Chapter 76 Rosalina
Rosalina
My blood boils, and my ears won’t stop ringing. But there’s another feeling simmering below the surface.
Fear.
Again and again, Sira has bested us. If it hadn’t been for Ezryn breaking his curse, for Farron and his new power, she would have destroyed us.
Still, it makes no sense that she would challenge us by herself.
She’s vulnerable on her own, and she doesn’t yet possess the power to transport the entire army within our walls.
Like me, fear simmers within her. Fear of my mates’ powers.
Of my power. I saw it flickering in her eyes at the Great Chasm.
We walk through the halls toward the throne room.
Tension hangs in the air. Before we left Kel’s room, he dressed, then stormed out, returning in full armor.
Now, he speaks with Eirik Vargsaxa, demanding the forces on the wall be doubled and summoning the remaining flying Kryodian Riders to scout the area for an approaching army.
Eirik nods, then marches away. The High Prince of Winter falls into step beside me, dark sapphire cape snapping.
I dressed, only throwing on my nightdress and lacing up a brown leather corset.
The princes have their tokens and divine weapons, but Dayton grabbed me a bow and attached a belt with two short daggers to it, saying, “There’s no way we’re talking to Sira unarmed. ”
“What’s the plan, Kel?” Ezryn asks as we convene outside the throne room.
Behind us, a host of guards stands ready, but I notice them shooting nervous glances at Cas.
Caspian hasn’t said anything since we left the room.
He dressed, for once, in his own clothes instead of Keldarion’s oversize ones, and he looks much like the Prince of Thorns as I first knew him, expression miles away.
Currently, he stands beside Ezryn, hands in his pockets.
Kel wanted his wrists bound, but the rest of us refused.
You don’t have to come, I speak into Cas’s mind. I can meet you in the room after.
And miss all the fun? Caspian flicks his gaze to mine. Never.
With a sigh, I turn to Keldarion. My heart beats slowly and heavily, like it’s been punctured. We were so close to breaking the curse.
“Sira has invaded the Winter Realm alone,” Keldarion says. “We can’t expect the offer of a peace treaty, though she undoubtedly lost a substantial force with the destruction of the Great Chasm. Whatever she says, we should consider it a lie.”
“Do you have any idea what she could want, Cas?” Farron asks, placing a hand on Cas’s shoulder.
“I don’t know.” Caspian flinches from his touch. “She wouldn’t have come here without a plan. My mother always has a plan.”
Keldarion takes a long, hard look at him. There’s so much emotion in that look, part agony, part anger. But there’s love there too.
We step into the throne room, the air so cold it burns my lungs.
My breath fogs before me. The only sound is the jangle of the guards’ armor following behind us and the heavy echo of the doors as Keldarion gestures for them to be shut.
Shadows slither along the icy walls, the light from the torches dimming as if snuffed by invisible hands.
And then I see her.
Up on the dais, Sira sits upon the icy throne of Winter, tendrils of mist curling like claws about her. Her gown is alive, an ever-shifting thing of night. Her lips curve into a sly, knowing smile that makes my stomach twist, because it’s so similar to that of the man I love.
She leans back, one leg crossed over the other. Her hand lazily drapes over the armrest. “Ah,” she purrs, “you’ve finally arrived. And brought all the realms to greet your queen. How quaint.”
Every instinct in me screams to attack, to lunge at her and wipe that smug expression off her face, but I force myself still. She’s baiting us.
“There is no queen here but the one who walks beside us,” Ezryn says.
Keldarion puts a hand on Ezryn’s chest and steps forward. “Sira,” he says, his voice sharp enough to cut glass, “you’ve trespassed into my realm. State your business, or face the consequences.”
She tilts her head, her dark hair cascading like a river of ink. “Oh, Keldarion, darling, so formal. And here I thought you might offer me a warm welcome.” Her sly grin widens, revealing teeth a little too sharp. “But I suppose warmth has never been your strong suit.”
Farron growls low in his throat, stepping up beside Keldarion. I sense the magic simmering under his skin. “No more riddles, Sira. Speak your purpose before we lose our patience.”
Her eyes flick to Farron, then to me. When our gazes meet, a cold shiver runs down my spine. There’s something almost playful in her expression, like a predator toying with its prey.
My mother always has a plan.
“I came,” she says, dragging out the words as if savoring them, “because I thought it only polite to congratulate you all on your…little victories. Destroying the Great Chasm? Clever. And the Autumn princeling’s newfound strength…
Why, that surprised me. Truly, it’s all very impressive.
But let’s not pretend you’ve won. You’ve simply delayed the inevitable. ”
“You’re bluffing.” The words leave my mouth like a challenge. “You wouldn’t be here if you still held the upper hand.”
“Oh, Rosalina,” she says, my name dripping with mockery. “Always so quick to speak, so eager to play the hero. Tell me, how does it feel knowing the day will end in tragedy?”
I take a step forward, ignoring the cautionary glance Keldarion shoots me. “If you think you can intimidate us—”
“Intimidate you? No, little one. I’ve come to give you a present.”
“We want nothing from you,” Keldarion says.
Her laughter fills the room, echoing off the icy walls like a haunting melody. “Oh, but you haven’t even seen it yet. I assume you’ll find it…difficult to refuse.”
The shadows around her gown writhe as if alive, and for a moment, the air feels heavier, the weight of her presence pressing down. I glance at Caspian, standing rigid and silent at the edge of our formation. His jaw is tight, his hands clenched.
Sira’s gaze drifts to him. “Isn’t that right, my son?”
Caspian’s face twists, and for the first time since we entered the throne room, he speaks. “Whatever you’re planning, Mother, you won’t win.”
Her grin widens, and her shadow-clad form seems to swell, her presence suffocating. “Oh, Caspian,” she coos, “I’ve already won.”
Darkness gathers in a pool beside her, then rises up, forming two figures. One I know all too well. Tall and grand, shadows fall off Faustrius’s antlers, and he wears that giant black sword at his side. But he’s got a tight grip on another figure, clutching her tight to his side.
Radiant light cuts through the gloom. A glowing bow.
Wrenley.
She wears her prismatic armor, except for the mask. Her short hair falls loosely around her face, but it’s her eyes that I can’t stop staring at. Completely black.
Under Sira’s control.
The guards behind us raise their weapons, but Keldarion holds up his fist, a motion to hold.
This isn’t good, Rosalina, Keldarion speaks in my mind.
The world tilts. I can’t breathe. My vision tunnels on the bow Wrenley holds, its curve so painfully familiar. The bow that struck my mate.
The memory hits me like a blade to the chest—Dayton falling, his blood on my hands. My heart ripped from me. I hear the scream that tore from my throat, raw and animalistic. The way my legs buckled as if the ground itself had betrayed me.
Now it’s back in her clutches.
I grab the daggers at my hips, but my fingers tremble. The weight of my breath is unbearable, my chest rising and falling too quickly. The buzzing grows louder, filling my ears.
I turn to Dayton, desperate for an anchor, for proof that he’s here, alive, whole. Sweat dots his brow despite the cold.
He meets my gaze. Rosie, I’m here. She’s not taking me again. He casts a menacing glare at Sira. “You’ll have a hard time controlling the realms if you kill their leaders, Sira. You’d be queen of rebellion and ashes.”
Sira laughs. “What’s this? The High Prince of Summer using his brain for once? Because yes, I could end you all right now with the briefest thought. So you’d be wise to listen to what I have to say.”
Again, the guards at our backs seem poised to strike. But Keldarion growls lowly, “Hold.”
The buzzing fades. I swallow hard, forcing myself to focus. No matter what Sira throws at us, we’ll face it together. I nod, gripping my daggers tighter. I won’t let her take anyone from me again.
“Can you believe it?” Sira purrs. “I was searching all over the Vale for this wretch when I had the key to retrieving her all along. She flew back all on her own, screaming and demanding to know just what happened to Prince Kairyn. I suppose she didn’t like the little experiment we did on him.
She might be a good shot, but of course, she wasn’t fast enough to use the bow on me. ”
“How would she know what happened to Kairyn?” I breathe out at the same time as Caspian snaps his head to mine and mutters, “No fucking way.”
We stare at each other. There’s only one reason she could have felt Kairyn’s pain. The suffering that Kairyn went through could have unlocked something…
Wrenley and Kairyn are mates.