As we push away the last of the supper, Ezryn scoops up Rose in his arms.
“I’ll have her sleep in my room tonight,” I decide, unwilling to be parted from her, knowing she will leave for Spring in the morning.
Ezryn nods and we head through the halls to the Winter Wing.
“Tell me it wasn’t just us who enjoyed that.” I bump his shoulder with my own.
Ezryn gives a light chuckle, handing Rosalina over to me. “I am a man of flesh beneath this armor. She is not so easy to resist.”
I place a hand on his shoulder. “I’ve always trusted you with my life, but now I trust you with my heart as well. You’ll keep her safe in the Spring Realm.”
Ezryn nods. “It’s almost night. I plan to clear the Briar before I depart tomorrow.”
I don’t remove my hand. “Stay with us.”
He tilts his gaze down to Rosie, who nuzzles into my arms. “You may stay a man at night, but her touch will not stop my change.”
“Why should it matter? The bed is large enough for us all.” At his silence, I continue, “If I was granted one wish, it would be that you were her mate, as well.”
He laughs as if the concept is ridiculous. “Come on, Kel. I thought we stopped wishing on the stars when we were children.”
Ezryn steps down the main staircase, then pauses. “Kel, you know the bargain you made? It mentions giving in to your own pleasure. However, it doesn’t mention anything about giving to another.”
“What are you saying?”
“I watched Caspian at the party. The bargain takes no heed of your lover’s release … If you feel you could restrain yourself.”
“I could touch her.”
He only nods his head, then descends the stairs.
65
Dayton
It feels like even the castle is tiptoeing around. Not only have the staff hidden away, but the bits of magic that lace through the wings—a breeze rustling the leaves in the hall or the smell of a campfire with no origin—have disappeared.
Castletree is disappointed in us.
And I can’t blame it.
But I’m an idiot who doesn’t like to leave anything alone, so I find myself wandering down the leaf-strewn hallway to the library. Even in the corridor, I hear his voice.
“Useless! Stupid, stupid! Arg!” A crash sounds, and I heave in a breath before pushing open the doors.
Farron’s hunched over a table, papers and books spread before him. His hair is stuck to his forehead, eyes wild, clothes wrinkled.
He doesn’t even look up when I walk over to his table.
“What is all this?” I murmur. There are open books on everything from botany to fables to human culture.
“It’s nothing!” Farron shouts, chucking a book across the room. He digs his hands into his hair. “It’s all fucking useless. I’m the High Prince of Autumn and I can’t figure anything out.”
“Tell me what you’re trying to do,” I say slowly, sternly.
“Everything! Nothing!” He scrubs his face. “I’m looking up medicines for George. And mate bonds to break yours and Ez’s curse. And I’m trying to figure out how I’m going to get fucking Caspian away from Rosalina before he does something—”
“Fare.” I grab his shoulders. “It’s too much, even for you. Let’s take it one step at a time. Together. I know Ez, Kel, and I haven’t been the best these last twenty-five years, but we’re in it with you now.”
Farron squeezes his eyes shut. “Something terrible is going to happen. I can feel it.”
“Take a breath. George is with your family—they’ll look after him. Me and Ez? We’re going to be fine. I promise. And Caspian … He did save our fucking asses. He doesn’t seem to want to hurt Rosie.”
Defeat clouds Farron’s features. He shakes his head and steps away from me. “Didn’t you see how he looked at her?” He sighs. “It was exactly how he used to look at Kel.”
“Yeah, well, Rosie’s a lot smarter than Kel.”
“It doesn’t matter.” Farron grabs the side of the table, knuckles white, body shaking. “You don’t understand what we saw, Day. Caspian has been holding back on us all these years. He harnesses the Green Flame. He’s not like the goblins or even that power-hungry vizier. If he desires something, he can take it.” Farron looks back at me, eyes wide and shining. “We know he wants her. It’s only a matter of time.”
“I won’t let that happen,” I growl.
“You can’t stop this!” Farron cries. “What are you going to do, Day? You haven’t even broken your curse. And when you do, Rosie won’t matter to you anymore. I won’t matter to you anymore.”
I lurch forward and wrap my arms around Farron, holding him tight. “Listen to me, and listen to me well, Pup. You are mine. I am yours. And she is ours. Until either of you say otherwise or force me away.”
Farron takes in a shaky breath, his body quivering against mine. I keep my arms like a vice around him. “I know I haven’t always been good to you, Fare. I took your love for granted. It wasn’t right, and I’m a bastard for doing that to you. But everything changed when Rosalina walked through those damned doors. She taught me there are things worth fighting for. And no mate bond, no curse, not even Caspian himself, will stop me from fighting for you.”
Farron’s voice is a shaky breath. “I would rip it apart—the cosmos, the threads of life—if I could bind you to us.”
I spin him and push the hair off his brow. “I know you would. But even the brilliant High Prince of Autumn has his limits.” I lean in, brushing my lips over his. “So just love me instead.”
Something shifts in Farron’s eyes, golden and predatory. He pulls away from me and shoves the papers off the table. They land in a clattering heap. Then he takes my shoulders and pushes me on top of the mahogany. “I’m going to do more than love you, Daytonales,” he says. “I’m going to take you.”
66
Farron
Somehow, we find our way to my chambers, a trail of clothes in our wake. Everything else is lost to feverish kisses, hands in hair, and the drum of my heart against my ribs.
Dayton slams my door shut with his foot, his fingers busy on my face, then my neck, then my ribs. My chamber is lit with orange glowing orbs that hover in the corners, casting dusky light throughout the room. The true fading sunlight is concealed by heavy curtains.
We’ve both lost all our clothes by this point. I run my hand over his sun-kissed skin, marveling at the patchwork of scars over his chest, how they only make him more beautiful.
The bed is too far, so we collapse on my large chaise, the one right beside the bookshelf. Rosie and I have spent several nights cuddled up on it together, forgetting the world.
And that’s what I want to do now.
Forget all the things that tear at my mind, that steal the joy and replace it with fear.
I won’t let that happen to me tonight. Dayton won’t let it.
He collapses on the chaise, arms spread over the back and legs far apart. He grins up at me like a king. His cock bobs triumphantly.