The thought unsettles me.
Farron pushes ahead into High Tower. The roses bloom in the middle, Farron’s bursting with color, the other three wilted and drooping. Golden thorns grow around Farron’s rose, while the rest of the room is covered in dark purple ones. “We have to give as much as we can,” Farron urges, sinking to his knees by the flowers. “Hold nothing back!”
The castle gives a great shudder as the others drop beside Farron. Dust and bits of stone shower to the ground. Unlike the last time I saw them do this, this time I can feel it. My fae blood sings through my veins, my body lighting up like dry grass caught to flame.
The princes’ bodies glow. The flowers perk a little, the stems fighting to straighten. More magic … They need more magic.
Slowly, I kneel and touch one of the golden roses. “Help them,” I whisper to the rose, to myself. “Give them strength.”
I close my eyes, feeling that rush through my chest. But it’s more than magic. The castle may crumble, the briars may fall, but for now, for this moment, we’re together. All five of us. The thought gives my heart strength. And I pass it to them.
I don’t know if we stay like this for a minute or an hour, but when my eyes blink open, I see Kel, Ez, Day, and Fare leaning against the stone, bodies clearly exhausted.
But the castle’s stopped shaking, and the flowers stand at full attention.
How many more times will we be able to bring Castletree back to life?
I stumble forward, my own legs trembling and weak. Farron pulls me down to his side.
“See?” Dayton smiles, sweat dripping down his brow. “Nothing to worry about.”
Kel snorts. “Of course the Prince of Summer would say that.”
“He’s right.” I take a moment to look at each of them. “We fixed it. And we’re together now.” My heart brightens at the thought. “We’re all back home.”
An awkward silence passes through High Tower, and I realize everyone’s eyes are darting away.
“What?” I snap.
“I’m sorry, Rosie,” Farron mumbles, dropping his lips to my shoulder. “I only came back for a short visit. I have to return to Autumn to be with my father for a little while longer.”
Pain stabs into my ribs. I turn to Kel. His ice fire eyes are staring at the ground. “Winter is still without a new steward. I must see that preparations are in place. Frostfang expects my return in two days’ time.”
“Oh,” I whisper. I look up at Ez, but he’s staring out a window. I don’t bother asking—like Kel always says, Ezryn hates to stay.
“Guess it’ll be up to us to keep Marigold out of trouble.” Dayton flashes me a signature grin, but I can see the pain in his eyes.
I know he should return to Summer, too.
Because it doesn’t matter how much I try to fool myself into thinking we all belong together; it can never be this way.
Like Castletree, my heart is shattering. Except there’s no magic in all the realms that can put it back together.
2
Rosalina
The library finally feels like home again now that Farron’s returned. I peer over at my mate as he goes over the notes I’ve made in his absence. Beneath the table, I rub his leg with my foot. From the little quirk in his lip, I can tell he’s trying hard to ignore me.
“How was your trip to Autumn?” I ask.
He peers up from the notes. “It was fine. My father’s really settling into his role as steward.” Farron still bears a great pain from losing his mother in our fight to protect Autumn. He’s keeping busy. We both are. When we first returned to Castletree, before he was ready to return to his realm, we spent many long nights here in the library. At first, we allowed ourselves to rest, to read until midnight and get lost in stories without trying to decipher each word. We’d fall asleep in front of the fire with no worry of him transforming into a beast.
Then we transitioned to making a memory book for his mother, something small and personal, writing down every little detail he could remember of his time with her. But with the continued decay of Castletree, Dayton and Ezryn’s curses unbroken—and Kel refusing to break his—there’s an unspoken urgency for us to get back to work.
“There’s hope in the people,” Farron continues, snagging my ankle beneath the table. “Everyone at home is talking about you.”
“About me?”
“You saved the Autumn Realm, Rosalina.” He draws my foot into his lap, tugging off my slipper to massage my foot. “Not me, not Kel, not Ez or Day. You saved us all.”
My eyes flutter closed, and the memory plays in my mind’s eye: the four princes overtaken by vile magic of green flame as I explode in a burst of golden roses and thorns.
“My whole realm knows what you did,” Farron says. “They call you the Golden Rose.”
“The Golden Rose,” I repeat, my hand instinctively going to my necklace.
“How about you?” Farron pulls my other leg into his lap. “How’s your research going?”
“Remember that book I found? It’s no ordinary text. It has snippets of the Queen’s own writing.” A pang of guilt washes over me. I left out the fact that this new book I found was actually the book Caspian stole from the Autumn Realm’s sacred alder tree … which I then stole from Caspian.
I will tell Farron. I just haven’t found the right moment yet.
“The Queen was really fascinated with humans,” I continue, trying not to get distracted by how amazing it feels to be this close to him again.
“I was really fascinated with a certain human.” Farron reaches across the table and glides his finger over the tip of my pointed ear.
Because I’m not human. At least not fully.
“How’s the magic practice going?”
“Flame comes easily. I’ve only set two dresses on fire!”
Farron had explained that a mate bond amplifies what magic you have. I discovered in my battle with Lucas that I can summon white flames. And of course, there’s the strange case of me being able to manipulate the thorns, both Caspian’s and the ones from my bracelets.
“Glad it wasn’t this dress.” Farron’s gaze drops noticeably to my chest.
“Hey, we’re supposed to be researching.” I knock him in the stomach with my foot.
He gives me a devious grin and slides a hand up my thigh. “Sure, Sweetheart. That’s why you’ve been giving me that look since we got in here.”
“I don’t have the slightest idea what you’re talking about.” I blink innocently at him.
But when his hand caresses over my thigh, then higher, and his fingers brush my slick entrance covered by absolutely nothing, he knows the truth.
He gives a throaty chuckle that gets my stomach fluttering. Then he pounces with all the speed and strength of a fae prince and gathers me into his arms. I kiss him hard, devouring his mouth as I push my tongue between his lips.