Chapter 21 Rosalina
Rosalina
The howling wind rattles the windows as I curl in a chair by the fire.
The High Prince of Summer stands above me, facing the flames, his teal eyes catching their glow.
His expression is drawn, more shadowed than I’ve ever seen it.
He hasn’t said a word since we’ve returned, and I’ve left him to his silence, sitting with my own.
There’s a light rap on the door, and Farron enters. He says nothing, but his presence speaks louder than words—steady, grounding. I’m thankful for it because everything in me is threatening to come undone.
I don’t know how to process what’s happened or what Dayton—alive and breathing again—truly means. My chest aches with the memory of losing him. It makes so much sense now. How I’d felt our mate bond disappear…then return.
How could Caspian not have told me what happened when he came to my cell? Kel’s words sting worse than ever: He’s not to be trusted.
Dayton clears his throat. “I understand if neither of you wants to stay after what I’ve done.”
I blink, unsure I’ve heard him right. “What you’ve done?”
His gaze drops to the fur-lined rug at his feet.
His hands twitch at his sides like he wants to reach for something—or someone—but stops himself.
“I died. Left you. And worse, I came back. What am I? I lost myself when we were making love. No one would be blamed for turning away. Not you, not Farron.”
“That’s ridiculous.” My words rush out in a whisper. I stand, stepping closer to him.
“You’re powerful, Day. Now that you know what’s inside you, you won’t lose yourself to it again,” Farron cuts in, low and sharp. “Embrace the gift that was given to you. The flame.”
The flame. The Green Flame that brought him back. If it saved my mate’s life, is it truly evil? Caspian has wielded it to protect us. Perhaps this power could be used for good. But the look Dayton gave me, the distance in those green eyes… he wasn’t himself.
“I didn’t ask for it,” Dayton says, his voice breaking. “This isn’t the way of our world. Why do I deserve a second chance?”
My heart twists, and I grab his hands, cold and trembling. “You’re here. That’s all that matters.”
Farron moves toward us, stopping at Dayton’s other side. For a long moment, he looks at him, his face unreadable. Then he exhales and reaches out, clasping Dayton’s shoulder.
“I love you,” Farron says, voice rough. “So I’m going to insist we stay. And more than that, I’m going to suggest we get over this fear you’ve recently developed.”
“Fear?” Dayton raises a brow.
“That you’ll lose yourself to the Green Flame again,” Farron says. “I propose you make love to Rosalina again.”
Dayton shakes his head. “I’m not using Rosie as an experiment to see if I’m stable.”
“I wasn’t scared of you,” I say. “It was just…different.”
The thoughts war in my mind—the euphoria of being with my mate again and the intensity that had ended our lovemaking. How do I make sense of this new power inside him?
“Fucking is the answer?” A small, choked laugh escapes Dayton, and some of his tension lifts.
“I’ll be here the whole time,” Farron says. “Nothing will happen to our mate.”
I press my lips to Dayton’s shoulder. “I always want you, Day. My body is yours. Always.”
“Good. I’m glad we’re all in agreement,” Farron says, “because I plan to devour every inch of you both tonight.”
A spark of excitement shudders through me, and I bite my lower lip. It’s not just Day I’ve missed. I’ve been away from Farron for too long. “What do you have in mind, Autumn Prince?”
“Do you remember one of the first times we were all together? Dayton instructed us how to make love?”
“In the Autumn Realm,” I say, body heating at the memory. Still pressed against Dayton, I feel as his cock grows hard. “Mm-hmm, I think you remember it, as well, Day. But if I recall, you didn’t even want to sleep with me then.”
“I thought you weren’t my mate,” he says. “I knew if I had you like that, it would be agony to leave.”
“But I am your mate. Do you think you can handle me twice in one night?”
Dayton’s gaze turns predatory. “Like I said before, Rosie, I’d live inside you if I could.”
Farron tilts his head, a dark curl falling across his brow. There’s something familiar about the motion. About the Autumn Prince’s smirk. It reminds me of Cas.
“So,” Farron continues, “this is what will happen. You two are going to do exactly as I say.”
“And if I don’t?” I say with a cheeky grin.
Farron walks over to me and grabs the back of my neck. His kiss is powerful, and when he pulls away, he bites my bottom lip. “Sure you want to find out, love?” He smacks my ass lightly.
Maybe I do, I say in his mind.
He winks at me before turning to Dayton. “Get her out of her clothes. Rip them. Burn them. I don’t care. I need to see all of our mate’s body.”
Dayton’s gaze sharpens. His lips twitch into a half smile, but I spot the hesitation still lingering in the way his fingers flex at his side. Farron’s confidence is as steady as the earth beneath us, but Dayton’s is fragile, like an icicle waiting for the warmth of the sun to crack it.
“Rosie,” Dayton says, “if you’re not ready for this—”
“Stop.” I press a finger to his lips, silencing him. “Dayton, you’re not broken. You’re my mate, and I’ll never stop wanting you. Whatever this is—whatever you think you’ve become—it doesn’t scare me. Love me. Ruin me. I’m here.”
His eyes soften and he exhales, tension releasing from his shoulders.
Farron watches us with that infuriatingly knowing smirk, like he’s three steps ahead of everyone else in the room. “Stop fighting us, Day. Let yourself feel. Let her bring you back to life—really bring you back.”
“So…ruin you, you say?” Dayton grips me around the waist. “Do you know what you’re asking for?”
“I’m ready to find out.”
Dayton swallows, his jaw tightening, then he kisses me. He clutches at the fabric of my dress, his fingers digging into the delicate lace. Letting out a guttural groan, he violently rips the garment apart in one swift motion.
Cool air kisses my exposed skin as Dayton’s hands slide beneath the ruined dress, pushing it off my shoulders. His touch leaves a trail of fire in its wake, igniting every nerve. He breaks the kiss, his eyes wild with desire as he takes in my nearly naked form.
“Beautiful,” he breathes.
His fingers hook into the waistband of my undergarments, and with a swift motion, he tears them away too. The force of it makes me gasp, a shiver of excitement racing down my spine.
“There’s our beautiful girl,” Farron says.
I feel electric under their gazes. Farron was one of the first people in the world to make me believe I was beautiful.
Running my hands over my breasts and to my lower belly, I stare at him from under my lashes. “Sure you don’t want to have a taste now?”
Farron huffs a breath. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
“Yes,” I tell him. “I’ve missed you, Fare. Missed the way you touch me. The way you kiss me.”
His pupils darken. “You can’t imagine all the things I’m going to do to you, Rosie. And if you want it, then you’ll do as I say.”
“Yes, my prince.”
“Lie on the bed and spread your legs,” Farron says, voice all dominance.
The room pulses with the weight of his command, and my breath catches as I comply. The fur blanket is a tantalizing texture against my bare skin.
With deliberate slowness, I part my legs and rub myself. The vulnerability is charged, thrilling, as if I am offering not just my body but something deeper—something primal that only they could claim.
“Go on.” Farron gestures. “Touch her. Everywhere but her pussy.”
Dayton walks to the bed and slides his large hand up my thigh.
His touch is firm yet tender, as if he’s rediscovering every inch of me.
“So beautiful,” he murmurs again, his voice like a prayer.
His mouth dips lower, his lips brushing a path along my inner thigh as his fingers trace idle circles on my skin.
Farron strides over, placing one knee on the mattress, then grabs my hands and positions them above my head. “You’re getting too excited.”
I give him a whine of protest, to which he replies by running his thumb over my lips and sticking his fingers in my mouth.
“Suck.”
I run my tongue along them, saliva dripping over my chin.
“Yes, Rosie, get them nice and wet. They’re going to go deep in the Summer Prince’s ass.”
“Oh fuck,” Dayton groans.
Farron snaps his attention to him, golden gaze smoldering. “Take your time with her. Make her ache for it.”
I can feel Dayton’s restraint in every movement—the way his fingers tremble as they trace the curve of my waist, the way his lips hover over my skin.
“Please,” I moan around Farron’s fingers.
Dayton and Farron share a heated glance. Farron nods once, and Dayton’s touch changes, becoming bolder. He cups my breasts roughly, squeezing the heavy mounds as his thumbs flick over my hardened nipples. A whimper escapes my lips, and I arch my back, offering him more.
Dayton groans low in his throat, his self-control fraying like a threadbare rope. He looks up at Farron for permission, and when he receives a terse nod, he lowers his head to my breast, his tongue flicking across my aching nipple.
Closing my eyes, I give myself over to the sensation.
“Don’t move.” Farron releases my wrist and pulls his fingers from my mouth.
He grabs Dayton’s shirt and, in one powerful motion, rips it off. Then he begins work on Dayton’s pants.
“Let me help you,” Dayton mumbles.
“No,” Farron says. “Don’t fucking take your mouth off her breasts.”
Farron’s hand skims over Day’s pants and then erupts in yellow flame. A wave of heat hits me, but in an instant, the fire dies and the fabric flutters away, leaving Day’s skin below unmarred.
“What was that?” Dayton gasps.
A sly smile spreads on Farron’s face. “Don’t worry. I wouldn’t dream of damaging this cock.” He strokes Dayton’s long length with his hand. With the other, he directs Day’s mouth back to my breasts.