The Prince of Thorns
Acurrent sparks through my body like the strike of lightning. She’s here.
One leg dangling, I sit on the balcony of my palace, looking over the city of Cryptgarden. Smoke wafts up into the grayish abyss that is our sky. Soon, we will not be shunned away in the dark but live in an empire of my making.
And she’s going to make that happen.
Straightening, I toss my long cape behind me and stand, shifting my focus to see. A golden line in my chest hangs taut. Just where did my bargain with the Winter Prince deliver our little Rose?
Sometimes the bargain is more accurate than others.
I follow that tug through my chambers and across the large bridge to the halls and caverns outside Cryptgarden.
I find her in the same cave that she once used to enter my realm for a party.
The cavern is full of small pools and glowing prismatic stones.
My mate lies tangled in a pile of briars.
He actually did it.
The Winter Prince gave in to Rosalina and broke his curse, and the magic of our bargain delivered her straight to me. I look down at the bracelet of thorns and ice on my wrist.
Fool. Even now, he clings to the delusion of love.
I’m sure it’ll break in time once he sees what I have planned for our mate. The unfortunate thing is I won’t be able to properly enjoy her until he breaks it.
Or I kill him.
It’s a choice I’ve been struggling with lately. Enjoying my mate or torturing the Winter Prince to madness.
Both options sound delicious.
But for now, her worshipping me will be enough.
I kneel beside the briars. With a wave of my hand, they unfurl, and I see her.
This reminds me of one of the first times I saw her, when she was escaping the goblins and falling into a briar patch.
Her dark hair is sprawled around her face.
She wears fighting leathers, a bow and sword strapped to her back. Ears long and pointed. A fae princess.
My fae princess.
Something curls deep inside me. Mother must not discover she’s my mate. Though many fae of the Above have the ability to detect mate bonds and other bargains, thankfully that seems to be one of the skills my mother lost in exchange for more nefarious abilities. She cannot see, not like I can.
Mother must not suspect I hold more power than her. It will be the only way to navigate this unfortunate tether she has me under.
A fire ignites in my chest, burning hotter with every breath. My hands clench into fists, nails biting into my palms. The thought of Sira’s shadowed whims wrapping chains around me—it’s intolerable. Magic hums beneath my skin, begging to be unleashed.
Soon. Soon, the Green Flame will prevail.
Gently, I scoop Rosalina into my arms and stand. Her head lolls against my chest. I had tried to be nice to my Rose. I turned two of her mates into my thralls. I thought after they served their purpose and killed the metal knight, they could attend to her.
Of course, the Autumn Prince slipped my grasp. My father must have meddled somehow. So now he and the Summer Prince must die.
It’s no matter. Let Farron barter with my father.
I already have the Baron’s power, and when he sends his army through the portal, I’ll have that too. Malekai Furiondemius may think he can rule a world other than his own, but all he has is flames. I have shadows and thorns.
He will die, and I will rule the Vale as intended, with the Golden Rose at my side.
She stirs in my arms and blinks up at me.
“Rest, Princess,” I say, stepping into Cryptgarden. “You’re home.”