Maybe she thought they were her path to freedom. I can’t blame her for trying. I try, too. All the horrible things I’ve done—the trickery of my bargain with Farron, the goblin siege in Autumn—are only minor consequences compared to what will happen if I fail to escape the Below.
“The Dreadknights may have taken your orders,” I say, “but they were loyal to Sira. What was the first lesson I taught you?”
“You can’t trust anyone in the Below,” she answers.
“You can’t trust anyone in the Below,” I repeat.
A question lingers between us, unsaid: Can I trust you?
I don’t think either of us knows the answer to that. But I say what I can. “Birdy, they weren’t all you have.”
“What do you know about it? I had my Dreadknights and my thorns! That’s it!” She rises, wiping her eyes with the heel of her palm. “You have your shadows and your thorns and whatever that green magic—”
“Trust me,” I say, “you want nothing to do with that.”
“And she …” the Nightingale continues. “She has thorns and fire, and who knows what else? Not that she’s any good with either. But these briars are all I have left now.”
“How do you know, Birdy?”
Her face cracks, and she shakes her head. “Stop squirming.” She lifts the edge of one of my bandages. “They’re healing.”
“Is Kairyn going to sentence the High Prince to death?”
The Nightingale stills. Says nothing.
“You don’t know, do you?” I ask. “Have you even talked to your metal dog? Last I saw, he had his hands around your throat.”
“Kairyn is conflicted. I never thought that idiot High Prince would actually make him steward. Kairyn has to realize it’s not enough. It can’t be enough.”
“Maybe it’s enough for him. The love and acceptance of a High Prince is a tantalizing thing.”
“He could be a High Prince,” Birdy hisses, pacing. “As the steward, it’s his right to pass judgment, and their creed demands death for such crimes as Ezryn committed. Kairyn could inherit Spring’s Blessing; he could get everything he’s ever wanted.”
I shift slightly. “Would any of that matter to Kairyn if Ezryn is too dead to witness it?”
Birdy lets out an enraged growl, knocking a whole row of books off my shelf. “He can’t choose Ezryn over me!” Her eyes widen. “I mean our plan. Our vision for Spring, for the Enchanted Vale.”
“We’ll see.”
She shakes her head and begins to forcefully tug on her armor. “Get better, Cas. Kairyn isn’t my only plan in motion. All flowers rot, even roses. I will prove my worth to Mother.”
“Wr—Wait.” I push myself up on my forearms. “If you kill Rosalina, it will destroy you, too.”
She pulls her mask over her face, thorns rising around her. “Don’t worry, big brother. I died a long time ago.”
The thorns carry her under, and I fall back down to the mattress. She’ll try to go after Rosalina again. The only thing that keeps me racing after her is a single thought: she’s underestimated Rosalina.
The world has. And when the time comes, she’ll glow so brightly, no one will be able to stop her.
87
Dayton
Early morning light shines over the ramparts of Keep Hammergarden. A gentle wind blows, carrying the scent of cherry blossoms.
My family and I wait together as if at a funeral.
Kel, Farron, Rosalina, and I stand in a row, peering over the stone rampart wall that looks over the main gates of the keep. Down below, a wooden dais has been crafted overnight. A crowd has begun to gather. Their hushed whispers merge together to form a near-deafening roar.
We were all confined to the keep last night. For safeguarding, Kairyn called it. We all knew the truth of it. He didn’t want any of us getting ideas about breaking Ezryn out of his own confinement. Not that I even have any magic right now. Farron drained it all to save Rosie, and I won’t be able to replenish it until we return to Castletree.
Despite the guards roaming the keep, I know any one of us—Rosie included—could have broken Ez out. But Kel’s words rang in my mind my whole sleepless night: This is his will.
Realms damn him, why does Ezryn have to be so bloody honorable?
At least those three had each other last night.
“The wait is killing me.” Farron digs his hands into his hair. “Can’t we bribe Kairyn to stop this? Threaten him? I’m not above well-executed coercion.”
“This isn’t about Kairyn, and you know it,” Kel growls. The Sword of the Protector gleams on his back, poking out of its sheath. Rosie had thrown it in the lake to hide it from the Below, and thankfully we were able to retrieve it before returning to the keep.
Ezryn’s storm had churned it up from the bottom of the lake, and Rosie had spotted it among the debris. “Ezryn would never forgive us if we removed his own agency to follow the oaths and traditions of his people.”
Below, the gates creak open, and a hush falls over the crowd. Kairyn marches out, black cape flapping. His father trails behind, being carried on a litter by four Spring guards. Each step of Kairyn’s heavy boots up the dais clangs through the air. I notice the crack in his mask has been patched with a line of gold.
The soldiers carefully place the litter down beside Kairyn. By the gods, Thalionor looks terrible. I can’t even see his face, but it’s evident by his posture: stiff hands clutching the armrests, head lolling on his chest. Yellow ooze drips from beneath the helm over his neck. I wouldn’t be surprised if they put a helm on a corpse and called him Prince.
A sob sounds, and I look down the ramparts to see Marigold and Astrid. Marigold’s leaning heavily on Astrid’s shoulder as the younger fae rubs her back. I know Marigold has served Ezryn since he was a child; this can’t be any easier for her than it is for us.
“Does the crowd seem odd to you?” Farron mutters, nudging Kel.
“What do you mean?”
Farron shakes his head. “I can’t put my finger on it. But some of them appear … vacant.”
“Ezryn has been a beloved member of the noble house since his birth. They’re probably in shock that he is to face trial,” Kel answers.
Down below, Kairyn raises a hand. “Citizens of Florendel, I stand before you steward of Spring, son of Prince Thalionor and the late former High Princess Isidora, and brother to the current High Prince of Spring. It is with great sadness I share with you that the High Prince will face trial this morning for the gravest of sins, the ultimate betrayal of his people.”
A gasp sounds, and my back teeth grind together. Hatred churns inside of me, staring at Kairyn. Kel says this isn’t about him. That he’s just doing what he has to, what the creed demands.
I call bullshit.
I’ve always known, ever since that little asshole used to tag around with us, that there was something wicked inside of him. Whether he was tormenting village kids or muttering remarks beneath his helm, I recognized it as more than sibling rivalry between him and Ez. He’s always hated his older brother. Resented him.
“I bet Kai fucking planned this somehow,” I growl. “Knew those guards would witness Ez’s face.”