Chapter 60 Dayton
Dayton
“You should know, Ezryn,” I say as I stand butt naked, staring into the cold lake, “that this is all your fault.”
Ezryn chuckles, the sound reverberating through the helm. No doubt he’s rolling his eyes. The rest of our group showered at the hytte and are now bundled up, standing at the edge of the lake.
“Hurry up, sunshine,” Caspian calls. He’s wearing furs that are much too large for him and is still curled into the Winter Prince’s side, Kel’s cloak wrapped over his shoulders as an extra layer of protection.
This scene could be straight out of my past, the five of us princes together just doing random things like this…
There’s one stark difference. Rosalina. She stands with her beige fur hood pulled around her face, cheeks flushed pink. We’re not going to fall apart anymore. Rosalina binds us together.
“Day, come on,” Farron calls. “Cas is right. It’s freezing.”
“Just preparing myself.” I shift from foot to foot, staring into the dark blue depths.
The lake is so cold, there are ice floes drifting through the water.
I’ve done this plunge once before. It was so long ago, I’d almost forgotten about it.
Shortly after the first time I slept with Farron, I’d woken with a fever so hot I thought I was going to burn to ash.
I’d begged my brother, High Prince Damocles, to bring me to Winter to cool down.
And I did.
But I’m not afraid anymore.
With a yelp, I jump in.
The water slaps me like one of Quellos’s pissed-off wraiths. I don’t even have time to scream—it’s like every part of my body instantly forgets how to function.
For a second, I just sink. It’s peaceful—if you ignore the fact that it feels like I’m being stabbed by a million tiny ice daggers. I kick, my foot hitting what I hope is a chunk of ice and not the frozen soul of someone else who also thought this was a good idea.
But I give myself a moment to blow bubbles out of my nose. This is water. Water is where I’m home. Last time I was here, I wanted to quell a fire that blazed within my heart, but I can feel it so bright now.
My mate bond with Rosalina. Always there, always a fierce tug, drawing my gaze upward.
The sunlight filters through the surface in soft, shifting ribbons, like golden thread unraveling into the blue.
It’s beautiful in a way that doesn’t make sense—like it’s out of a dream.
Maybe my mate bond with Rosalina isn’t the only thing blazing beside my heart.
Maybe there’s something else that’s been simmering.
And I’m not thinking of that flame…that thing Cas infected me with.
No, my thoughts are of something that touched my soul a long time ago.
The kind of warmth that lingers like the final days of summer—sweet and fleeting, a moment you don’t realize you’re losing until the air begins to cool and the golden glow fades to amber.
It’s the ache of endless blue skies surrendering to twilight, the horizon painted in bonfire red and coin gold.
I shake my head. How long have I been down here? Bet they think I’ve frozen solid. But all at once, I’m glad I lost the bet. Beneath the water, it’s…quiet. My ears are filled with a muffled hum, and all I can do is float here, staring up at the surface.
The cold should terrify me, but instead, I feel the most at peace since I woke up on the airship. Or was reborn? Was resurrected?
I want to stay down here longer, but my lungs remind me they’re not big fans of this little experiment, and I kick toward the surface.
The water ripples above me, and a figure plunges in near me. Beautiful soft curves, long wavy brown hair. Rosalina, completely naked.
Worried about me, Blossom? I say into her mind.
She grimaces and blows out angry bubbles, the cold no doubt a shock to her system. I knew you were okay through our bond, she says back. But where you go, I go. Even this frozen hell.
Then she kicks toward me, and I don’t care about air or the cold or any damn thing. All I need is her lips on mine.
My body warms with her touch, and as we break apart, I heave in a great gasp. Wait. I heave in a great gasp through my gills.
Rosalina smiles at me, golden fins flashing. I look down at my own siren tail.
“Old teal? I missed you.” I’m able to talk beneath the water now. I do a flip before coming back to Rosalina and grabbing her waist, pulling her in a circle. “This isn’t quite Aerantheis, but I’m glad to swim with you again.”
Rosie laughs and wraps her arms around my neck.
“Thanks for suffering down here with me, love,” I murmur against her. “I thought frozen water scared you. You fell in when you were younger.”
She pulls away to look at me, expression suddenly serious. “I’ll follow you anywhere, Day, through any darkness. And you know what? It didn’t scare me at all jumping in. Because you were down here.”
“Love is an endless sea,” I whisper against her skin.
“You know this is a lake, right?”
“Lake-schmake.” I kiss my mate.
If you two don’t come up soon, I’m getting in, and you won’t like the consequences. High Prince Keldarion’s voice booms in my mind.
We both pull away from each other. Rosalina must have heard it too.
“Is it weird I’m oddly turned on by that commanding voice?” I laugh. “Perhaps I’ll find out where my siren dick is—”
“Come on, Day.” Rosalina takes my wrists, tugging me to the surface.
We break through the water, and despite the siren form, the frigid air hits me like a knife. “That was damn cold.”
Onshore, Farron is doubled over, and that little traitor Caspian doesn’t even try to hide his amusement. He’s clinging to Kel’s side, practically crying with laughter.
“Are you pleased with yourself, Ez?” I shout, spitting out lake water and flailing dramatically for emphasis.
Ezryn’s helm is as expressionless as always. “Get out of the water before we have to defrost you,” he calls. “We don’t have time for your dramatics.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I snap back, swimming to the edge with Rosalina. We’ve drifted quite far. “Did my suffering interrupt your brooding? Forgive me, Ez. I’ll try to freeze more quietly next time.”
Ezryn makes his way to the side of the bank, carrying our clothes.
Farron walks up beside him then, waves his hand. Tiny spears of flame erupt from his hands and hover in the air. “To help you dry off.”
Warmth brushes my face as we swim closer. Rosalina props herself up on the snowbank and flaps her tail, smiling. “What do you think of my new look?”
At once, all her mates surround her, touching her pretty golden tail. Kel removes his jacket and wraps it around her bare shoulders.
I plunk beside her. “Hey, I’ve got a tail too.”
“I love the color.” Farron sits next to me and runs his hand over the scales. There’s a stirring deep within me…
That’s it, buddy. Come out so I can see you—
But then I notice something off in the distance.
I narrow my gaze, squinting past the glittering expanse of the frozen lake and the distant snowbanks.
There, cutting through the endless white of the Winter Realm, is Mount Rhuvenmark.
It rises high into the sky, its peak crowned with snow. But something’s wrong.
There’s smoke—thick, black, and furious—billowing out of the top. I’m no researcher, but I’m pretty sure dormant volcanoes aren’t supposed to do that.
“Uh…” I point, my voice still hoarse from all the freezing, drowning, and…sirening. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but see old Rhuvey over there? It’s smoking. It’s not supposed to be doing that, right?”
The group pauses, all laughter and teasing evaporating.
“Vemrís thu’ren calas,” Farron says, repeating the ancient words of the underfae. “Winter will burn.”