a beast forever.